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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

Matisyahu performs in St. Louis at Atomic Cowboy in 2018. File photo: Bill Motchan

5 facts about Matisyahu, the Jewish singer coming to St. Louis in August

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished July 21, 2023

Jewish-American singer Matisyahu and G. Love & Special Sauce are pairing up for a series of 2023 summer tour dates that will include a stop here in St. Louis on Saturday, August 5 at The Factory in Chesterfield. Purchase tickets here. Who is Matisyahu? Matisyahu’s...

How the Book of Jonah got a St. Louis kid hooked on sharks

How the Book of Jonah got a St. Louis kid hooked on sharks

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished July 18, 2023

I remember the first time I was ever sent to the principal's office.  It happened during Sunday school at Congregation Temple Israel in the late 1970s. The lesson that Sunday was the story of Jonah. Long story short, Jonah disobeys G-d, hops a ship,...

SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland join protestors on strike in Los Angeles on July 14, 2023. Photo: Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

SAG strike puts its brash Jewish president, Fran Drescher, squarely in the spotlight

Jackie Hajdenberg, JTAPublished July 18, 2023

(JTA) — In the second season of “The Nanny,” the sitcom she wrote and starred in, Fran Drescher’s character, Fran Fine, refuses to enter a hotel where the busboys are striking. “I’m sorry, but the Fines don’t cross picket lines,” she...

Signage for Broadway's "Funny Girl," which begins its national tour in September. (Bruce Glikas/WireImage via Getty Images)

‘Funny Girl’ national tour casts non-Jewish actor as Fanny Brice, reigniting ‘Jewface’ criticism

JACKIE HAJDENBERG, JTAPublished July 18, 2023

(JTA) — The announcement this week that Katerina McCrimmon would star as Fanny Brice in the national tour of “Funny Girl,” the Broadway musical about a trailblazing Jewish comedian, has ignited criticism from some Jewish actors who say the role...

J. Robert Oppenheimer, left, at the Guest Lodge in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1946. (Ed Westcott/DOE Digital Archive Image); Lewis Strauss when he was Acting Secretary of Commerce, 1958-59. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce)

At the heart of the film ‘Oppenheimer’ is a clash between real-life Jews 

Andrew Silow-Carroll, JTAPublished July 16, 2023

(JTA) — In 1945 physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer was a national hero, hailed as the “father of the atomic bomb” and the man who ended World War II. Less than a decade later, he was a pariah, after the United States Atomic Energy Commission revoked...

Ben Platt and Molly Gordon in "Theater Camp." (Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)

Jewish camp alums cheer ‘Theater Camp,’ Ben Platt movie shot at former Kutz Camp

SHIRA LI BARTOV, JTAPublished July 14, 2023

(JTA) — In January, 25 alumni of the Union for Reform Judaism’s Kutz Camp gathered on their former campus. Although the historic summer camp known for fostering Reform leadership and leaving a mark on modern Jewish music had shuttered in 2019, the...

How St. Louis is giving proper recognition to indigenous arts

How St. Louis is giving proper recognition to indigenous arts

By Nancy Kranzberg, Special to the Jewish LightPublished July 13, 2023

I just returned from watching my grandson play lacrosse. Lacrosse is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. Indigenous describes any group of people native...

(Courtesy of Cindy Seni)

This ‘Jewish Matchmaking’ star just got engaged

Published July 13, 2023

A version of this article was published on Hey Alma. Light spoilers for “Jewish Matchmaking” ahead. For Cindy Seni, the idea of getting engaged was surreal. “You go to all these weddings, you hear about all these things, but it happens...

The Lesson. Courtesy Chaiflicks

‘The Lesson,’ a gripping Israeli drama, casts spotlight on thorny social issues straight from the headlines

BY ERIC BERGER, JTA NATIVE CONTENT TEAMPublished July 13, 2023

There are so many elements to unpack in the extraordinary Israeli drama “The Lesson” — which is based on a true story and won the best series award at the Cannes International Series Festival last year — that it’s hard to know where to begin. The...

Evening Barbie. Photo by Larry Torno.

See ‘Barbie’ like never before in new St. Louis exhibition before you see the movie

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished July 13, 2023

They are everywhere you look. Ken and Barbie, the most glamorous stars of the summer, are ready to make their big screen debuts in a buzzy live-action film to be released July 21st. The film has sparked renewed interest in the pop culture icons including...

Where to find some cool jazz on a hot weekend

Where to find some cool jazz on a hot weekend

Bill Motchan, Special To The Jewish LightPublished July 12, 2023

St. Louis will be a bit steamy this weekend with temperatures hovering around 90°. Here’s an idea to beat the heat: cool jazz. The Brothers Lazaroff are kicking off their first Laz Jazz Fest on Saturday, July 15, at the Grandel Theater and the Dark...

Jonah Hill in "Moneyball." (Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group)

Jonah Hill’s therapy-speak exposes the dark side of the Nice Jewish Boy

By Mira Fox, The ForwardPublished July 11, 2023

Jonah Hill is being canceled. It feels sort of surprising; the actor and director has spent the past several years cultivating an image centered around self-work and self-care, talking publicly about issues such as anxiety, mental health and his struggles...

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