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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

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...

Signs Yom Kippur is almost here in Israel

JUDY LASH BALINT, JNSPublished September 29, 2022

(JNS) Is there any other country in the world that goes silent once a year for more than 24 hours? In Israel, from the eve of Yom Kippur (Tuesday, Oct. 4) until an hour after sunset the next night, there’s no traffic apart from emergency vehicles,...

High Holiday prayers not working for you? Try remixing metaphors

ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL, JTAPublished September 25, 2022

(JTA) — One of the centerpieces of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy is the “Avinu Malkeinu” prayer — Our Father, Our King. It’s a desperate and emotional appeal for forgiveness, set to powerful melodies over the centuries.  It’s...

Is Rosh Hashanah a serious day or not?

Is Rosh Hashanah a serious day or not?

Mimi David, Special For The Jewish LightPublished September 22, 2022

Rosh Hashanah can seem confusing. On one hand, we know it is the Day of Judgment, a day on which the future of every human being and really of the entire world is discerned.   On the other hand, it is a day of celebration. We wear our nicest clothes,...

Letters To The Editor – Sept 7, 2022

Published September 21, 2022

Look at evidence in school safety debate In response to the letter to the editor from Gene Carton in your Aug. 24 issue (“Arming educators and clergy could help curb violence”), the author cites no study or evidence or any statistics behind his position...

How not to ask for time off on the Jewish holidays

How not to ask for time off on the Jewish holidays

By ELI GOTTLIEB, JTAPublished September 21, 2022

(JTA) — “Hey Allies: Please don’t schedule meetings or events on the Jewish holidays!” So says a meme that has circulated widely before about the dates for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Seems like a pretty harmless and...

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