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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

Festival of lights frenzy! Hanukkah fun and a movie on Christmas Day!

Festival of lights frenzy! Hanukkah fun and a movie on Christmas Day!

Published December 10, 2024

If you’re after some fun Hanukkah activities during this holiday season, steer yourself and your family in the direction of the Jewish Community Center. The folks at the J have assembled a full line-up of family-friendly fun to help usher in the Festival...

"Oy, Santa" is among the Hanukkah children's books that also deal with Christmas that have come out in 2024. (Collage by Joseph Strauss)

New Hanukkah children’s books highlight 2024’s rare Christmas overlap

Penny Schwartz, JTAPublished December 6, 2024

To celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, Max and Sophie, siblings in an interfaith family, bake up a batch of gingerbread dreidels. That’s the plot of a new children’s book out this year, but it could be a real-life occurrence this month, when the...

Ellen's 'Hanukkah Gift Guide' for 2024

Ellen’s ‘Hanukkah Gift Guide’ for 2024

Ellen Futterman, Editor-In-ChiefPublished December 3, 2024

A few weeks ago, I sat the adult children down and told them, in no uncertain terms, I planned to cut back on gift giving this holiday season. Let’s put the money toward a week-long family summer vacation. Making memories through an experience together,...

Justin and Michelle Esgar designed a menorah to commemorate the overlap between New Year's Eve and Hanukkah for 2024-2025.(Courtesy Justin Esgar. Design by Jackie Hajdenberg)

A Jewish couple created a disco-ball menorah to mark this year’s Hanukkah-New Year’s overlap

Jackie Hajdenberg, JTAPublished November 8, 2024

In 2013, there was the “Menurkey,” a turkey-shaped menorah, for the highly unusual overlap of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. Now, 11 years later, a new holiday-mashup menorah is making its appearance. The Happy Jew Year hanukkiah features a spinning...

Ben Binyamin (left) and Gali Segal (right), a young couple who both lost their right legs on Oct. 7 at the Nova Festival, celebrated their wedding this summer. Photo by Israel in Chicago Facebook / Stand With Us YouTube Screenshot / Canva

This remarkable story will help us dance on Simchat Torah

By Areyah Kaltmann, The ForwardPublished October 23, 2024

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. Gali Segal and Ben Binyamin, two young people engaged to be married, were among those dancing at the Nova festival when...

The Hanukkah 2024 stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp in panes of 20. This Forever stamp will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail® one-ounce price.

The Hanukkah stamp with no candles – What’s the hidden message?

Jackie Hajdenberg, JTAPublished September 10, 2024

(JTA) — As an art director at the United States Postal Service, Antonio Alcalá has designed stamps honoring Woodstock, the Emancipation Proclamation and Ezra Jack Keats’ children’s book classic “A Snowy Day.” But this year’s USPS Hanukkah...

Why Shavuot is the least-observed major Jewish holiday and 9 other interesting factoids

Why Shavuot is the least-observed major Jewish holiday and 9 other interesting factoids

Published June 12, 2024

This story originally appeared on Kveller  Shavuot is rather multifaceted; its date, significance, traditions, and evolution are filled with holiness — and many unknowns. Ask three Jewish educators why it’s customary to enjoy dairy delicacies on...

Four St. Louis Reform congregations unite for first ever intercongregational Shavuot celebration

Four St. Louis Reform congregations unite for first ever intercongregational Shavuot celebration

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished June 6, 2024

For the first time, four Reform congregations in St. Louis are collaborating for a unique Shavuot celebration. "Connections, Commandments and Cheesecake" is a joint effort by Congregation Shaare Emeth, Congregation Temple Israel, Temple Emanuel and...

Haggadah shel Pesah, translated by Sonia Gronemann and illustrated by Otto Geismar. Made in Berlin, 1927.
Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica , CC BY-ND

From sumptuous engravings to stick-figure sketches, Passover Haggadahs − and their art − have been evolving for centuries

Rebecca J.W. Jefferson, University of FloridaPublished April 24, 2024

The Jewish festival of Passover recalls the biblical story of the Israelites enslaved by Egypt and their miraculous escape. During a ritual feast known as a Seder, families celebrate this ancient story of deliverance, with each new generation reminded...

Feeling stuck this Pesach? Rabbi Rosenberg may have the solution!

Feeling stuck this Pesach? Rabbi Rosenberg may have the solution!

Rabbi Brigitte RosenbergPublished April 24, 2024

Pesach feels different this year. Likely, we are all experiencing a mix of emotions; sad, angry, scared, frustrated, and stuck in place, like it has forever been Oct. 7. We’re supposed to celebrate with joy this festival known, as Zman Cherutaynu, season...

Soft matzo was once the norm throughout the Jewish world. Photo by Sam Lin-Sommer

No, your matzo doesn’t need to be drier than the Sinai

By Sam Lin-Sommer, The ForwardPublished April 19, 2024

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. I look forward to Passover every Spring. It’s a raucous affair of wine, food and storytelling, and I can’t get enough...

Mehren und Mandlen Torte (Carrot and Almond Torte). Photo: Michael Kahn

From lamb to brisket: Discovering the diverse flavors of Passover

Margi Lenga Kahn, Special to the Jewish LightPublished April 18, 2024

Many are surprised to learn that the menus for traditional Passover meals vary widely within the Jewish world. For example, the traditional Sephardic Passover dishes might include Kodrero con Ajo Fresco (lamb with green garlic), Berenjena (savory...

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