Now that summer is upon us, it’s time to get ready for what is commonly considered the best holiday on the Jewish calendar: Shavuot. Coming seven weeks after Passover (Shavuot means “weeks” in Hebrew), Shavuot begins this year at nightfall on June...

Who hasn’t heard a friend claiming that being a grandparent is better than being a parent? You get to play with the child but can give them back when you want. Is it really that simple? Aren’t there “rules” that grandparents ought to abide by? Let’s...

‘Tis the season of caps and gowns, pomp and circumstance, diplomas and celebrations — it’s graduation time! My kids are a few years away from this milestone. Some of my friends’ kids are finishing high school and college, giving me a preview of...

On Friday, May 20, Gail Lang did something she had waited to do for 50 years — walk at her college graduation ceremony. There she was, replete in cap and gown, at the age of 71, walking with roughly 50 members of Washington University’s Class of...

Every Monday night the Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School hosts a dance party in the gym. The participants, who range from teenagers to octogenarians, learn and practice the art of Israeli folk dancing. The St. Louis Israeli Folk Dance...

After Russian shelling intensified last month and a rocket exploded close to the Zhytomyr home of Nina, 76, she fled for Ukraine’s Polish border. When she arrived several days later after a long trip by car with other Zhytomyr residents, Nina was experiencing...

It’s likely not at the top of your mind, but I didn’t have a column in this paper for the past couple of issues. Did you miss me? Is it true that absence makes the heart grow fonder?  I love to say that abstinence makes the heart grow fonder,...

May is "Mental Health Month" and the goal of many organizations in St. Louis and around the nation is to raise awareness of trauma and the impact it can have on the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of children, families, and communities. Mental...

I learned long ago that many of the best story ideas come from readers. So when someone calls or stops me to say, “Hey, I’ve got a good story for the Light,” I listen. Sure, some stories don’t pan out or live up to the hype, but the flip side...

Now that we’re in our 70s and even 60s, fewer of us have parents, other relatives and even friends alive. But some of us do, and we’ve learned that life alone in your 80s and certainly 90s and then past 100 can be tough on anyone, as well as on sandwiched...

A few days before Passover, a half dozen people gathered to learn an important skill: how to make stuffed dates and other delicious holiday dishes. It was one of the first meetings of Jewish Senior Connection, now back for a second year. April 2021,...