What would Vivian do?
Vivian Zwick was a pillar of the pro-choice and the Jewish community of St. Louis. She was the first woman elected as the president of the Jewish Light Board of Trusteess in 1975 (Jewish Light Aug. 10, 2022). I met her at several...
Yes, unfortunately, there is still racism in America. There will probably always be a degree of racism in America, as there is in virtually every country on earth. It is almost impossible to rid the United States and any other nation of the last bigot.
Still,...
With a month to go until the MO-01 primary, we, rabbis and cantors from across the Jewish spectrum, write once again, in our personal, private capacities, with a clear and unified message: Let’s get Wesley Bell to Washington.
It’s time for our...
RABBI AMY FEDER, CONGREGATION TEMPLE ISRAEL
• Published July 3, 2024
In the Tanakh, one can often tell quite a bit about who people are just by the meaning of their names. Eve comes from the word life, Abraham means father of multitudes, David is beloved. So when you learn that Korach, the titular character in this week’s...
If former President Trump incited a riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, was he doing so as the sitting president, or as a private citizen? This may seem rather beside the point — the federal case against the president alleges that he was trying to overturn...
Despite the miraculous journey on which the people had been traveling, when faced with deciding on whether to continue going forward, the people were afraid.
They looked back on the halcyon days when a strong authority figure determined the...
Gil Troy, (Jewish Journal via JNS)
• Published June 24, 2024
My good friend, Taglit-Birthright Israel’s CEO Gidi Mark, challenged me recently: “Can you offer short, punchy answers to some of the pressing questions our participants have—and some of the accusations being thrown at them?” Here’s my best...
Like many Jewish Louisianans, I followed with interest the so-called “Ten Commandments” bill which Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed into law this week. It requires public schools, including public colleges, to display the Ten Commandments in...
The St. Louis Jewish community is facing a crisis. Our congressional representative, Cori Bush, has repeatedly attacked our values and refused to even meet with us. Her smears of both Israel and the Jewish community fan the flames of racism and antisemitism....
“For 150 years, JFS has provided children, adults and seniors in the St. Louis region with the supports they need to lead vibrant, healthy lives” (— “About us” page on the Jewish Family Services website, jfsstl.org)
Jewish Family Services,...
By Rabbi James Stone Goodman
• Published June 13, 2024
It was Shabbat Naso, the longest parashah in the Torah, read in proximity to Shavuot, the great wedding celebrating the enduring wisdom given to us on a mountain top. We had prepared.
Was it a complete gift, this wisdom, or did we turn ourselves...
(JTA) -- When the guilty verdicts in former President Donald Trump’s recent New York trial were handed down, Trump and his supporters — including some in my own Orthodox community — rejected the decree, saying that the legal system had been rigged...
