An urban executive with very little Jewish education started studying with a rabbi. He had been encouraged by one of his peers to give it a try and Torah study soon became a high point in his week. This encounter with his heritage boosted his Jewish self-esteem...
By Robert A. Cohn, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published August 20, 2020
In my 51 years of association with the Jewish Light, I have covered or editorialized countless major events, including the aftermath of the Six-Day War, the successful struggle for Soviet Jewry, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, 9/11 and so many more. Seldom...
Recent awakening to the racism that has plagued the St. Louis region for so long is a seismic event. With crisis comes opportunity. We must not let this moment pass without it spurring action to eradicate the deep racial divides in St. Louis.The Jewish...
By Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose
• Published August 20, 2020
There is a powerful tale found in the Palestinian Talmud, Tractate Baba Metzia (2:5), that has much to teach us about the quest for and cultivation of Mensclichkeit – “transcendent humanity” – which I believe is the primary purpose of the month...
KIBBUTZ RAVID, Israel (JTA) — In June, during some of this pandemic’s darkest days, I boarded a plane in Tel Aviv and headed for the heart of American Jewry.
It might sound like a strange decision, but to me it felt obvious. For the last decade,...
BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (JTA) — Around the country, you hear the bubbies kvelling:Did you know Kamala Harris’ husband is Jewish?Did you know her step kids call her mamele? Did you see the video with her doing the cute impression of her Jewish mother-in-law?Did...
Sigmund Freud, the father of psychology, was thoroughly secular in his professed beliefs and practices. Throughout his writings he expresses a marked disdain, if not outright hostility, toward all religions, including Judaism. “Religion is a universal...
A sports correctionIn the July 29, 2020 edition, Skip Erwin’s “Inside Sports” column said that the biggest upset in college basketball was in 1983 when the Houston Cougars were upset by the North Carolina Wolfpack. This should have read the “North...
By Robert A. Cohn, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published August 13, 2020
To paraphrase Thomas Paine’s immortal quote, these are indeed the times that try our souls. Loss, illness and death have become unwelcome constant visitors – not companions, because we are desperate for them to just go away and leave us alone. But...
By David Suissa
Jewish Journal via JNS
• Published August 13, 2020
A little more than a year ago, I wrote a column arguing that, in many ways, anti-Zionism is more dangerous than anti-Semitism. My point was that going after the Jewish State was a sneaky way of going after the Jews. By hiding behind anti-Zionism—which...
NEW YORK (JTA) — Three years ago today, the country watched in horror as neo-Nazis and white supremacists attacked Charlottesville, Virginia. Three years later, as far-right extremists continue to spread disinformation, hate and violence, it’s clear...
JERUSALEM (JTA) — For millennia, Jews longed for a return to their ancient homeland, Zion. But for much of modern history, a considerable number of Jews dreamed instead of a vibrant life as a minority in cosmopolitan nation-states. In 1770s Berlin,...
