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"Luke Ford reports all of the 'juicy' quotes, and has been doing it for years." (Marc B. Shapiro)
"This guy knows all the gossip, the ins and outs, the lashon hara of the Orthodox world. He’s an [expert] in... all the inner workings of the Orthodox world." (Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff) LATEST POSTS:
- Dennis Prager v Cedars-Sinai Lawsuit
- Dennis Prager Through Randall Collins: Interaction Ritual Chains
- What is a ‘Received Idea’?
- Jordan Bardella: The Manufacture of Normality
- Everyone Became Television: Bourdieu’s Warning and the 2026 Iran War
- Marine Le Pen
- The Coalition-Proximity Rule
- Nigel Farage
- Bernard Haykel: A Life Between the Text and the Gun
- Walker Connor (1926-2017)
- Benedict Anderson and the Nation as Imagination
- Anthony D. Smith: The Student Who Kept the Question and Rejected the Answer
- Ernest Gellner
- Eric Kaufmann: The Man Who Made the Majority Visible
- Dominic Cummings: A Biography
- Steve Lopez: The Last City Columnist
- California Historian Kevin Starr
- Stephen Kotkin: A Life in Power
- William T. Vollmann: An American Life in Excess
- Rod Dreher: A Life in Exile
BEST POSTS:
- * The Enlightenment Wasn’t Enlightened (6-23-26)
* Mr. Burge Draws The Line (6-23-26)
* 'Improving on Democracy' (6-17-26)
* People Leak To People Who Are Fun (6-11-26)
* Why Does Australia Produce So Many Great Journalists? (6-11-26)
* Steve Wynn and the Press: Power, Litigation, and the Contest Over Las Vegas (6-3-26)
* Sheldon Adelson and the Journalists (6-3-26)
* The Vigilant Animal: Thinkers Who Reject the Myth of Human Gullibility (6-2-26)
* The Cost of Refusing the Misunderstanding Myth (6-2-26)
* Show Me How It Travels (6-2-26)
* The Norm Explainers (6-2-26)
* Centering Marginalized Voices (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Washington Post put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What would it look like if the Financial Times put its reader first? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for the Los Angeles Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* What It Would Mean for The New York Times to Put the Reader First? (6-1-26)
* Why Wembanyama Lives on the Perimeter (5-31-26)
* The Emotional Palettes Of San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco & Sacramento (5-27-26)
* The Administrative Capital: Sacramento Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* San Diego - The Quiet Republic (5-27-26)
* The Quiet Bar: San Diego Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* SF v LA Legal Culture (5-27-26)
* Why Talent Travels Poorly Between San Francisco and Los Angeles (5-27-26)
* San Francisco and Los Angeles as Rival Models of Urban Access (5-27-26)
* Social Cliques in New York, 2026 (5-25-26)
* Social Cliques in San Francisco, 2026 (5-25-26)
* The Rival Courts of Washington (5-25-26)
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Tag Archives: rabbi yehuda
Are All Standard Gums Kosher?
Rabbi Yehuda Bukspan of Los Angeles has ruled that all standard gums are kosher. Marc B. Shapiro writes: “I wonder if R. Moshe would agree with R. Yitzhak Abadi that all the standard gums (Wrigleys, Trident, etc.) are kosher.” The … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut, Marc B. Shapiro, R. Yehuda Bukspan
Tagged animal fats, baseball glove, flavors, Kashrut, Marc B. Shapiro, rabbi yehuda
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Abuse At Yeshiva Of Spring Valley?
I first reported on this in 2008. A rabbi was fired after accusations he sexually abused second grade kids. Here’s a July 15, 2010 letter from Hylton I. Lightman, M.D., David Pelcovitz, Ph.D. and Melvin Sinowitz Ph.D. sent to the … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse
Tagged bais, collateral damage, monsey new york, orzel, rabbi yehuda, Yeshiva
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RCC Gives Kosher Supervision To Businesses Open On The Sabbath
One of the arguments that the RCC (Rabbinical Council of California) used against Rabbi Yehuda Bukspan was that he certified as kosher businesses operating on the Sabbath. This is perfectly legal by Jewish law, and the RCC today supervises businesses … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut, RCC
Tagged bishul akum, jewish holidays, kosher supervision, magnolia bakery, rabbi yehuda, rabbinical council of california, rabbs, wiggle room
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Jewish Journal Kashrut Investigation
I expect this will come out in a month. The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles has a kosher meals-on-wheels program. They started out under the supervision of the RCC. Then they dropped the RCC because they could not afford the … Continue reading
Posted in Jewish Federation, R. Nachum Sauer, RCC
Tagged jewish federation of los angeles, kosher meals, kosher meat, meals on wheels, meals on wheels program, rabbi yehuda
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Jewish Journal Preparing Blockbuster CA Kashrut Expose
This well-researched story should hit the stands in a month. I’ve done some independent research and the following story is about Schwarma Express in the San Fernando Valley. It is a kosher restaurant under the supervision of Rabbi Yehuda Bukspan … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut, R. Avraham Teichman, R. Yehuda Bukspan
Tagged jewish company, kehilla, kosher restaurant, rabbi avraham, rabbi yehuda, torah scholar
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Is The Purpose Of Religion To Aggrandize Yourself Or To Serve God?
That’s the question I think about when I look at Jewish Los Angeles. When the Orthodox Union puts its hashgacha (kosher certification) on toilet bowl cleanser and water, is that just for making money or is there a divine reason … Continue reading
Posted in Kashrut, Orthodoxy, R. David Rue, R. Gershon Bess, R. Yehuda Bukspan, RCC
Tagged halakhic questions, jewish los angeles, personal aggrandizement, rabbi yehuda, rabbinical council of california, toilet bowl cleanser, torah text
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Rabbi Gershon Bess Vs. Rabbi Yehuda Bukspan
In the mid 1980s, Rabbi Gershon Bess began moving on his plan to reinvigorate the RCC and make it the Beit Din in town. He began moving on his plan to overtake Rabbi Yehuda Bukspan for kashrut supremacy (certifying restaurants, … Continue reading
Posted in R. Avraham Teichman, R. Elazar Muskin, R. Gershon Bess, R. Yehuda Bukspan, R. Yosef Kanefsky, Rabbis, RCC
Tagged adin steinsaltz, lincoln square synagogue, rabbi adin steinsaltz, rabbi elazar, rabbi steinsaltz, rabbi yehuda
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Yehuda Bukspan – The LA Rabbi Worth Standing For
As I make my way around Jewish life, I notice Orthodox Jews jumping to their feet to honor speakers. I’ve even seen Orthodox Jews rise to their feet to honor a woman! And a TV writer! I’m not into rising … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, R. Yehuda Bukspan, Rabbis
Tagged independent thinker, kosher overseers associates, ner israel rabbinical college, orthodox jews, rabbi yehuda, rabbi yehudah
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‘A Sincere Question’
Rabbi Yehuda (YY) Rubinstein emails me June 5: Dear Mr Ford, I honestly want to pose you a question if I may. I watched the video of you sitting in the car the other day [LF: this video or this?] … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Personal, R. YY Rubinstein, Rabbis
Tagged conversion status, dear mr, honest question, jewish law, rabbi yehuda, rubinstein, sensitive nature
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