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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

Opinion

It’s about to get a lot harder for American Jews to explain Israel

By Michael Koplow, The ForwardPublished November 3, 2022
Jewish organizations are not prepared for what a far-right ascendance means for the US-Israel relationship

The reasons the right-religious bloc won the Israeli election

By Lenny Ben-David, JNSPublished November 3, 2022
American Jewish liberals should stop saying that the sky is falling.
Letters To The Editor: November 2 issue

Letters To The Editor: November 2 issue

Published November 3, 2022

Warm, welcoming experience at St. Louis synagogues I have read with much interest the recent contributions that have called out synagogues for their unwelcoming environment. As someone who migrated to St. Louis just 34 years ago, I am unable to rely...

Kanye West’s hate speech awakens my ‘triple consciousness’ of being Black, Jewish and American

Kanye West’s hate speech awakens my ‘triple consciousness’ of being Black, Jewish and American

Kendell Pinkney, JTAPublished November 2, 2022

(JTA) — When I read the news about Kanye West, I didn’t know whether to turn off my phone, or throw it. I knew it would only be a matter of time before the emails and texts began rolling in: What do you think about Kanye? What’s to be done about...

My love story and understanding the power of Beshert

My love story and understanding the power of Beshert

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished October 27, 2022

Dear Reader, I'm a true sucker for a great love story and I'm a firm believer in the concept of beshert, the Yiddish word that means “destined” or “fated.” It can be used to describe all kinds of lucky or fortuitous situations, not just romantic...

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...

Readers letters to the Jewish Light

Readers letters to the Jewish Light

Published October 25, 2022

We should focus attention on more pressing issues The reactions in the Jewish community to the antisemitic remarks of the rapper Kanye West are, sadly, all too illustrative. While West’s comments will have no impact on future of the Jewish people,...

The missed opportunities of Tom Stoppard’s ‘Leopoldstadt’

Published October 16, 2022

(JTA) — Tom Stoppard is one of those playwrights who flatters you with his erudition. His 1993 play “Arcadia” dives deeply into the mathematics of algorithms and fractals. His breakthrough 1966 play, “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,”...

'Plan A', the astonishing story of Jewish avengers opens this week on VOD platforms

‘Plan A’, the astonishing story of Jewish avengers opens this week on VOD platforms

Dan Buffa, Special For The Jewish LightPublished October 13, 2022

“What if I told you that your family was murdered for no reason at all? Now, ask yourself, what would you do?”  This heart-piercing question opens the Holocaust revenge drama “Plan A,” which is based on a true story. That special brand...

© Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

“Arenado and Goldschmidt are Cardinals treasures”

Coach Ron Zetcher, Special For The Jewish LightPublished October 10, 2022

I’ll get to the point. Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt are Cardinals treasures. The ignorant comments by some that they caused our two-game loss needs to be addressed. Both of these men are great MLB players and exemplary citizens. Hitting...

How the Gilded Age (the era, not the TV show) created American Jewry

Published October 9, 2022

(JTA) — Mike Hale ruined “The Gilded Age” for me. After reading his New York Times pan of the HBO series about Old New York — he called it ”a muddled and slapdash portrait … that consistently dips into caricature” — I figured there were...

Judah Samet was a mensch well before he survived the Tree of Life shooting

Judah Samet was a mensch well before he survived the Tree of Life shooting

Published September 30, 2022

(JTA) — It is rare that one can say attending a funeral was an uplifting experience. Yet the funeral Thursday for Judah Samet — teacher of Torah at his Tree of Life synagogue, possessor of a unique and vigorous voice and sense of humor, veteran of...

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