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A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

A nonprofit, independent news source to inform, inspire, educate and connect the St. Louis Jewish community.

St. Louis Jewish Light

Ultimate Guide to the 2024 St. Charles Jewish Festival

Ultimate Guide to the 2024 St. Charles Jewish Festival

Published August 25, 2024

The St. Charles Jewish Festival returns this month to celebrate Jewish life and culture in a new venue. On Sunday, Aug. 25, the festival will run from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Lewis & Clark Boat House parking lot located at 1050 S. Riverside Drive...

Meet Allie Chervitz: The new behavior pro transforming young lives

Meet Allie Chervitz: The new behavior pro transforming young lives

Published August 22, 2024

Allie Chervitz is a new registered behavior technician at Autism Learning Collaborative (ALC). She implements individualized behavior plan, records and tracks data on learning and behavior targets, and enhances social and communication skills for her...

An illustration of Moses with the Ten Commandments by William A. Foster, 1891. Photo: public domain

Yes, we can be difficult, but that’s not always a bad thing

Rabbi Yossy Goldman, (JNS)Published August 21, 2024

We Jews have been called lots of things. Some of the less offensive appellations are “stubborn” and “obstinate.” Yes, we can be stubborn, obstinate or davka. Call it what you like. But, curiously, not all the rabbis see stubbornness as a fault. In...

Kamala Harris and Douglas Emhoff pose near the Western Wall, Jerusalem, November 2017. (Halie Soifer)

Emhoff says Harris, who isn’t Jewish, connects him to his faith

The JNS StaffPublished August 21, 2024

Doug Emhoff told attendees of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday that his non-Jewish wife U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris helps him connect with his Jewish faith. “She comes to synagogue with me for High Holiday services, and...

Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane

Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane harmonize in ‘Between the Temples’

Cate Marquis, Special To The Jewish LightPublished August 21, 2024

Jason Schwartzman plays a cantor in upstate New York who has lost his voice, his wife and maybe even his faith but whose life is changed after reconnecting with his grade-school music teacher, played by Carol Kane, who inspired him to become a cantor,...

Is a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict inevitable?

Is a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict inevitable?

Marty RochesterPublished August 21, 2024

When thinking of the possibility of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, something that invites skepticism among many Jews and others, I am reminded of an old saying: “On the eve of most revolutions, they are thought to be unimaginable; on the morning...

People protest for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza, outside the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv. Oct. 15, 2023.

Oct. 7 changed the world in ways we never saw coming

By Stacey NewmanPublished August 21, 2024

The office has been cleaned out, campaign photos and signs stripped from the walls, and goodbye hugs given to college interns and staff. Just a few weeks ago, St. Louis Democratic primary voters chose a new candidate, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley...

This Torah portion reveals the one command that can transform society

This Torah portion reveals the one command that can transform society

By Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh, Temple EmanuelPublished August 21, 2024

Author Elie Wiesel tells the story of the one righteous man of Sodom, who walked the streets protesting the injustices of his city. People made fun of him, derided him. Finally, a young person asked:  “Why do you continue your protest against evil;...

Ekev’s secret: why even the smallest acts have cosmic significance

Ekev’s secret: why even the smallest acts have cosmic significance

Rabbi James Stone Goodman, Central Reform CongregationPublished August 21, 2024

Ekev also signifies “heel.” Every generation is a heel generation, in the sense that everything previous has contributed to everything we do, all previous actsrest on the heel of the present, and so every act, every word, every gesture, every mitzvah,...

Chelsea Freels

Transgender activist embraces Judaism amidst legislative challenges

BY MOLLY LEVINE, JEWISH LIGHT SUMMER INTERNPublished August 21, 2024

A year ago, Missouri lawmakers passed legislation banning gender-affirming care for kids. LGBTQIA+ activist Chelsea Freels was one of many young St. Louisans impacted by the legislation. Freels, 18, a recent graduate of Clayton High School and member...

The 2024 Unsung Heroes are (clockwise from top left) Rachel Sanger, Sharon Weissman, Barb and Rich Kramer, Wendy Flusser, Linda Sandmel, Ken Weintraub, Ellen Schapiro, Hillary Friedman, Ram Lakshmanan and Peggy Cohen Voss.

Meet the 2024 Unsung Heroes

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished August 21, 2024

Nine individuals and one married couple will be recognized as the 2024 Jewish Light Unsung Heroes on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. This year’s 15th annual event will take place at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum.  Unsung Heroes,...

Broadway hits and love songs await at new Show Stoppers' musical review

Broadway hits and love songs await at new Show Stoppers’ musical review

Published August 21, 2024

Show Stoppers of St. Louis, an all-volunteer, amateur cast of 40 singers and dancers, will debut its latest musical review Saturday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. This will be the first of four performances, the other three being Sunday, Aug. 25 at 2 p.m.; Saturday,...

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