The Very First Jewish Blog

These days, it’s very easy for an individual to publish his or her opinions and comments about the Jewish community online – there is social media (Facebook, Substack, and others) … the Times of Israel blog … websites … and various methods and programs to distribute your content online to others.

However, it wasn’t always that way.

Almost twenty-five years ago — before Mark Zuckerburg dreamed up the idea of Facebook — Steven I. Weiss, who was the editor of Yeshiva University’s student newspaper, The Commentator, founded Protocols, which was the very first Jewish blog to appear in the online world.

It was an edgy, controversial group blog that offered critical and sometimes sarcastic views on Jewish communal life, Orthodox institutions, and broader Jewish cultural issues. Many of the contributors and those who posted comments used pseudonyms, which allowed for freer expression and candid critiques of established Orthodox institutions.  Although its irreverent tone was viewed by many people to be disrespectful and damaging, the blog developed a dedicated following and became a central hub for lively online debate.

Since it predated social media, it was one of the very few venues at the time for those who wanted to discuss important issues related to the Jewish community in an open forum.

Besides Weiss, some of the other early contributors to the Protocols blog were Avraham Bronstein, Judah Kraut, Pinchas Shapiro, and Sam Singer.  While much of Protocols was originally written under pseudonyms, several individuals eventually became known – either because they revealed themselves or because they were outed by others.

I was a frequent reader of the blog, and most of the time found it wildly entertaining. But it served a much more important purpose than gossip about the Orthodox community. It was not afraid to take on controversial issues, often through a sharp and snarky lens.  The blog regularly focused on administrative shakeups and power struggles at Orthodox Jewish institutions … abuse allegations … and tensions at Yeshiva University.  Many of the stories that were covered by Protocols were ones that Jewish institutions did not want to discuss.  And the blog was not shy about criticizing other Jewish media publications, such as The Jewish Week and The Forward.

In addition, since it was the first and most influential Jewish blog, Protocols often commented on the Jewish bloggers that followed, which created a kind of “digital beit midrash.”  If another Jewish blogger posted something controversial, Protocols often would discuss it, amplify it, or sometimes make fun of it.

Not all the posts were edgy and controversial … some were simply more humorous and satirical.  Protocols made fun of Orthodox Jewish dating, shul politics, and kosher restaurants, among other subjects.

However, it was the blog’s fearless investigative coverage that really put it on the Jewish map.  For example, Protocols spilled much online ink discussing the sexual abuse allegations against Rabbi Eliezer Eisgrau, a prominent rabbi in the Baltimore Orthodox community. The blog demonstrated how local media, particularly The Baltimore Jewish Times, caved into local community pressure, which led to shelving any investigation of the story.  Protocols allowed an outlet for voices who felt they were being silenced, and the blog brought attention to how abuse allegations were being dealt with in the Orthodox community.

It also discussed Sholom Rubashkin and the Agri-Processors scandal … the Mordechai Tendler controversy … the transfer of power at Yeshiva University from Rabbi Norman Lamm to Ricard Joel … and many other Jewish stories of the day.  It would not be unusual for several hundred comments to be posted by readers for a popular post that appeared on the Protocols blog.

Two of the more famous people who sometimes commented on the Protocols blog were Gil Student, the voice behind Hirhurim (now Torah Musings), a more serious Torah-centered Orthodox Jewish blog, and Shmarya Rosenberg, who later became famous for the Failed Messiah blog, an online watchdog that focused on misconduct in the Orthodox world.  Of course, there were several prominent Orthodox rabbis who posted anonymously, with handles like “RabbiX” or “Yeshiva Lurker.”  I often wondered who those rabbis were!

I had the opportunity to speak with Rabbi Avraham Bronstein, the spiritual leader of the Hampton Synagogue and one of the early contributors to the Protocols blog, about his memories and recollections of those early years.

“Personally, contributing to Protocols taught me a bit about writing for a public audience: how and how not to share strong opinions and respond to criticism, and how and how not to present myself in public,” said Bronstein.  “It made me realize that I enjoy being part of the public conversation and that I have things to say that others sometimes find resonant … and that is something I have taken with me into my professional career. I don’t know what the impact of the blog itself was, but I do know that for many people it was part of their regular online consumption for a good few years.”

In its final year in 2004, the blog was turned over to Luke Ford, a controversial decision among readers in that Ford had managed a porn site for several years before directing the editorial material at Protocols. The blog lasted for another five months before ending its existence. Most of the original posts, if not all, are archived on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine site. The comments, sadly, seem to have been lost to history, which is a shame.

Protocols certainly played a role in shaping early Jewish online discourse, influencing many of its successors in the Jewish blogosphere.​ It encouraged debate and discussion on various aspects of Jewish life, from religious practices to cultural trends. By linking to and commenting on other Jewish blogs, Protocols helped create a dynamic and spirited online community.  Almost a quarter century after its founding, it will be remembered fondly.