Eli Sharabi spent 491 days in Hamas captivity, surviving the tunnels of Gaza only to return home to devastating news: his wife and daughters had been murdered on Oct. 7. His story of survival, grief and faith has already broken publishing records in...

When Jennifer Stempel sat down to write her new children’s book, she was searching for light in a dark time. “I wrote the story for this book shortly after Oct. 7, and took great comfort in working on a story about Jewish joy and continuity, at...

When Clare Kinberg discovered her estranged Aunt Rose’s death certificate in 2016, she unlocked a family story that had been hidden for generations. That discovery became “By the Waters of Paradise: An American Story of Racism and Rupture in a...

One afternoon while digging through the Jewish Light archives, I stumbled upon a name I didn’t recognize—Moses Mendelssohn—in a full-page story spread from 1979. What grabbed me wasn’t the name at first, but the opening line by columnist H.H....

Robert Colton’s book, “The Mitzvah of Repentance,” was recently released. It is about a prominent St. Louis family who feel themselves obligated to take in a Holocaust survivor shortly after World War II. Upon the refugee’s arrival, her...

The St. Louis Jewish Book Festival is changing the way it tells stories. Now in its 47th year, the Festival will no longer be confined to its traditional 10-day run. Instead, it is pivoting to a year-round format, offering audiences more chances...

Rabbi James Stone Goodman has long worked in the space where poetry, music and Torah meet. His new book "Black Fire White Fire" is the fullest expression yet of that calling — a complete Torah told in poetic verse, where one foot is rooted in text...

Those familiar with native St. Louisan Michael Kahn’s novels might be surprised to learn that his latest one, “The Gourmet Club,” does not include St. Louis lawyer and supersleuth Rachel Gold, save for a brief cameo. After all, 11 of the 14 books...

I’m going to be completely honest with you: I’m not a coffee table book kind of guy. I’ve also never really had a coffee table that would justify owning a coffee table book. I don’t live in the kind of home where decorative hardcover books are...

The St. Louis Jewish Community Center’s biannual Used Book Sale returns to the Staenberg Family Complex Arts & Education Building Sunday, Aug. 24 through Thursday, Aug. 28. Patrons can once again stock up on a new selection of used reading materials...

While listening to the incredible program that was last month's Yom HaShoah Holocaust Commemoration 2025 at Congregation Temple Israel, I thought I had heard all the stories one could hear about surviving the Holocaust. I was wrong. The featured...

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. When you think about Jewish contributions to the world of entertainment, your mind probably immediately goes to...