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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)
* The City of Private Rooms (5-25-26)
Tag Archives: traditional judaism
This Week’s Torah Portion – Parashat Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4-36:43)
I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs Mondays at 7:00 pm PST on the Rabbi Rabbs cam and on YouTube. Facebook Fan Page. This week we study Parashat Vayishlach (Genesis 32:4-36:43). Rabbi Rabbs emails: Here is the link to … Continue reading
Posted in Torah
Tagged rabbi berel wein, rabbi wein, rabbs, torah life, traditional judaism, weekly torah portion
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Women’s Prayer Groups Are Passe
In a 2010 lecture on R. Joseph Messas and R. Avraham Shapiro, Marc B. Shapiro (no relation) says that the Sephardim have always had a positive view of the return to Israel. Sephardim have never been anti-Zionist. Rav Messas wrote … Continue reading
Posted in Feminism, Marc B. Shapiro, Modern Orthodox, Orthodoxy
Tagged Marc B. Shapiro, mechitza, prayer groups, rabbi avi weiss, sefer torah, traditional judaism, upper west side
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Making God Look Bad To The World
In his fifth lecture on Rabbi Joseph Elijah Henkin (the leading posek in America during the 1940s and 1950s) for Torah in Motion, Rabbi Marc B. Shapiro says: Rav Henkin says Jews must be careful about how they speak about … Continue reading
Posted in Blogging, Hasidim, Marc B. Shapiro
Tagged David Kelsey, haredi world, Marc B. Shapiro, noahide laws, orthodox jews, orthodox world, pearl gluck, rabbi joseph, torah in motion, traditional judaism
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Jewish News
From Hirhurim: R. Alan Yuter defends Post-Orthodoxy on the Union for Traditional Judaism website: link R. Michael J. Broyde and R. Shlomo Brody: Homosexuality and Halacha: link Video on Rav Kook: link Christie seeks to repeal Bergen County blue laws: … Continue reading
Posted in Hirhurim
Tagged boro park, calendar change, Hirhurim, iphones, michael j broyde, traditional judaism
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Will My Beard Hurt My Job Prospects?
Most of the people close to me hate my beard. They say it will hurt my job prospects. That people don’t like beards. I know there are jobs that require a person to be clean-shaven, but I am not so … Continue reading
Posted in Orthodoxy, Personal
Tagged ethics of judaism, fair dinkum, jewish practices, normative judaism, orthodox judaism, rusty razor, traditional judaism, transcendent values, tzitzit, Yarmulke
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Rabbi Leib Tropper – A Talent For Scandal
From Wikipedia: In 2004, Trooper was the main force behind the ban of Rabbi Nathan Slifkin‘s books. Rabbi Slifkin explores in his books conflicts and resolutions between traditional Judaism and modern science. [3] In 2006, Tropper revoked the conversion of … Continue reading
Posted in R. Leib Tropper
Tagged jerusalem hotel, letter 6, orthodox rabbi, rabbi nathan, slifkin, traditional judaism
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The Thing I Love Best About Orthodox Judaism Is How Its Makes You Feel
If you are a normal human being who adopts Orthodox Judaism, you’ll soon feel better about yourself. Practice Orthodox Judaism and you’ll walk around with a swagger. You’ll know who you are. You’ll never proclaim you’re a proud Jew. You’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Conservative Judaism, Orthodoxy, Personal, Reform Judaism
Tagged confusing place, newfangled, orthodox jews, orthodox judaism, secular society, traditional judaism
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Union for Traditional Judaism Holds Conference On Child Abuse
Here’s the press release: Reports are on the rise concerning incest and child abuse in yeshivas and days schools. Many deny it’s a problem. We strongly disagree. The Union for Traditional Judaism (UTJ) is hosting a special “awareness” program featuring … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Dating, Marc Gafni, Orthodoxy, Sex
Tagged civil lawsuits, Gafni, rabbi joseph telushkin, sexual predator, traditional judaism, utj, YCT
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Founder Of Aish HaTorah Dies
Aish HaTorah is the most significant outreach organization for Orthodox Judaism (along with Chabad). They are a machine. They bring people in, they love them, and they help them rebuild their lives in the light of the Torah. And this … Continue reading
Posted in Aish HaTorah
Tagged Aish HaTorah, jewish travelers, orthodox judaism, rabbi noah weinberg, torah education, traditional judaism
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Joel Schwartz Dies
He was a doctor. He collapsed and died at his daughter’s wedding Sunday. He was buried Monday. He was a regular at Aish HaTorah for many years. He opened his home to dozens of visitors including myself.. About a year … Continue reading
Posted in Los Angeles
Tagged Aish HaTorah, harlan, joel schwartz, la brea, traditional judaism
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