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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

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...

Detective’s Revelation: Words come alive and lead him on new case

By Rabbi James Stone Goodman, Central Reform CongregationPublished April 18, 2024

He was accustomed to the close reading of texts, but on that day he sat with eyes that had never seen before and watched words on the page before him grow legs and dance, legs became wings, and words flew off the page like pigeons off of cobblestones.  On...

Marilen Pitler holds her special seder plate.

Unveiling the some of the quirkiest seder traditions in St. Louis

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN & BILL MOTCHAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished April 17, 2024

No doubt when Passover begins at sundown Monday, April 22, thousands of St. Louis Jewish families will be marking the holiday with a seder that evening and possibly the next during the eight-day holiday. Just as likely as the seder itself is having a...

"MATZA MIA: Six13's Passover parody is the matzah ball of musical mashups!

“MATZA MIA: Six13’s Passover parody is the matzah ball of musical mashups!

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 17, 2024

Just in time for the first night of Passover, Jewish a cappella group Six13 dropped their latest musical parody video - MATZA MIA! If the title doesn't jump out at you, it's a not to the legendary Swedish quartet ABBA, who rocked the world of disco...

This week’s Torah portion is infamous for being gross and unrelatable

This week’s Torah portion is infamous for being gross and unrelatable

Rabbi Amy FederPublished April 11, 2024

This week’s Torah portion is infamous for being perhaps the grossest and least relatable portion in the entire Torah. And it’s one of my very favorites. Tazria focuses on a skin disease known as tzara’at, which is commonly translated as leprosy...

A Jewish mother and an illustrator have teamed up to create an unofficial Taylor Swift haggadah for Passover this year. (Courtesy Shelley Atlas Serber, Wikimedia. Design by Jackie Hajdenberg)

The exodus story you know ‘All Too Well’ gets retold in new Taylor Swift haggadah

Jackie Hajdenberg, JTAPublished April 10, 2024

(JTA) — Taylor Swift has (unofficially) entered her Exodus era. Swifties can now express their love for the pop icon while celebrating Passover, thanks to the “Unofficial Taylor Swift Haggadah,” written by author Na’ama Ben-David. Ben-David...

Chabad invites St. Louis Jews to multiple community Passover seders

Chabad invites St. Louis Jews to multiple community Passover seders

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 9, 2024

As Passover draws near this year, Chabad is gearing up to welcome hundreds of attendees to public Passover seders on the first two nights of the holiday— on April 22 and 23. The community seders take participants through the story...

Cacio e Pepe Matzah Brei Recipe

Cacio e Pepe Matzah Brei Recipe

By Stephanie Ganz, The NosherPublished April 5, 2024

This recipe was first published on The Nosher.  Cacio e pepe translates to cheese and pepper, and the classic Roman pasta dish includes little more than those eponymous ingredients. In that recipe, spaghetti and salted pasta water combine with a salty...

Gail Simmons’ Matzah Ball soup recipe

Gail Simmons’ Matzah Ball soup recipe

By Gail Simmons, The NosherPublished April 5, 2024

This recipe was first published on The Nosher. Though my Grandma Snazzy, my mother’s mother, seemed to barely eat a thing (to this day, I am convinced she subsisted on toast and coffee), she was a wonderful Jewish home cook. One of her specialties...

Why Sauce Gribiche should be your secret weapon for Passover

Why Sauce Gribiche should be your secret weapon for Passover

By Stephanie Ganz, The NosherPublished April 5, 2024

This recipe was first published on The Nosher. Sauce gribiche is a cold egg sauce that originated in 19th-century France when the so-called “mother sauces” (or grandes sauces) were being defined by chefs Marie Antoine Carême and August Escoffier....

Among the new haggadahs to be published in 2024 are several for families and one for Star Wars fans. (Collage by Mollie Suss)

Inside 10 new haggadahs for 2024: America and Israel take their places at the seder table

Philissa Cramer, Penny Schwartz, JTAPublished April 5, 2024

(JTA) — The creators of new Passover haggadahs focused on Zionism and American patriotism were working on their projects long before Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and triggered a war in Gaza and a broad reckoning over both Israel and the place...

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