Can we grow as a St. Louis area community? What new elements can be introduced to allow people of different views to listen to outcry on both sides?The acquittal of former St. Louis police Officer Jason Stockley, who had been charged with first-degree...

We knew it was coming.   The worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history happened in Las Vegas last week, with 58 killed and more than 500 injured. The numbers of fatalities will keep changing, as families are devastated and medical professionals with...

I’d like this to be titled, “Don’t Touch It! Run Away! Tell A Trusted Adult!” Most Jews will not know what I am talking about. Readers, do you know? If you do not, you have failed to teach your children about something that can save their lives....

Should we just throw in the towel and abandon our aspirations for achieving Jewish unity? It seems like such an unrealistic, unattainable, pie-in-the-sky goal. Wishful thinking. We Jews are just not in the habit of agreeing with each other about much...

When was the last time you did something on a whim—just for the fun of it?  Well, one of the ten key elements of a fulfilling retirement is “Fun.”  And one way to have fun is to be spontaneous. My wife, Ann, came across an article reporting that...

One might not think that state politics in Alabama would be of concern to Jewish St. Louisans.Think again.In the recent Alabama Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Roy Moore, the homophobic, Islamophobic, theocratic candidate, easily defeated Sen. Luther...

Despite intense international pressure not to go forward with a referendum in support of independence, the Kurdish Regional government in northern Iraq went ahead with the vote, which won overwhelming approval in the election last week.  An estimated...

“If you don’t take care of your body, where are you going to live?”This quote has always inspired and intrigued me. The avid exercisers among us no doubt agree that as we train hard, we tend towards a manner of thinking that takes us somewhat outside...

Charlottesville. It now takes its place with other iconic names in the history of American social movements, such as Selma, Stonewall, Kent State and Berkeley.  Weeks after the event, the story continues to consume us, even spilling into sportscasts,...

I know I am not the only one who brings a book to read with him in synagogue, especially during the marathon services of the High Holidays.I don’t do it out of disrespect. I don’t make a big show out of it. (Sometimes I even take off the book jacket,...