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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

Book of Ruth, work photographed by Ze'ev Raban, 1950, Center for Jewish Art Collection, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the National Library of Israel

Why we read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot

Mia Amran, Special To The Jewish LightPublished May 24, 2023

The Book of Ruth, read on the festival of Shavuot, documents the story of a young Moabite woman named Ruth and her journey of faith and devotion. The book is set during the time of the Shoftim (judges), a period of instability and moral decline in ancient...

Upcoming Shavuot Events

Upcoming Shavuot Events

Published May 23, 2023

Shavuot at B'nai Amoona May 25 - May 27 B'nai Amoona  Thursday, May 25 - Erev Shavuot 7:45 pm: Minchah/Ma'ariv 7:57 pm: Candle Lighting 8:10-8:55 pm: Study Session with Rabbi Abraham -"Active Listening: How Can We Hear Each Other Better?" ...

A confirmation class in 1924 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Shavuot: The Jewish holiday that became all about children

Laura Yares, Michigan State UniversityPublished May 22, 2023

For most American Jews today, Shavuot is not exactly a big-ticket holiday. Observance lags behind springtime Passover, and it pales in comparison to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the fall “high holidays.” But 150 years ago, Shavuot was the one day...

Science explains Passover constipation — and how to fix it

Science explains Passover constipation — and how to fix it

By Adam Kovac, The ForwardPublished April 12, 2023

It happens every year. By day two of Passover, thousands, maybe millions of Jews begin to feel a little … stuck. You know, constipation.  While no formal, peer-reviewed studies have been published on the link between Passover and constipation,...

PHOTO Courtesy of JTA

Passover at Rikers Island: How the notorious jail complex holds a seder for Jewish inmates

Jacob Henry, JTAPublished April 4, 2023

(New York Jewish Week) — Miriam Tohill, a Jewish chaplain intern at Rikers Island, is looking forward to co-leading Passover seders for Jewish inmates this year for the first time. But conditions at the New York City jail complex are not ideal. For...

Herman “Herm” Shelanski (far right), then skipper of the squadron on the USS John C. Stennis, celebrating Passover in 2008 on the ship with chaplain Rabbi Irving Elson (holding matzah) and Executive Officer Captain Ron Reis (next to the left). Credit: Courtesy of Vice Adm. (Ret.) Herman Shelanski.

Passover in the US Navy and “helicopter matzah incident”

By Menachem Wecker, JNSPublished April 4, 2023

(JNS) The Torah reserves some of its most elegant poetry for nautical phenomena amid the Red Sea parting. Exodus 15 describes the “heart of the sea” and Divine nostrils blowing “majestic” waters. Immediately after Miriam’s song celebrating the...

"West Covina" from "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"

The crazy-ex girlfriend audio Haggadah

Esther D. Kustanowitz and Erin Ben-Moche, The BagelsPublished April 4, 2023

After years of analyzing Rachel Bloom’s musical sitcom “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” we have created this audio Passover Haggadah filled with songs from the show. It comes with rules, of course. In this episode, Erin and Esther carefully considered...

A Jewish family welcomes home their Navy man and gathers for a Passover Seder at their home in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1943. Minnesota Historical Society/CORBIS/Corbis Historical via Getty Images

How a coffee company and a marketing maven brewed up a Passover tradition

Kerri Steinberg, Otis College of Art and DesignPublished April 3, 2023

For more than a millennium, the haggadah has been the centerpiece of the Jewish holiday of Passover. The book sets out the ceremony for the Seder meal when families tell the biblical Exodus story of God delivering the ancient Israelites from slavery in...

The good and the gross Jewish Foods. The debate is on.

The good and the gross Jewish Foods. The debate is on.

Amy Fenster Brown, Special to the Jewish LightPublished March 31, 2023

If there is one hotly debated topic just as polarizing as politics, it’s whether gefilte fish is delicious or disgusting. I’m parked firmly in Camp Yuck, but many Jews pitch their tents in Camp Yum. We are just wrapping up Passover with the final...

U.S. Civil War Union officers in tent (1862). Photo courtesy of Penn State Special Collections via Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/pennstatespecial/6346867231/in/photostream/

Civil War seder memorialized 161 years later

By ADAM REINHERZ, Special To The Jewish LightPublished March 31, 2023

This story was originally published by the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and is republished here with full permission.  Private Joseph A. Joel noticed on his calendar that Passover was coming. He and 20 fellow Jewish soldiers requested relief from...

Photo credit Sheri Silver

How to make Matzah Ball Casserole for Passover

BY RACHEL MYERSONPublished March 31, 2023

This chicken and kneidlach (AKA matzah balls) casserole is my mother-in-law’s creation, invented as an alternative to the sacks of potatoes consumed throughout Passover. It’s my husband’s favorite thing to eat, so we usually eat it on seder night...

The new Passover parody video you won't "Stop Believin" plus 7 of our favs

The new Passover parody video you won’t “Stop Believin” plus 7 of our favs

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished March 29, 2023

Oh, how I love a good Jewish holiday parody video. First of all, they usually are well made, with impressive production values that I appreciate. But the real win is how well these groups sing and how funny they can be while somehow staying true to the...

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