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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

Health

Rivka Taub Rivera, a physical education teacher at a New York City public school, began her maternity leave early to avoid having to comply with a vaccine mandate that went into effect for city teachers on Oct. 4, 2021. (Courtesy Rivera)

These Jewish NYC schoolteachers want a religious exemption from the city’s vaccine mandate

Philissa CramerPublished October 4, 2021

(JTA) — When Rivka Taub Rivera decided to apply for a religious exemption to New York City’s vaccine mandate for teachers, she didn’t turn to the rabbis of Borough Park, the Orthodox neighborhood in Brooklyn where she lives. Instead, she asked...

Image by KTS Design via Shutterstock.com

A blood test that can identify recurrent cancer

Abigail Klein LeichmanPublished September 30, 2021

(Israel21c) - When Asaf Zviran was diagnosed with cancer, he was doing operations research and R&D in the Israeli navy and earning his master’s degree at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Maybe that’s why he pictured cancer as an...

A computer-generated image of oblong-shaped, Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria.Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Good bacteria may eliminate bad bacteria better than antibiotics

Brian BlumPublished September 29, 2021

(Israel21c) - The bacteria wars are coming. Researchers at Tel Aviv University have pitted “good” bacteria against “bad” bacteria and the good guys, it appears, are winning. If the system can be scaled, this new approach could potentially replace...

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

8 ways Covid has impacted teen mental health, and what we can do about it

Published September 26, 2021

(Israel21c) - A year and a half of lockdowns, school closures and social distancing caught adolescents at a vulnerable time in their emotional development, says Dr. Shelly Ben Harush Negari, a physician specializing in adolescent medicine. Many kids...

Israeli study suggests booster vaccine highly effective

Israeli study suggests booster vaccine highly effective

Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21cPublished September 19, 2021

Israeli researchers have determined that a third (“booster”) dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is effective at preventing both infection and severe illness, according to a first-in-world study published  September 15 in The New England Journal...

For Jews with eating disorders, new traditions aim to make Yom Kippur a safer experience

Ella RockartPublished September 15, 2021

(JTA) — Shonna Levin is an Orthodox Jew, but she won’t be spending Yom Kippur in a synagogue. The Brooklyn activist had planned to set up camp in Prospect Park, where she was going to host an all-day gathering for Jews with eating disorders for...

Covid leaves millions worldwide with smell impairments months after contracting the disease. Photo by Honey Yanibel Minaya Cruz on Unsplash

Covid leaves millions with impaired sense of smell

Naama BarakPublished September 14, 2021

(Israel21c) - When Covid-19 first broke out, a telltale sign of catching the nasty virus was loss of smell. Almost two years later, it turns out that it is likely having long-term effects on the sense of smell of recovered patients. A study by the...

A first-of-its-kind study investigates how a second lockdown affects the trajectory of anxiety and adjustment disorder. Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

Study shows mental-health cost of repeated Covid lockdown

Naama BarakPublished September 13, 2021

(Israel21c) - Lockdowns, as we in Israel have learned, do a good job preventing the spread of Covid. But as many of us have personally experienced, they also have quite an impact on our mental health – especially when we go through them for a second...

Hundreds of pilgrims to Uman found to have forged negative COVID tests

Hundreds of pilgrims to Uman found to have forged negative COVID tests

Published September 12, 2021

(JTA) — Hundreds of Israelis who traveled to Ukraine for an annual Rosh Hashana pilgrimage to the grave of a Hasidic rabbi are suspected of using forged negative COVID tests to return to Israel after testing positive for the virus. Tens of thousands...

My Jewish father volunteered at Ground Zero. Here’s how we’re honoring him now.

My Jewish father volunteered at Ground Zero. Here’s how we’re honoring him now.

Published September 10, 2021

This article originally appeared on Kveller.  My father, Michael Horen, was an artist by training and a graphic designer by profession. But the word I most often use to describe him is “humanitarian.” That’s not because he ever did any international...

This Chinese American Jew’s plant-based cookies are grounded in health and simplicity

This Chinese American Jew’s plant-based cookies are grounded in health and simplicity

ALIX WALL, The Jewish News of Northern CaliforniaPublished September 9, 2021

As soon as she was old enough to know what was on her plate, Lauren Chew didn’t want to eat animals. But it’s hard to be in control of those choices when you’re a child. As soon as she was on her own, she went cold turkey, cutting out all animal...

Courtesy of TheConversation.com

When does life begin? There’s more than one religious view

Rachel Mikva, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, Chicago Theological SeminaryPublished September 8, 2021

The most restrictive abortion law in the country went into effect on Sept. 1, 2021, after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal. In Texas, abortions are now illegal as early as six weeks into a pregnancy — before many women...

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