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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 Holidays

Understanding the High Holiday prayer meant to strike fear in us

Understanding the High Holiday prayer meant to strike fear in us

CANTOR MATT AXELROD, My Jewish LearningPublished September 21, 2022

The Uneh Taneh Tokef prayer, which we recite on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is some people’s least favorite prayer in all of Jewish liturgy. "This is the prayer that implies G-d decides who shall live and who shall die in the coming year," said...

Three ways to give smarter during the High Holy Days

Three ways to give smarter during the High Holy Days

By Buckingham Wealth Advisor John Corn, CPA, PFS, Special For The Jewish LightPublished September 20, 2022

The High Holy Days are just around the corner. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve spending time with family, listening to the sounds of the Shofar, devouring apples dipped in honey and overloading on challah. As we get older, many of us begin...

17 Rosh Hashanah facts every Jew should know

17 Rosh Hashanah facts every Jew should know

Published September 19, 2022

1. Heads Up! Surprise! Rosh Hashanah does not mean “New Year” in Hebrew. It actually means “Head of the Year.” Just like your head (brain) tells your body what to do, how you behave on Rosh Hashanah has far-reaching consequences for the...

The unexpected story behind the shofar

Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21cPublished September 19, 2022

A young man walks into the Barsheshet & Ribak shofar factory in Tel Aviv a few weeks before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. It’s nearly five o’clock and the workshop is shutting soon. But Eli Ribak is staying late anyway to talk to ISRAEL21c...

Here’s what 5 chefs from around the world are making this Rosh Hashanah

Rachel RinglerPublished September 19, 2022

This article originally appeared on The Nosher. We asked five noted chefs and food writers what they will serve at home to mark the Jewish New Year, and (spoiler alert) they all plan to weave symbols of sweetness — hallmarks of the holiday — into...

Do you want to build a Sukkah?

Do you want to build a Sukkah?

Jordan PalmerPublished September 12, 2022

One of the most fun, family-friendly, holidays in the Jewish calendar is just around the corner—Sukkot (starting the evening of Sunday, Oct. 9 and ending the evening of Oct. 16). But if you have ever thought of building your own sukkah, now is the time...

How Elul gets us into the Rosh Hashanah mindset

By Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, KvellerPublished August 31, 2022

The month of Elul is here! It’s a time leading up to Rosh Hashanah when we have the opportunity to tune in to our spiritual concerns, reflect on our dreams and challenges over the year that’s gone by, and consider areas for change and growth...

Why Tisha B’Av is arguably the saddest day on the Jewish calendar

Why Tisha B’Av is arguably the saddest day on the Jewish calendar

Betsy Schmidt, Special For The Jewish LightPublished August 4, 2022

We have all been through so much these past 2 years. Not just Covid, but multiple mass shootings, racial and political tensions, the economy, and the destruction caused by changing weather patterns. Loss of life and place, loss of our daily life-patterns,...

Mimi David

Destruction of second Temple is a loss felt through centuries

MIMI DAVID, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished July 20, 2022

Yael was a recent college graduate looking for her first teaching job in Israel. She finally found a position she thought she would enjoy, teaching beginner Hebrew skills to new Israeli immigrants in an ulpan. Nervous but confident in her creative classroom...

Norwegian Jews seek changes to national calendar that ignores most of their holidays

Published June 27, 2022

(JTA) — Norway’s Jewish community said it will petition the country’s Supreme Court unless observant Jews get more of their holidays recognized in the national calendar system. The current law on national holidays, which was updated last year,...

Rabbi Noah Arnow

D’var Torah by Rabbi Noah Arnow: Torah helps us see world beyond our ‘normal’

RABBI NOAH ARNOWPublished June 2, 2022

What happens when we look at a painting?  We see a familiar world through the eyes and brushstrokes of another, and suddenly it looks different from the way we normally see it. Poetry uses words we know to create unexpected images and comparisons...

Dairy all round. An Israeli family celebrate the holiday of Shavuot in Tzur Hadassah. Photo by Nati Shohat/flash 90.

8 fun facts about Shavuot in Israel

NAAMA BARAK, Israel21c.orgPublished June 2, 2022

Now that summer is upon us, it’s time to get ready for what is commonly considered the best holiday on the Jewish calendar: Shavuot. Coming seven weeks after Passover (Shavuot means “weeks” in Hebrew), Shavuot begins this year at nightfall on June...

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