(JTA) — A trailblazing children’s book by a Jewish author is the most checked-out book of all time at the New York Public Library.“The Snowy Day” by writer and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats has been checked out of the library 485,583 times, according...
(JTA) — The 2020 Oscar nominations are out, and unsurprisingly, they’re already causing a firestorm on social media.The list, announced early Monday morning, didn’t do much to quell longstanding concerns that the awards have issues with race and...
By Ellen Futterman, Editor
• Published January 9, 2020
If you’re in need of an antidote for the winter blues, why not head to a concert or the theater or a museum? Rather than hibernate and binge watch still another Netflix series, go on and brave the elements to hear Ravel’s “Bolero” performed by...
By Robert A. Cohn, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published January 9, 2020
“How odd of God to choose the Jews”— William Norman Ewer, British humorist, 1914 So what makes you Jews so damn smart? That is a question asked through the centuries by people who admire the Jews as well as by anti-Semites. British historian...
By Ellen Futterman, Editor
• Published January 9, 2020
The second annual challah bake fundraiser forSpread Ari’s Light Foundation will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30 at Congregation Shaare Emeth.Eleven-year-old Arianna Dougan, better known as Ari, died in November 2017 from neuroblastoma,...
By Ellen Futterman, Editor
• Published January 9, 2020
When the popular PBS program “Antiques Roadshow” came to St. Louis in 2018, a local woman showed up with a bronze statue that appeared to be of Far East origin, which she had purchased 20 years ago at a garage sale for $100.The appraiser for the show...
By Ellen Futterman, Editor
• Published January 9, 2020
A friend recently emailed me the accompanying picture to see if I noticed anything unusual in the pattern of these socks. I quickly spotted what looks like swastikas among the geometric designs.A five-pack of the socks, made by Loritta, sell for $7.99...
By Ellen Futterman, Editor
• Published January 2, 2020
Eric Williams is heading to St. Louis this month with a lot of baggage in tow. Let’s see, there’s the baggage of growing up in a Jewish household in Ladue, the baggage of celebrating his bar mitzvah at B’nai Amoona next to his twin brother and the...
Performance art is usually multi-disciplinary. It can include dance, music, visual arts, poetry or the spoken work, drama and more. Lately, I’ve noticed how the visual arts and sound are often combined.Just recently, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, as...
BY ERIC BERGER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
• Published January 2, 2020
While circus arts are generally on the descent — the company that owns the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closed in 2017 after 146 years — St. Louis resident Elliana Grace is trying to ensure that performers continue to ascend high...
BY NATE SILVER, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHT
• Published January 2, 2020
Golden Globes guide for the tribe The 2020 Golden Globe awards will air on NBC at 7 p.m. Jan. 5. This is a very good year for Jewish nominees. The very funny and very acerbic Ricky Gervais hosts. You may recall that when he hosted in 2016, Gervais skewered...
BY RYAN SILVER, SOPHOMORE, LADUE HORTON WATKINS HIGH SCHOOL
• Published December 27, 2019
For many teens, the holiday season is a time of gratitude and giving. It’s also a chance to spend more time with family and friends, as well as to enjoy themselves. For Jewish teens, the holiday season often means celebrating Hanukkah, which takes...
