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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

Lifestyles

Children light candles as part of their lessons at Yachad Religious School in Oak Park Michigan. (Courtesy of Yachad)

Hebrew school enrollment across US down by nearly half since 2006, report says

Asaf Elia-ShalevPublished April 19, 2023

(JTA) — Living in Brooklyn, surrounded by synagogues and Jewish schools, Rachel Weinstein White and her husband hoped to find a place where their children could receive a Jewish education for a few hours each week. But they knew they didn’t want...

A Jewish parents guide to teaching your child key lessons about money

A Jewish parents guide to teaching your child key lessons about money

BY NINA NEEDLEMAN, Special To The Jewish LightPublished April 12, 2023

When I was a financial planner, we helped individuals and families address their sequential financial needs and priorities at each stage of their lifecycle.  There are three major stages of one’s financial lifecycle: 1) Learning years –birth to-age...

The Wise-Shuchart family’s Passover seders have included non-Jewish guests for three decades. 
Photo courtesy of Andy Wise

Families expand seder traditions with non-Jewish guests invited to Passover

BILL MOTCHAN, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished March 27, 2023

Nearly 30 years ago, a popular local Passover event began. The Wise family seder has grown from a gathering of 15 to a high of 50. These seders also have been noteworthy for the faith of its guests. Usually, about half are non-Jewish. “What the non-Jewish...

The art of coming up with just the right grandparents' name

The art of coming up with just the right grandparents’ name

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-ChiefPublished March 22, 2023

During an interview in 2016 with author Dawn Lerman about her new book “My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Family, with Recipes,” we got to talking about her maternal grandmother who Lerman would spend Friday nights with as a child. Each Shabbat...

Image courtesy of St. Luke's Hospital

When St. Luke’s Mobile Mammography Unit will return to the J

Published February 19, 2023

St. Luke’s Hospital Mobile Mammography Unit will be at the J in Creve Coeur on Thursday, March 9 from 8:00am – 1:30pm. This service provides 3D screening mammograms for women 40 years of age and older. Mammograms are one of the best tools doctors...

Pursuit of social and educational equity can not be silenced

Pursuit of social and educational equity can not be silenced

Shannon RohlmanPublished February 8, 2023

Recently, I brought my 11-year-old daughter with me along with community rabbis, reverends, members of PROMO (which advocates for LGBTQ rights) and allies of all ages to testify in Jefferson City against Senate Bill 42.  This bill would cause insurmountable...

What you need to know about Jewish Genetic Screening Awareness Week

What you need to know about Jewish Genetic Screening Awareness Week

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished February 2, 2023

Did you know this week is Jewish Genetic Screening Awareness Week? If not, we wanted to make you aware because Jewish genetic diseases are incurable and the best defense against them is genetic screening. Screening allows doctors to identify individuals...

Free to use under the Pixabay license

Kids need friends but might need some help to make them

DR. RICHARD LAZAROFF, Special To The Jewish LightPublished February 2, 2023

A friend recently posted a video of a popular motivational speaker discussing why some children struggle to make friends. He concluded that it was a parent’s job to “maximize the social attractiveness of your children — because they need friends...

: Volunteers test patients for short- and near-sightedness. Photo by Elisa Hartstein.

Meet the Jewish doctor helping thousands in Ethiopia receive eye care

Andrew Jose, JNSPublished January 31, 2023

(JNS) When Israeli ophthalmologist Morris Hartstein visited Gondar in 2014 for a family volunteering trip, he did not know he would start an initiative that would help more than 8,000 Ethiopians receive eye care. Today, he is the founding director...

Alissa Barnholtz, Clara Bess and Neon Liebson conferring with State Senator Andrew Koenig. Photo by Cheryl Adelstein

Some students cut short from speaking on controversial bills. Here’s what they would have said.

CHERYL ADELSTEINPublished January 30, 2023

It’s wonderful when your worlds come together, as mine have recently.  I am filled with both pride and hope for the future, knowing I am part of two organizations, Jewish Community Relations Council ( JCRC) and Cultural Leadership, that prepare our...

Is human composting the next big thing in Jewish death practice?

Is human composting the next big thing in Jewish death practice?

MAYA MIRSKY, In partnership with the "J" of Northern CaliforniaPublished January 24, 2023

This article first appeared in J. The Jewish News of Northern California “There was no squeamishness on my part, I didn’t wear gloves,” said Adam Gottstein. “I had Mom in the palms of my hands.” The Amador County resident was placing the...

Huh? What? Could you repeat that? Hearing loss sucks.

Huh? What? Could you repeat that? Hearing loss sucks.

Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane, Special To The Jewish LightPublished January 24, 2023

We know you’ve heard us loud and clear talking about the delicate matter of hearing loss. We each have our own way of dealing with this deficit. Most of us are in complete denial. We avoid dealing with it because: We despise the look of hearing...

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