Skip to Main Content
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 Holidays

Have you seen this menorah? Help us solve a mystery

Have you seen this menorah? Help us solve a mystery

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished November 7, 2022

When we look back at our lives, we can probably count on both hands and feet the number of times we did something that we wish you could take back. Hopefully, most are minor, but still, crawl under your skin. Like the time when I was 10ish, and...

The “Hanukkah Forever” postage stamp is unveiled at Temple Emanu El in Orange Village, Ohio, on Oct. 20. Second from left is designer Jeanette Kuvin Oren. Credit: Courtesy Jeanette Kuvin Oren.

US Postal Service celebrates Hanukkah with new ‘forever’ stamp

By Howard Blas, JNSPublished October 25, 2022
Judaica artist Jeanette Kuvin Oren calls the stamp the “culmination of a lifelong dream.”
Photo by Suzanne Epstein-Lang

“I could write a book about how not to build a sukkah”

BY SUZANNE EPSTEIN-LANG, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished October 10, 2022

On the way to Yom Kippur services, I began the following sentence, "Girls, Sukkot starts on Sunday…." I would have completed this sentence by saying, "We're really not going to be at home much next week," " It always blows over," or, "The weather never...

The ancient Jewish practice of hakhel, an every-7-years gathering, gets a 21st-century revival

JACKIE HAJDENBERG, JTAPublished October 9, 2022

(JTA) — Every seven years, in ancient times, Jewish men, women, and children would gather at the Temple on the first day of Sukkot to hear the king of Jerusalem read aloud from the Torah. In 2022, there’s no king and no Temple, and more than half...

© Robert Hanashiro, USAT via Imagn Content Services, LLC

VIDEO: Mayim Bialik explains what Yom Kippur is all about

By Lior Zaltzman, KvellerPublished October 3, 2022

Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, is coming up on the evening of October 4, 2023. If Yom Kippur feels extra heavy for you this year, we’ve got some good news: Emmy-nominated actress, neuroscientist, and Jewish mama Mayim Bialik is here to bring...

9 things you probably didn’t know about Yom Kippur

9 things you probably didn’t know about Yom Kippur

By MJL Staff, My Jewish Learning via JTAPublished October 3, 2022

Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, starts at sundown on Friday, October. 11. Traditionally one of the most somber days on the Jewish calendar, it’s known for fasting and repentance — not to mention killer caffeine withdrawal headaches. However,...

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...

10 things you need to know about Yom Kippur

10 things you need to know about Yom Kippur

By Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21cPublished September 28, 2022
On the Day of Atonement, Jews across the world pray and fast. For secular and non-Jewish Israelis alike, it’s a unique holiday without cars or commerce.
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,...

Rosh Hashanah greetings

‘Mazel tov on assimilating:’ The strange, rich history of Rosh Hashanah advertisements

By Yael Buechler, The ForwardPublished September 22, 2022
In the postwar years, as the American Jewish community underwent dramatic changes, Rosh Hashanah greetings became a surprising marketing trend.
Chabad of Chesterfield transformed a pavilion in Chesterfield’s Central Park into a Shofar Factory on Sunday, helping participants craft their own horn instrument and learn the traditional sequence of notes sounded on Rosh Hashanah. Photo: Bill Motchan

No place to go for Rosh Hashanah? No problem.

Published September 22, 2022

To help ensure that every Jew in St. Louis can celebrate the holiday, Chabad of Greater St. Louis is once again hosting "Shofar in the Park," a community-wide initiative that includes 30-minute Rosh Hashanah celebrations across the region. The family-friendly...

Load More Stories