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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

Dvar Torah

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Pursuit of justice must include justice within our ranks

Rabbi Noah ArnowPublished January 25, 2023

In the black and white photo, the couple looked comfortable, stylish even. They were Jews who lived in Berlin during the Shoah who betrayed the hiding places of other Jews to the Gestapo. The photo and just the briefest caption is part of an outdoor exhibition...

Portrait of Rabbi Josef Davidson

D’var Torah: We are called to turn ‘hard hearts’ to compassion, love

RABBI JOSEF DAVIDSONPublished January 19, 2023

The heart is a muscle whose sole job it is to circulate blood through the bloodstream, bringing oxygen and nourishment to the cells of the body and then removing carbon dioxide and waste. However, at times, the heart is viewed as the seat of emotions....

Portrait of Rabbi Josef Davidson

D’var Torah: Leaving the Land of Goshen

RABBI JOSEF DAVIDSONPublished December 29, 2022

There has long been a tension in Judaism and in Jewish communities between particularism and universalism. Proponents of particularism would have Jews form themselves into self-contained communities, isolated from neighboring non-Jewish communities,...

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In Torah, Joseph ‘fought’ for his identity, now we must too

By Rabbi Brigitte RosenbergPublished December 22, 2022

Every year during Hanukkah, we read part of the Joseph story. In parashat Miketz, this week’s parashah, Joseph is let out of jail and finds himself in pharaoh’s palace. He rises to power, is given an Egyptian name, an Egyptian wife, and he becomes...

Rabbi Dale Schreiber

D’var Torah: When our dreams include all, we follow the divine plan

RABBI DALE SCHREIBERPublished December 15, 2022

The Book of Genesis is divided into four major narratives. They are marked by deceit, violence, double-crossing, payback, redemption and reconciliation. This week’s portion, Vayeshev, is read during the month of Kislev, a month of darkness,...

Rabbi Tracy Nathan teaches Judaics at the Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School and is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, which coordinates the d’var Torah for the Jewish Light.

D’var Torah: Vayishlach: Small vessels of light and hope

Published December 7, 2022

This is the season of long nights, so it is fitting that we are reading the story of our ancestor, Jacob, the patriarch most closely connected with the night. When Jacob first leaves home, he is running from the rage of his brother, Esau, and stops to...

Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh

D’var Torah: We dance with the souls of our namesakes to find ourselves

BY RABBI ELIZABETH HERSHPublished December 1, 2022

“Alexander the Great had a soldier in his army who bore his own name but was a great coward. The emperor, enraged at the soldier’s conduct, justly said to him, ‘Either change your name, or learn to live up to it.’ ” (From “A Complete Treasury...

Portrait of Rabbi Josef Davidson

D’var Torah: Of sticks and stones . . . and names

Rabbi Josef DavidsonPublished November 23, 2022

“Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never harm you.” How many of us have heard this adage during our formative years? Usually it was the response to a complaint that so-and-so called us a (pejorative) name. It meant that as long...

Making meaning through midrash: A d’var Torah for Chayei Sarah

Making meaning through midrash: A d’var Torah for Chayei Sarah

Rabbi Rachel K. BearmanPublished November 18, 2022

This week’s Torah Portion, Chayei Sarah, introduces us to Isaac and Rebecca’s love story. I have always been interested in Isaac and Rebecca’s relationship, and a few years ago, I used the medium of midrash to dive more deeply into their story....

Rabbi Dale Schreiber

D’var Torah: Our legacy of words connects each of us to the Divine

Rabbi Dale SchreiberPublished November 10, 2022

I offer a teaching by Rabbi and scholar Arthur Green about the Jewish artistry for words in his introduction to the Zohar. Based on an understanding of the Second Commandment (no graven images), Jewish creativity was channeled into words.  While others...

A bat mitzvah photo of Amy Feder at Congregation Temple Israel, where she is now senior rabbi.

Remembering my bat mitzvah, 30 years later

By Rabbi Amy Feder, Special To The Jewish LightPublished November 4, 2022

This week marks the 30th anniversary of my becoming a bat mitzvah at Temple Israel. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that my memories of the event are rather cloudy.  I remember my Laura Ashley dress with the row of pink bows at the waist, I remember...

D'var Torah: Maybe the Tower of Babel wasn’t so bad

D’var Torah: Maybe the Tower of Babel wasn’t so bad

RABBI DAVID A. REINHARTPublished October 27, 2022

This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Noach, tells the story of the eponymous Noah. Over six chapters (Genesis 6:9-11:32) and 153 verses, we read of Noah, the flood, the dove and olive branch, God’s promise to never again destroy the world and,...

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