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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

Eric Mink is a freelance writer and editor. He is a former columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Daily News in New York. Contact him at ericmink1@gmail.com.

Eric Mink: Defying labels in a search for truth

By Eric Mink, Special For The Jewish LightPublished June 13, 2022

Over the many years I've earned a living as a fact-driven opinion journalist, regular readers who choose to spend some of their time with my work –- for which I'm always grateful –- discover early on that my positions on public issues tend to wind...

Letters to the Editor: June 8, 2022

Letters to the Editor: June 8, 2022

Published June 9, 2022

Submit letters to the editor to [email protected]. Letters should be no longer than 250 and should include the writer’s name, municipality and a daytime phone number. The Light may edit letters for length or clarity. Author/advocate sets inspiring...

Opinion | If you’ve had it with gun violence, then it’s time to get busy

STACEY NEWMAN, Executive Director of ProgressWomanPublished June 9, 2022

How many gun deaths is enough? In the week after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas on May 24th killing 19 fourth graders, two teachers and injuring 17, there were an additional 20 mass shootings in the United States. That’s...

Jewish environmental thought is not ready for the climate crisis. But our tradition is.

Published June 7, 2022

(JTA) — Smoke from California’s fires is regularly bad enough to tint the sun on the other side of the country. Pakistan and India just experienced a devastating heat wave. In the Middle East, temperatures have risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius, more...

An app that identifies trees and flowers is changing my life 

An app that identifies trees and flowers is changing my life 

ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL, JTAPublished June 5, 2022

(JTA) — I have a linden tree in my front yard. Out back we have a magnificent pin oak that must be four stories tall, each of its lower branches as thick as the trunk of a normal tree. We have three northern white cedars on one side of the house, and...

A tip o’ the grad cap to the anxieties of fledgling adulthood

A tip o’ the grad cap to the anxieties of fledgling adulthood

AMY FENSTER BROWN, Special to the Jewish LightPublished June 1, 2022

‘Tis the season of caps and gowns, pomp and circumstance, diplomas and celebrations — it’s graduation time! My kids are a few years away from this milestone. Some of my friends’ kids are finishing high school and college, giving me a preview of...

Federation is exploring state scholarship program among its initiatives

Brian Herstig, President & CEO of Jewish Federation of St. LouisPublished June 1, 2022

The following was written in response to an op-ed "It’s time for Jewish Federation to revisit education priorities" by Russel Neiss, published on May 13.  Building a vibrant Jewish Community is a core commitment and priority of the Jewish Federation...

What is a Jew? Israel’s renovated Diaspora museum attempts a three-story answer.

ANDREW SILOW-CARROLL, JTAPublished May 29, 2022

JERUSALEM (JTA) — I was on a short visit to Israel last week, and spent time with a friend with whom I have been engaged in a 30-year argument. Elli Wohlgelernter and I met when he was the managing editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and I was a...

I left Israel to give my kids the American dream. Is this it?

LIOR ZALTZMANPublished May 27, 2022

This article first appeared on Kveller. On the day when the shooting happens, I finally unlock what some say is the most vital part of the American dream. My husband and I have a house in the suburbs now, big trees towering above — no picket fence,...

We pay heavy price for polarizing slogans in abortion debate

We pay heavy price for polarizing slogans in abortion debate

Rabbi Seth D. GordonPublished May 27, 2022

I was among many in the St. Louis Jewish community who received an email from the Jewish Community Relations Council entitled “Abortion Justice.” As I have previously written (Jewish Light, May 23, 2019), traditional Jewish teaching does not align...

When it comes to gun control, why can’t the U.S. be more like Israel?

When it comes to gun control, why can’t the U.S. be more like Israel?

Rob Eshman, The ForwardPublished May 25, 2022

The mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, makes me want to scream. If you are a parent, or if you were ever a child, it’s impossible to read about the deliberate slaughter of 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School by an 18-year-old gunman...

Ending gun violence Is an inherently Jewish responsibility

Ending gun violence Is an inherently Jewish responsibility

Published May 25, 2022

Editor’s note: This article first appeared on Kveller on December 2, 2021. We are republishing it today in light of the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.  The desperate desire to help end the gun violence epidemic in America is rooted...

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