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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

Judaism

Three alternative ways to fast that aren’t about food

Three alternative ways to fast that aren’t about food

Avital Kadosh, Special To The Jewish LightPublished September 18, 2023

As Yom Kippur quickly approaches, I am struck by the meaning behind the rituals and customs that surround our holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Chief among them: fasting for 25 hours. The Torah commands us to abstain from eating and drinking between...

Watch: Shaare Emeth's Tashlich service by the water

Watch: Shaare Emeth’s Tashlich service by the water

Bill Motchan, Special To The Jewish LightPublished September 18, 2023

More than 50 Congregation Shaare Emeth members gathered on the water’s edge at Des Peres Park on Rosh Hashanah for a Tashlich ceremony. Rabbi Rachel Bearman led the gathering, which featured songs by Lucy Greenbaum, director of music engagement. Bearman...

Recipe: Homemade gravlax for Yom Kippur break-fast

Recipe: Homemade gravlax for Yom Kippur break-fast

By Vered MeiPublished September 17, 2023

This story originally appeared in The Nosher. In “Full Moon Feast,” Jessica Prentice guides us through 13 lunar months and the foods grown and prepared within them in traditional cultures. At its core is the idea that food connects people to one...

The Thing, Peter Parker and Miles Morales in “An UnBEElievable Rosh Hashanah.”

Spider-Man is about to dip apples in honey with The Thing

By PJ Grisar, The ForwardPublished September 14, 2023

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can. Can he hang with the Jews? L’Shana Tovah tikatevu!  In a new special, “An UnBEElievable Rosh Hashanah,” Peter Parker and Miles Morales, two of the wall-crawlers who, in Disney Junior’s...

High Holiday prayers not working for you? Try remixing metaphors.

High Holiday prayers not working for you? Try remixing metaphors.

Andrew Silow-Carroll, JTAPublished September 14, 2023

(JTA) — One of the centerpieces of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy is the “Avinu Malkeinu” prayer — Our Father, Our King. It’s a desperate and emotional appeal for forgiveness, set to powerful melodies over the centuries. It’s...

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...

Do the teshuvah you wish to see in the world

Rabbi James BennettPublished September 7, 2023

Is it possible to change? Can we actually make the world, or others, or even ourselves better? A well-known folktale from our Jewish tradition tells of a king who had a wayward son. In anger and frustration, the king banishes his son from the kingdom....

Portrait of Rabbi Josef Davidson

Parashat Ki Tavo: We’ve come a long way

Rabbi Josef DavidsonPublished August 31, 2023

Philip Roth was a controversial Jewish author, to say the least. I enjoyed reading his writing, and one of his books, in particular, was very impactful in my youth. It was the collection of short stories entitled “Goodbye Columbus.” The title...

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