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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

Apple and Honey Ruffle Milk Pie Recipe

Apple and Honey Ruffle Milk Pie Recipe

By Sonya SanfordPublished September 14, 2023

This story originally appeared in The Nosher.  Ruffle milk pie is a Greek dessert made with a simple custard base and rose-like coils of phyllo dough. It’s a type of galatopita (Greek for pie made with milk) that is very similar to the Middle Eastern...

7 sweet facts about Rosh Hashanah you may not know

7 sweet facts about Rosh Hashanah you may not know

Published September 13, 2023

This story originally appeared on Kveller.  Shanah Tovah, Happy, Healthy New Year!  The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is nearly here. I can tell this coming year is going to be a good one — the bar is already so low, we can only go up from here! Rosh...

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.

‘Shofar in the Park’ mini-services return all across St. Louis

Jordan PalmerPublished September 13, 2023

This weekend, the first grand blasts of shofars will be heard all around the St. Louis region. The ancient practice of a ram’s horn turned into an instrument is the highlight for many on Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur. As part of this tradition,...

5 easy ways to get into the Rosh Hashanah mindset this year

5 easy ways to get into the Rosh Hashanah mindset this year

By Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, KvellerPublished September 12, 2023

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...

2 more synagogues evacuated due to bomb threats ahead of High Holidays

2 more synagogues evacuated due to bomb threats ahead of High Holidays

Andrew LapinPublished September 11, 2023

(JTA) – At least two more synagogues in the United States evacuated their congregants over the weekend following bomb threats, the latest in a series of such calls that have put dozens of congregations on high alert heading into the High Holidays. One...

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...

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