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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
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- * 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: rabbinical council of california
The Haredi Obsession With Bugs
Jonah Lowenfeld writes in this week’s Jewish Journal: The presence of even one whole bug, dead or alive, can render an entire vegetable treif — unkosher. On this matter, Orthodox rabbis are unequivocal. “From a Torah perspective, eating a Big … Continue reading
Posted in Haredi, Kashrut, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy, RCC
Tagged fruits and vegetables, kosher information bureau, orthodox rabbis, rabbi eliezer, rabbinical council of california, torah perspective
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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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Meir Kin Responds To Rabbinic Contempt Order
Meir Kin reponds to this: Dear Community: It is with a heavy heart that we stand today before Tisha B’Av and yet have not learned the lessons of the past. The Bais Hamikdosh was destroyed because of baseless hatred coupled … Continue reading
Posted in Divorce, Hershel Schachter, Meir Kin, RCC
Tagged dear community, divorce case, fellow jew, heavy heart, rabbinical council of california, scribd
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Order Of Contempt Issued Against Meir Kin
Meir Kin responds. From GETORA.org: To concerned members of the Jewish community: A seruv (order of contempt) was issued this week against Meir Kin. This is a very significant development in the case of Meir and Lonna Kin. We, at … Continue reading
Posted in Divorce, Meir Kin, RCC
Tagged 10th wedding anniversary, chief rabbinate, countless attempts, lonna, rabbinical council of america, rabbinical council of california
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Widow To Get Torahs Back
Background on this dispute. Jeff emails: Luke: Last April, you blogged about the Mishan Israel/Pauker fight over the Torahs. Just as an FYI, the RCC Bet Din heard the case again and issued a second ruling in Pauker’s favor, demanding … Continue reading
Posted in R. Samuel Ohana, RCC
Tagged bet, civil judgment, fyi, israel congregation, ohana, pauker, rabbinical council of california, torah scroll, torah scrolls
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Converting The Mentally Ill
Orthodox Jews don’t look for converts among non-Jews. They typically turn away three times Gentiles seeking conversion and then only convert them after they have proved themselves. Now what happens if the convert is sincere but mentally ill? Different Batei … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, Personal, R. Avrohom Union, R. David Rue
Tagged chronic fatigue syndrome, conversion applications, head rabbi, jewish conversion, masters degree in psychology, orthodox jewish community, rabbi abner weiss, rabbi david, rabbinical council of california
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Rabbi Avrohom Union – Gatekeeper
Rabbi Union runs the Rabbinical Council of California, which converts about 30 people a year. He has the power to stop a potential conversions. He’s rejected hundreds of people from the program over the years. Many of them, including myself … Continue reading
Posted in Conversion, R. Avrohom Union, RCC
Tagged classical mythology, gatekeeper, gatekeepers, rabbi akiba, rabbinical council of california, shape shifters
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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
I got a copy of City Spirit (a glossy bimonthly) thrown in with my groceries at Glatt Mart yesterday. Leafing through the articles, I paid particular attention to how the writers described themselves. Here’s Rabbi Gershon Bess‘s description — I … Continue reading
Posted in Eliyahu Safran, R. Gershon Bess, R. YY Rubinstein, RCC
Tagged city spirit, halachic authority, Kollel, Orthodox Union, rabbi eliyahu safran, rabbinical council of california
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