I was wondering why the hit count jumped recently. It turns out that we’ve been linked from BangItOut.com – specifically the chords archive.¹
Rabbi Week will continue shortly…

1. Although they complain about the lack of Karduner chords, I’ve been trying to correct this problem for some time and hopefully it won’t be an issue.

It’s been slightly over a month since YUTOPIA moved from blogspot and we finally are the first website returned for “YUTOPIA.”
We’ve also returned the top link on Yahoo’s England search for “meaning of mendy in muslim religion.”
I am truly flattered.

As you can imagine, things are busier at U of C since I have to catch up on readings ignored because of the hagim. I spent most of my “blogging time” this week finalizing the move and rewriting the FAQ which is why I haven’t had any new postings in a while.
This Friday I will be on a panel at Hillel discussing “Egalitarian Liturgy: An Ethical Imperative?” (I wonder if I’ll have to start rating my performances based on the number of chairs thrown at me). Will b’n get a post on this one.
I’ve also been working on a post about the recent secular college brouhaha. Due to the sensitive nature of these topics, I’m trying to be thougtful, coherent, and at the same time not offend anyone. Ambitious, if not impossible.
Stay Tuned…

Updated on August 29th, 2006
First, let me welcome you to YUTOPIA – The Sometimes Updated Blog of Rabbi Josh Yuter. If you’re reading this entry, you’re probably looking for some more information about who I am and what I’m doing here.

As you might have guessed, my name is Joshua Yuter, and among other things, an ordained rabbi from Yeshiva University. After bouncing around for years, I’m currently landed in Washington Heights New York and employed as a computer programmer.

I started blogging primarily to improve my writing skills with minimal accountability. Meaning, I felt I needed a non-threatening public forum where I could speak my mind and not get villified. (yet). The short answer to my general hashkafa is is ashkenazi guf, non-kabbalistic sepharadi neshama. Long answer is…well, you’ll just have to come back here more often to figure that out, but in terms of halakha check out this series for starters. Of course you should read everything in the archives – not that it’s all gold, but some interesting things in there…somewhere.

The significance of the name YUTOPIA is often misattributed to my connections with Yeshiva University (YU). This is a reasonable guess considering I spent 7 years there, but I’ve moved on some time ago. Really, YUTOPIA is based off of my last name. The name first came to me way back when I was tinkering with RedHat Linux and needed a domain name. As with most things in college, it seemed clever at the time.

Initially, YUTOPIA was running on Blogger, but thanks to Shaya Potter’s uprgading of YUCS it was time to move on. At the time of the move, YUTOPIA had over 4,000 hits – mostly thanks to Protocols R.I.P.) – and a few other very odd poogle links. On October 20, 2003, YUTOPIA moved to YUCS where it has remained since. Since that time we’ve gone through a few redesigns and some other improvements.

YUTOPIA is a small sample of the many thoughts which run through my head on any given day. I may get intellectual, personal, or shticky. My general attitude has been that there is a lot of stupidity on the internet and I don’t really need to add to that. However, I usually bring a unique perspective on things which some people find interesting. I realize not everyone will agree with everything on here, if they leave here thinking a little more than they did previously, I’m happy.

So that’s the scoop. Take a look around, stay as long as you like, and feel free to comment – we’ve had some great flame-free discussions in the past, e-mail or IM anytime.
Enjoy!