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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 History

How a mob hit at Rao’s restaurant changed a Jewish actress’s life

Published September 29, 2022

(New York Jewish Week) — On Dec. 22, 2003, a 20-something Jewish actress and singer named Rena Strober was doing what she did every Monday night: mingling with an A-list crowd at Rao’s, a notoriously exclusive Italian restaurant on East 114th Street....

Postcard with a family of four gathered around a table saying prayers wearing white garments. 

Courtesy of the Jewish Museum London

The hidden history of the Kittel

Leora Krygier, Jewish Women’s Archive, Special For The Jewish LightPublished September 29, 2022

Each year before the High Holidays, my grandmother washed and ironed my father and grandfather’s kittels, the plain, white, robe-like garments that men wear for Yom Kippur and the Passover seder. She didn’t trust the washer and dryer with...

What does Judaism actually say about forgiveness?

Adam B. Cohen, Arizona State University, Special For The Jewish LightPublished September 29, 2022

The Jewish High Holidays are fast approaching: Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. While the first really commemorates the creation of the world, Jews view both holidays as a chance to reflect on our shortcomings, make amends and seek forgiveness, both from...

This week in Israeli history: Sept. 29-Oct. 5

CENTER FOR ISRAEL EDUCATIONPublished September 29, 2022

September 29, 1947 — Arab Committee Rejects U.N. Partition Plan The Arab Higher Committee for Palestine formally rejects the U.N. Special Committee on Palestine’s partition plan, which calls for separate Jewish and Arab states and an international...

Mel Brooks drinking coffee photographed by Carl Reiner while the two were writers for Your Show of Shows, c. 1950-1954 in The Automat.
Photo courtesy of A Slice of Pie Productions

A brief history of coffee and Jews on National Coffee Day

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished September 28, 2022

Who doesn’t love their coffee in the morning? I know I do, which got me thinking, could there be a Jewish connection to the joe in my mug? The answer: there is and it's quite interesting. The rich history of coffee is traced back as early as the...

Is Rosh Hashanah a serious day or not?

Is Rosh Hashanah a serious day or not?

Mimi David, Special For The Jewish LightPublished September 22, 2022

Rosh Hashanah can seem confusing. On one hand, we know it is the Day of Judgment, a day on which the future of every human being and really of the entire world is discerned.   On the other hand, it is a day of celebration. We wear our nicest clothes,...

Babe Ruth in 1921. Photo: George Grantham Bain. Image from Library of Congress/Creative Commons

Babe Ruth and the Holocaust

By Rafael Medoff, JNS.orgPublished September 21, 2022

Babe Ruth is remembered for his home runs on the field and his hot dog binges and other peccadilloes off the field. But as the American public is about to discover, there was another Babe Ruth—one who went to bat for women and minorities, including...

This image was taken from Flickr's The Commons

Takeaways from Episode 2 of “The U.S. and the Holocaust”

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished September 21, 2022

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I'm now actually glad PBS put a one-day delay between Episodes 1 and 2 of Ken Burns’ “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” I needed a good day to process all that happened in the first two hours of the three-part, six-hour...

"The Americans and the Holocaust" traveling exhibition opens on Missouri S&T campus

“The Americans and the Holocaust” traveling exhibition opens on Missouri S&T campus

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished September 20, 2022

On the heels of the national release of Ken Burns’ documentary series “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” on PBS, a new traveling exhibit is opening near St. Louis that examines the same important questions about what the international community, including...

Guy Stern, a 100-year-old scholar of German literature

St. Louis war hero makes appearance in Ken Burns’ Holocaust documentary

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished September 20, 2022

In watching Episode 1 of Ken Burns' documentary series “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” on PBS, St. Louis viewers received a special treat. One of our own was prominently included in the documentary. At approximately 35 minutes in, we meet Gunther...

Takeaways from Episode 1 of “The U.S. and the Holocaust”

Takeaways from Episode 1 of “The U.S. and the Holocaust”

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished September 19, 2022

Within the first 10 minutes of Ken Burns' “The U.S. and the Holocaust” I knew that I was going to learn things I never knew. Part One starts with the U.S. government’s enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first time that admission...

ESPN documentary focuses on Holocaust and Munich massacre survivor Shaul Ladany

Published September 19, 2022

(JTA) — Frank Saraceno has worked for ESPN since 1994 and has produced hour-long documentaries on some of the biggest stars in sports for the cable channel’s Emmy Award-winning “E:60” series. But he thinks working on the episode airing Tuesday...

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