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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

Mark Margolis at the movie premiere of “Noah” at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City in 2014. Credit: Kristin Callahan via Wikimedia Commons.

Celebrated character actor Mark Margolis dies at 83

Published August 14, 2023
Most recently bringing to life the unforgettable crime boss Hector Salamanga in 22 episodes of “Better Call Saul” and eight episodes of its predecessor “Breaking Bad,” Jewish actor Mark Margolis has died at the age of 83.
Ben Kingsley participates in a Q&A after a screening of "Dalíland" at Landmark's Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles, June 10, 2023.

Actor Ben Kingsley reveals why he stars in so many Holocaust films

Published August 14, 2023

(JTA) — From “Schindler’s List” to “The Red Sea Diving Resort,” the non-Jewish, award-winning actor Ben Kingsley has starred in a number of Holocaust and other Jewish-themed movies. The recurring theme in his career wasn’t an accident,...

New Jewish Theatre will revisit Neill Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” for the opening of its 2022 season. Above: A photo of the cast of NJT’s 2010 production of the play. (John Lamb)

How to celebrate 25 years of The New Jewish Theatre!

Published August 14, 2023

The New Jewish Theatre invites the community to celebrate its 25th season of telling universal stories through the lens of the Jewish experience. On Sept. 10 from 4:30-6 p.m., the public is invited to join New Jewish Theatre leaders and actors at the...

David Eldar, right, during the 2023 Scrabble championship tournament. He defeated Harshan Lamabadusuriya, left, to win the tournament.

The Jewish world champion of Scrabble shares his secrets on how to win the game

By Beth Harpaz, The ForwardPublished August 13, 2023

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. Using words like zep and fyce, an Australian Jew named David Eldar became the world Scrabble champion last month in Las...

Left to right: Anders Nils, Stephen Cadieux, Allison Becker, Paul DeSilva.

Hometown songwriter gets a ‘Hora Do-Over’ in first music video

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished August 11, 2023

Feb. 28, 2004, began wonderfully as Allison Becker read flawlessly from the Torah during her bat mitzvah ceremony at Congregation Shaare Emeth. But by night's end, Becker's eyes were filled with tears. "We forgot to dance the Hora," remembered Becker....

(Getty Images/Screenshot from YouTube; Collage by Mollie Suss)

How Jews have helped shape the first 50 years of hip-hop

Andrew Esensten, JTAPublished August 11, 2023

(JTA) — Since the birth of hip-hop 50 years ago, plenty of Jewish rappers have picked up a microphone and rocked a crowd. They’ve spit rhymes in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, even Aramaic. Collectively, they’ve shattered stereotypes about what Jews...

Rick Rubin, left, with Russell Simmons in 1997.

From Rick Rubin to Doja Cat, Jews have helped shape the first 50 years of hip-hop

Andrew Esensten, JTAPublished August 11, 2023

(JTA) — Like many parents, Mickey and Linda Rubin indulged their only child Ricky’s various hobbies — magic, photography, music — while he was growing up in the 1970s on Long Island. Ultimately, they hoped he would set his artistic interests aside...

Corenswet poses with Rabbi Edward Cohn at his wedding rehearsal dinner at Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church in New Orleans. (Courtesy of Cohn)

David Corenswet, the next Superman, was married by a rabbi and a priest

Gabe Friedman, JTAPublished August 9, 2023

(JTA) — When David Corenswet was announced as the next Marvel Superman last month, Jewish movie and comic fans rejoiced: He will be the first Jewish actor to portray the hero in a blockbuster. But one Jewish community in New Orleans has been particularly...

Author William Peter Blatty, left, and director William Friedkin pose on the "Exorcist" steps, the outdoor staircase in Washington's Georgetown enclave made famous by the movie.

How William Friedkin, a Jewish kid from Chicago, made us fear the Catholic devil

PJ GrisarPublished August 7, 2023

William Friedkin, the Jewish hand behind one of the most famous explorations of Christian evil, The Exorcist, has died at the age of 87.  Born in Chicago on August 29, 1935 to Jewish refugees from Ukraine, Friedkin was raised in an observant kosher...

Author Elizabeth Graver tells the story of her mother's Turkish Jewish family, above, in her novel “Kantika.” Her grandmother, Rebecca Baruch, who inspired the novel's main character, is seated front row, fourth from right. (Courtesy of the author)

A novel of Sephardic life revives the Jewish family saga

Andrew Silow-Carroll, JTAPublished August 6, 2023

(JTA) — The very first Jewish book was a multigenerational Jewish family saga. But while the Bible went on to achieve some commercial and critical success, the genre doesn’t always get much love. Consider the big best-selling books of the last...

A cast image from the Discovery/Max reality show "Survive the Raft." The series premiered July 30, 2023. (Courtesy of Warner Brothers Discovery)

​​New Discovery/Max reality show ‘Survive the Raft’ features a Messianic ‘rabbi’ who says ‘I’m Jewish, too’

Published August 4, 2023

Aug. 7: 2023: This story has been updated with comment from Jonathan Dade. (JTA) – Even amid the motley crew with whom he is trying to survive at sea, Jonathan Dade’s introduction as a reality TV contestant makes a splash. “As a Black rabbi...

The Israeli circus troupe "Bomba" performs on NBC's "America's Got Talent." (Screenshot from YouTube)

Israeli circus troupe brings laughs — but no clothes — to NBC’s ‘America’s Got Talent’

Jacob Gurvis, JTAPublished August 4, 2023

(JTA) — Anyone who has visited an Israeli beach is likely familiar with the popular beach paddle game known as matkot. For millions of TV viewers and a live audience of 1,400 at NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” a trio of Israeli performers who...

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