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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

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Margi Lenga Kahn’s recipe for Chraime

How Jewish families across the world celebrate Passover with unique fish dishes

By Margi Lenga Kahn, Special to the Jewish LightPublished April 2, 2025

Passover, like other Jewish holidays, is steeped in tradition, especially when it comes to food. When most of us think of a traditional Passover meal, our menu would include gefilte fish, matzah ball soup,...

The unlikely WWII seder that reminded a Jewish sailor who he was, 80 years later

The unlikely WWII seder that reminded a Jewish sailor who he was, 80 years later

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 2, 2025

James Sherman had every reason to believe he was staying put, right here in St. Louis. In February 1944, he passed his military exam but figured, at 32, married with two kids, he wasn’t going anywhere....

Pres. Harry Truman from the “The Trials of Harry S. Truman,” by Jeffrey Frank

When Missouri’s own Harry S. Truman’s addressed Jewish troops for Passover 1945

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished April 2, 2025

In March 1945, with World War II nearing its end and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s health failing, Vice President Harry S. Truman stepped up to deliver a Passover message to Jewish troops serving...

Ken Dubinsky.

Mizzou athletes score big on coffee & chips—thanks to this Jewish St. Louis entrepreneur

Published April 1, 2025

Ken Dubinsky and his company, Haystack Sourcing Solutions, have partnered with Schnucks and Every True Tiger, to create Brew with the Crew premium coffee blends. Each of the six different bags features...

A Torah is held up overlooking alongside the shoreline of a lake in Colorado where a bar mitzvah is about to begin.

This former St. Louis rabbi leads bar mitzvahs in hiking boots—and it’s transforming Jewish tradition

By JIM WINNERMAN, Special to the Jewish LightPublished April 1, 2025

When Rabbi Alan Shavit-Lonstein was a first-year student at Washington University in 1984, he never expected he would be a rabbi conducting bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies for a congregation of 340 families...

Aaron and Cynthia Vickar in the kichen of their Olivette home.

Historic charm meets personal style inside the Vickars’ Olivette dream home

STORY & PHOTOS By BILL MOTCHAN, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished April 1, 2025

If anyone asks for advice about renovating an old home, Aaron and Cynthia Vickar offer one key message: Be patient. The Vickars have lived in their 108-year-old Olivette stone house since 2012. The family,...

A can of memories: how one family’s sardine salad tells a story of survival and tradition

A can of memories: how one family’s sardine salad tells a story of survival and tradition

By Margi Lenga Kahn, Special To The Jewish LightPublished April 1, 2025

Not everyone is a fan of sardines. Perhaps you have tried them and enjoyed them, or didn’t enjoy them, or perhaps you are thinking, “Why would I want to eat sardines?”  Sardines are among the healthiest,...

Outside Affton High School.

Graffiti of hate, response of hope: Affton families gather to combat antisemitism

By Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished April 1, 2025

The Affton School District welcomed more than 50 members of the community to a meeting on Mon. evening, March 31, for an open discussion about combating hate and antisemitism. The meeting was scheduled...

Dr. Harley Hammerman brings back Balaban’s & Chez Leon memories in latest podcast drop

Dr. Harley Hammerman brings back Balaban’s & Chez Leon memories in latest podcast drop

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished March 31, 2025

"Lost Tables" continues to bring St. Louis’ restaurant history to life—one bite at a time. Jewish St. Louis restaurant historian Dr. Harley Hammerman, known for his deep dives into local dining history,...

David Alper

The dual artistic worlds of St. Louis’ own David Alper

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished March 31, 2025

For artist David Alper, every creation begins with a vision that merges tradition and innovation. On this February morning inside his garage studio in his Olivette home, it's cold. The glow of his oxygen-propane...

Big night for Mirowitz heroes: teachers, families honored at joyous gala

Big night for Mirowitz heroes: teachers, families honored at joyous gala

Bill Motchan, Special To The Jewish LightPublished March 31, 2025

More than 250 supporters of Saul Mirowitz Community School gathered Sunday evening, March 30 at The Reverie in Chesterfield to celebrate “A Mirowitz Celebration – Roots & Wings.” The event...

Rabbi Chaim Landa, co-director of the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Center of St. Charles County, and Colby Hitchcock, director of operations at Baue Funeral Homes, unveil plans for the new Jewish cemetery in St. Charles, Missouri.

How one rabbi’s mission to stop a cremation led to St. Charles’ first Jewish cemetery

By Ellen Braunstein, Chabad.orgPublished March 31, 2025

A new Jewish cemetery will soon be consecrated in St. Charles County, Missouri, under the rabbinic leadership of Rabbi Chaim Landa, co-director of the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Center of St. Charles County. The...

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