August 2, 2007 | 2:07 pm

Is Luke Ford good for the Jews?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Loyal readers are familiar with the name Luke Ford. He is an LA blogger who writes about kinky porn, Orthodox Judaism and sinful politicians. But Luke is a contentious figure in the Jewish community, of which he is a convert into, and is both loved and loathed by people in the porn industry.

“Ford is an interesting cat—a nice guy and a snake, all at the same time,” a friend told me.

Of late, Luke has been receiving quite a bit more attention. He was the one who first reported that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had stopped wearing his wedding rings, that the nuptials were failing. And in June his reporting was vindicated.

Luke is a complex character, a man of many layers, and I set out last week to profile him for the cover of this week’s Jewish Journal. I spent six hours with him—eating together, praying together—and tomorrow I’ll put some of the audio online. Here’s a snippet from the print story:

His techniques were unorthodox, and not simply because he kept kosher and Shabbat while profiting from pornography. Trading in rumor and innuendo, lawsuits became part of the gig because he was willing to publish one-source stories and anonymous accusations as fact.

“There are three reasons why people come into the adult industry and two of them are wrong. The first is sex, which is mechanical, and the second is money, which is incidental. The primary reason is for the glory, and Luke has made himself glorious,” said Bill “Papa Bear” Margold, once dubbed “the renaissance man of porn” by Playboy. “He is the first site you go to see what is going on. Even if he doesn’t know what is going on, you go there to see that he doesn’t know what is going on.”

But his notoriety as an adult-industry blogger complicated Ford’s search for a spiritual home in Los Angeles’ Orthodox community. The first shul to give him the boot was Aish HaTorah in 1995 for being too antagonistic and again in 1998 when Rabbi Moshe Cohen discovered Ford’s double life as a porn journalist.

“He was one of the Torah weirdos,” said Rabbi Aryeh Markman, the shul’s executive director. “You get all sorts of people showing up in shul and we bust them. ‘I’m happy you’re looking for a place to daven. But this isn’t one of them.’ And you throw them out. ... The antithesis of Torah is porn.”

(skip)

He lives in a guesthouse occupying half a converted garage. In a narrow room smaller than a college dorm, a few blankets—Ford’s bed—lay on the ground between his desk and the bathroom door, against which two white pillows rest. A bookshelf is lined with Judaica items and books on the Talmud, Jewish history and English literature; most of the books he reads come from the library.

There is a fridge and microwave; cassette tapes of recorded phone conversations are piled on the floor, a smorgasbord of bottled vitamins and medication cover a white dresser with gilded accents. “The Hovel,” as Ford endearingly refers to it, feels dank and smells worse, but for $600 a month, it’s home.

Ford posts the story, slips into the bathroom to wash his hands, then locks up and begins the half-mile schlep to shul.

“This is a good place,” an elderly man says to a teenage boy as Ford reads a Talmud commentary before a minyan has arrived. “You’re welcome here. You can come in the morning; you can come in the evening. You will feel good here.”

Certainly, that is true for Ford. This is the place that gives his life structure and purpose and stability. This is the only shul that’s let him continue davening there after discovering the depraved world within which he works. Judaism is not about a personal relationship with God, and without an accepting community there is no religious observance. For a convert like Ford, there is no Jewish identity absent Judaism.

“Orthodox Judaism in general, not just going to shul, gives me much needed structure,” Ford says after the service ended. “I have no core. I’m way too flexible on the things I do. This gives me some structure, and it’s important for me to bounce off the same people everyday…. It gives my life meaning, it gives my life rhythm, it gives my day a beginning and end. And it reminds me that there is a God.”

He returns home and hops in his van—a distinctly dented and rusted old GTE work van—and heads out to the Valley. He’s got a porn party to infiltrate.

August 1, 2007 | 10:39 pm

Luke will be back ...

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The Luke Ford post has been taken down temporarily. It will be reposted Thursday afternoon, when The Jewish Journal cover story on Ford goes live. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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August 1, 2007 | 4:52 pm

Luke is getting anxious

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Luke Ford can’t wait to see himself on the cover of The Jewish Journal tomorrow. Ford is the controversial LA blogger who writes about everything from porn to politics to Orthodox Judaism. Here’s what he says on a post with the headline: “I’m Having A Hard Time Leaving The House Today.”

I don’t want to die before I see myself tomorrow on the cover of the Jewish Journal. I don’t want, before my time, to get hit by a car or shot in a drive-by or raped by a group of urban parolees. I have so much that I want to give to the world. I want to learn to love others and myself.

I spent about six hours with Ford last Thursday for this story. I ate with him; I prayed with him; I got way more material then I could ever fit into the paper. Tomorrow I’ll drop on The God Blog some of the good quotes that didn’t make it into print.

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August 1, 2007 | 4:42 pm

When God speaks, don’t check your e-mail

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

So that’s what people are always doing in church when I see them staring at their Blackberrys while the worship band plays or the pastor preaches. Not that we didn’t already know this, but a new study confirms it: About 12 percent of Americans check e-mail on wireless devices while at church (and another 12 percent and this is not sanitary folks—while using the can).

(Illustration: Sun-Times)

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August 1, 2007 | 12:15 pm

Clinton soon to be a Jew?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

That would be Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton and hopeful-future President Hillary Clinton. Her boyfriend, Marc Mezvinsky (son of former Congressman Edward Mezvinsky), is Jewish, and she recently visited his parents’ home for Shabbat dinner.

The retreat was mentioned in a New York Times profile of Chelsea that asked whether she is ready for first-daughter round two:

Ms. Clinton and Mr. Mezvinsky seem serious about a future together, according to friends, some of whom wonder about a White House wedding in the event of a Clinton electoral victory. Their bond is apparent; friends say at parties and other events, the couple are cuddly and affectionate. Ms. Clinton recently attended Sabbath dinner at the home of Ms. Amini’s parents with the hope of learning more about Judaism, Mr. Mezvinsky’s faith. (Ms. Clinton is a Christmas-cookie-baking, churchgoing Methodist.)

Who wants to place odds that the Baptist president’s daughter converts to Judaism?

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August 1, 2007 | 9:50 am

‘Harry Potter’ a ‘Zionist conspiracy’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Of course. We should have known it all along. Harry Potter isn’t Christian. He couldn’t be. The only explanation for his insane popularity is that he’s part of a Zionist global conspiracy. Thanks, Iran for foiling this devious plot. From Israel National News:

Kayhahn, an Iranian publication closely affiliated with the ruling mullahs and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the Harry Potter series “a billion-dollar Zionist project.” The Potter books were designed by Zionist plotters, according to the Kayhahn editorial, to “disrupt young minds.” Khamenei had criticized Iran’s Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry for approving the distribution of the latest book in the Harry Potter series, which was released last weekend with much fanfare.

“The story,” notes DMN religion reporter Jeffrey Weiss, “also cites a Muslim cleric in Sudan who blames the genocide in Darfur on Jews.”

Well, duh.

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August 1, 2007 | 12:43 am

When in Jerusalem ...

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I’m heading to Israel next month for work, and will have two free days in Jerusalem (one of them being Shabbat). I certainly won’t have enough time to see everything, but anyone have suggestions for sites I should see or places I should eat?

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