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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

Discussion on self-care strategies at Mirowitz

Discussion on self-care strategies at Mirowitz

Published January 19, 2023

Jessie Brown, director of programs at NAMI St. Louis, will discuss “Unwind My Mind: Self-Care Strategies” from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Mirowitz Center on January 25, 2023. Brown will look at facts and statistics about anxiety and stress, how to address...

Hikes and outdoor experiences are an integral part of the therapeutic programming at Free Spirit, a unique in-residence therapy program based in northern Israel. (Courtesy of Free Spirit)

Unique therapy program offers troubled Jewish youth a distinctly Israeli alternative

LARRY LUXNER, JTAPublished January 8, 2023

KIBBUTZ HAZOREA, Israel — Throughout high school, Ben rarely did his homework, struggled to complete school assignments and used marijuana on a daily basis. Frustrated with his situation, Ben, 18, decided in early September to leave his U.S. home...

Judy and Dr. Robert Hellman inside Young Israel of St. Louis. Photo: Lisa Mandel

The Jewish Community Blood Drive is back thanks to Bob and Judy Hellman

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished January 4, 2023

In 2005, Dr. Robert “Bob” and Judy Hellman were moved by the Passover sermon from a visiting spiritual leader at Young Israel. The visiting rabbi was their son, Rabbi David Hellman, and his sermon inspired Bob and Judy to create a chesed project...

Partial layout of the graves discovered during the excavation at the medieval Jewish cemetery of Erfurt.
Thuringian State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology/Karin Sczech + Katharina Bielefeld

Ancient DNA from the teeth of 14th-century Ashkenazi Jews in Germany already included genetic variations common in modern Jews

Shai Carmi, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and David Reich, Harvard UniversityPublished November 30, 2022

About two-thirds of Jews today – or about 10 million people – are Ashkenazi, referring to a recent origin from Eastern and Central Europe. They reside mostly in the United States and Israel. Ashkenazi Jews carry a particularly high burden of disease-causing...

A German town built a granary atop its Jewish cemetery. Now the bones are yielding insights about Ashkenazi DNA.

Toby Axelrod, JTAPublished November 30, 2022

BERLIN (JTA) – The city of Erfurt in central Germany is home to an impeccably restored medieval synagogue made possible because local Jews had been expelled long before the Nazis began their campaign to destroy Jewish sites. Now, Erfurt’s long-hidden...

Former Jewish leader clashes with demonstrators at Munich anti-vax protest on Kristallnacht

Published November 15, 2022

(JTA) — A prominent member of Munich’s Jewish community filed antisemitic harassment charges against two right-wing demonstrators attending a protest of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Marian Offman, former deputy...

10 best places to experience Jerusalem’s ancient history

Marion Fischel, Israel21cPublished November 10, 2022

Where can you travel through 5,000 years of history in 10 stops? Jerusalem, the city that was proclaimed the capital of the Kingdom of Judea in 1,000 BCE and is the capital of Israel today. In addition to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority’s City...

Future location of the Art Laboratory for Future Ecologies in Hatzeva. Photo courtesy of Galit Eilat

Eco-art village planned in the Israeli desert

DIANA BLETTER, Israel21c.orgPublished November 10, 2022

The Art Laboratory for Future Ecologies, an innovative eco-art center, will soon get under construction in Israel’s Arava Desert. The future center’s founder, Galit Eilat, said the goal is teach people about sustainability and protecting natural...

It’s not too early to plan for next summer’s sleep-away camp

It’s not too early to plan for next summer’s sleep-away camp

DR. RICHARD LAZAROFF, Special to the Jewish LightPublished November 9, 2022

Can you afford to send your child to camp next summer? Can you afford not to? Winter is almost upon us. Most kids have moved most of their after-school activities into gymnasiums, indoor soccer parks or perhaps the living room with a musical instrument....

The renovated Staenberg Family Mikvah, located on the Millstone Campus. 

Three myths that keep women from the mikvah mitzvah

MIMI DAVID, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished October 26, 2022

As a certified mikvah mentor, I hear married Jewish women hesitate about going to the mikvah for a variety of reasons.  Many of these reasons are actually based on misconceptions about the mitzvah of mikvah, and I think it is time to publicly clear...

Tehilla and Elisheva Raskas make challah dough during the Great Big Challah Bake of St. Louis on Nov. 10 at the Clayton Plaza Hotel. The event drew close to 500 people. Photo: Kristi Foster

What you knead to know about the Great Big Challah Bake 2022

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished October 19, 2022

Shabbat has long been an occasion to reconnect with ourselves, our families and our community. And nothing embodies the Shabbat table more than delicious fresh baked challah. Baking challah can be an occasion as well. And that's exactly the premise...

Network STL works to bring Jewish college students together at local universities without large Jewish populations

Network STL works to bring Jewish college students together at local universities without large Jewish populations

Megan Rubenstein, Special To The Jewish LightPublished October 12, 2022

When attending a college or university without a large Jewish population, it can be hard for students to find a community of peers who share the same background. In St. Louis, Yael Sabah of the Network STL is making it easier. Led by Sabah, the Network...

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