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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

Erich Dahl, WWII vet and man behind Famous Barr's French Onion Soup, passes at 102

Erich Dahl, WWII vet and man behind Famous Barr’s French Onion Soup, passes at 102

Jordan Palmer and Harley HammermanPublished June 5, 2022

Erich Dahl, Age 102, of Creve Coeur, Missouri was born on February 29, 1920 in Geilenkerchen, Germany and passed away on June 1, 2022. Growing up in Germany Dahl and his two sisters lived in Germany near the Belgium border. Their father was a cattle...

The Miniature Torah

Out of the Vault: Video of invaluable Torah scrolls revealed

Published June 5, 2022

This year, in advance of Shavuot, the National Library of Israel (NLI) has released a series of video clips featuring four of the most significant Torah scrolls from its world-leading Judaica collection. Due to their exceedingly delicate state, the Torah...

Gerda Cole, 98, reunited with her daughter, Sonya Grist, 79, after eight decades apart. Cole, who was a Jewish refugee in England during World War II, gave her newborn daughter up for adoption because she couldn't care for her. (Published with permission courtesy of Revera)

This Holocaust survivor reunited with the daughter she never knew

Evelyn Frick, KvellerPublished June 3, 2022

On May 7, 2022, Holocaust survivor Gerda Cole attended her 98th birthday party. The recreation room at Revera Kennedy Lodge Long Term Care Home in Toronto, where Gerda lives, was decorated in blue — her favorite color — and she wore a crown and...

Sara Hurwitz, Amy Eilberg, Sandy Eisenberg Sasso and Sally J. Priesand, each of whom was the first female rabbi in her branch of Judaism.
Courtesy of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives

The ordination of the first female rabbi 50 years ago has brought many changes – and some challenges

Carole B. Balin, , Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of ReligionPublished June 3, 2022

Fifty years ago, on June 3, 1972, as Sally J. Priesand became the first woman ordained a rabbi by a Jewish seminary, her 35 male classmates spontaneously rose to their feet to acknowledge her historic feat. For nearly 2,000 years, the position of rabbi...

Missouri's small towns are filled with rich Jewish history

Missouri’s small towns are filled with rich Jewish history

Eric Berger, Special For The Jewish LightPublished June 1, 2022

Mara Cohen Ioannides, an English professor at Missouri State University, once lived in New York where, she said, “If you want something, you ask for it.” So Cohen Ioannides did not understand when the editor of OzarksWatch magazine approached her...

The opening of the Shema prayer explained

Reuven Kimelman, THE JEWISH EXPERIENCEPublished May 27, 2022

(The Jewish Experience) -- The Shema prayer expresses belief in the singularity of God, that is, in God's oneness and incomparability. It is traditionally recited twice a day, as part of the morning (Shacharit) and evening (Arvit or Ma'ariv) services. It...

The Jewishness of the dumpling

The Jewishness of the dumpling

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished May 20, 2022

I had heard good things about a place called Soup Dumplings STL on Olive Boulevard, in University City. The location is not far from my office, but not exactly close to my house. My first visit was outstanding. I am now obesessed with soup dumplings. So...

Conspiracy theories about the Rothschilds are still going strong on Twitter

Conspiracy theories about the Rothschilds are still going strong on Twitter

Published May 20, 2022

Once again, the Rothschilds are trending. This time, it’s not because Marjorie Taylor Greene said they had space lasers, but because an economist named David Rothschild — who has nearly 100,000 followers on Twitter — responded to an Elon Musk tweet...

Artist's rendering of the new St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum.

St. Louis Holocaust Museum receives $1 Million pledge 

Published May 17, 2022

Today, the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum announced a $1 million dollar pledge from the Tilles Foundation to support the Museum’s new Impact Lab.  The Tilles Foundation is a private foundation “dedicated to finding the most effective...

We're honoring Jewish American Heritage Month with our list of 10 from St. Louis

We’re honoring Jewish American Heritage Month with our list of 10 from St. Louis

Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished May 13, 2022

In 2006, May was proclaimed Jewish American Heritage Month, which pays tribute to Jewish Americans who helped form the fabric of American history, culture, and society. Throughout U.S. history, Jewish St. Louisans have made significant contributions to...

Hot dog! Examining the Jewish roots of an all-American food

Hot dog! Examining the Jewish roots of an all-American food

Published May 12, 2022

(New York Jewish Week) — Award-winning Jewish artist Steve Marcus, 50, has made a career creating artwork for publications like Rolling Stone, the New York Times and Esquire, as well as for clients like MTV and Random House. And now, in an exhibition...

Noted photographer captures images of 12 St. Louis Holocaust survivors

Noted photographer captures images of 12 St. Louis Holocaust survivors

Bill Motchan, Special For The Jewish LightPublished May 11, 2022

As a boy growing up in Mainz, Germany, Luigi Toscano was fascinated by World War II. But he was frustrated by a lack of detail about a dark period in the country’s history: the Holocaust. His history teacher offered little information, and his textbook...

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