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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

Jewish Pop Culture

Meet Danielle Finn, the Modern Orthodox high schooler bringing her voice to ‘American Idol’

Meet Danielle Finn, the Modern Orthodox high schooler bringing her voice to ‘American Idol’

Published February 25, 2022

(JTA) — Could the next Jennifer Hudson or Kelly Clarkson be a senior at a Modern Orthodox high school in Los Angeles? If Danielle Finn has her way, that’s exactly what will happen starting Sunday night when she competes on the new season of “American...

10 reasons we love Friday in Israel

NAAMA BARAK, Israel21c.orgPublished February 24, 2022

While the rest of the world has Sunday to laze around, enjoy avocado on toast and do the weekend crossword, over here in Israel it is the start of the working week. Which would absolutely suck, were it not for the fact that we have our very own best...

Cody Palmer.

Jewish Jokes: Did you hear the one about the Jewish dog?

Published February 23, 2022

Today’s Jewish joke comes from David Margolis of Creve Couer. David will receive coupons for six free cookies from Hot Box Cookies. If you would like a cookie too, send me your joke.  jpalmer@stljewishlight.org. How Can You Tell If Your Dog is Jewish? If...

Dr. Richard Lazaroff is the author of "Some Assembly Required, A Guide to Savvy Parenting."

Safety vs. control remains the tightrope in raising modern children

DR. RICHARD LAZAROFFPublished February 23, 2022

As a pediatrician, I often was asked whether it is harder to raise children now than in the past. I think most people assume I quickly responded yes. Surely it seems like the times have never been more dangerous and complex: Social media and the pressure...

Noah Aronson

Jewish Song of the Week: ‘Come, Come, Wherever You Are’ by Noah Aronson

Published February 23, 2022

“Come, Come, Wherever You Are” by Noah Aronson (JKids Radio) “This song by Noah Aronson has a beautiful message of welcoming and inclusivity that I wanted to share with y’all for Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month. The lyrics are...

All you need is love, especially for teachers, students

All you need is love, especially for teachers, students

DEBRA KLEVENSPublished February 23, 2022

It's funny how the world changes you and your community. Thirty-six months ago, I would have said media literacy or student press rights were the most significant issue facing scholastic journalism. However, in our new reality, the most critical...

Picture books for little kids link learning with Jewish ideals

Picture books for little kids link learning with Jewish ideals

ELLEN FUTTERMAN, Editor-in-ChiefPublished February 23, 2022

They say necessity is the mother of invention. Boy, was that ever the case for St. Louis native Sarah Hirsch Maddali. After she and her husband had two children, now ages 3 and 6, Maddali grew frustrated that she couldn’t find age-appropriate...

The Satmar Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel has been the subject of two FBI raids in two months, lending to a sense of siege in the insular community. (Uriel Heilman)

This Hasidic village is paving the way for a ‘white, Christian, conservative’ America

Joshua Shanes, The ForwardPublished February 22, 2022

This story was originally published on Feb. 22 by the Forward. Sign up here to get the latest stories from the Forward delivered to you each morning. American Shtetl Years ago, friends of mine visited the Satmar village of Kiryas Joel, established...

From Chihuly to chemicals, Faith Berger's second act is about the art of science

From Chihuly to chemicals, Faith Berger’s second act is about the art of science

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished February 22, 2022

When we began our "Second Acts" series we thought the stories would be about people who found a new calling for themselves after a successful career. Until now, that has included people who retired from arguably high stress, high power positions to a...

Nikki Rauner of Emotional Health Therapy

Pandemic has brought renewed focus on mental health, local therapist says

JORDAN PALMER, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished February 22, 2022

To get a better understanding of the issues mental health professionals have been seeing as the pandemic continues, the Jewish Light sat down with licensed social worker Nikki Rauner from Emotional Health Therapy in Clayton to ask her some questions. As...

Doval’e Glickman as Yehuda and Shlomo Bar-Aba as Dov in the Israeli comedy Greener Pastures. Courtesy of Israeli Films

Rebellious retiree not ready to be put out to pasture in Israeli comedy

CATE MARQUIS, Special to the Jewish LightPublished February 22, 2022

In the delightfully funny Israeli comedy "Greener Pastures," a retiree named Dov (Shlomo Bar-Aba) feels like he has been put out to pasture, and not a greener one. The widower grandpa in his 70s is dismayed that his daughter, who lives out of town, has...

The 2022 Jewish Film Festival includes (clockwise from top left): ‘Blue Box,’ ‘Tango Shalom,’ ‘Plan A’ and ‘Not Going Quietly.’

St. Louis Jewish Film Festival returns

Cate Marquis, Special For The Jewish LightPublished February 21, 2022

The annual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival shifts to a new season, returning March 6 -13 with an exciting lineup of films, including documentaries on an array of subjects plus comedy and drama narrative films. The 27th annual festival, which will be...

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