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

Religion + Observance

A bas-relief of Maimonides, sculpted by Brenda Putnam, hangs in the U.S. House of Representatives among statues of historical lawmakers. Architect of the Capitol/Wikimedia

Unlocking and understanding Maimonides

Randy L. Friedman, Binghamton University, State University of New YorkPublished February 19, 2024

I teach a philosophy of religion seminar titled “Faith and Reason.” Most students who register arrive with a mistaken assumption: that the course explores the differences between the two. “Faith” is often defined as belief in a supernatural...

Ethan Smith participates in a live broadcast to fellow teens at the BBYO convention in Orlando, Florida, Feb. 16, 2024.

Today’s college hunt takes a twist for Jewish teens grappling with antisemitism

Jacob Gurvis, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)Published February 16, 2024

ORLANDO (JTA) —  Ethan Smith ranks fifth in his New Jersey high school class, scored high on the SAT and aced a full slate of five Advanced Placement tests last year. On Oct. 1, he submitted his application to a nearby Ivy League school, the University...

Local rabbis react as Conservative Movement holds firm on intermarriage ban

Local rabbis react as Conservative Movement holds firm on intermarriage ban

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished January 30, 2024

  The Conservative movement is upholding its ban on rabbis officiating interfaith weddings, according to a new, 21-page report released this week. However, the report recommends various changes, such as introducing new rituals and updating...

Rabbi Ilan Glazer (drums) and his band, featuring wife Sherri on vocals, perform at the Gam Ki Elech album release show on Jan. 14, 2024.

When Judaism didn’t offer rituals for a stillbirth, a grieving couple created their own

Jackie Hajdenberg, JTAPublished January 30, 2024

(JTA) — On Nov. 29, 2021, Ilan and Sherri Glazer announced to the public that they were expecting a baby after three rounds of IVF. The following day, during their 20-week ultrasound, they learned that their baby’s brain wasn’t forming properly....

Joseph’s story amazes, with or without the dreamcoat

Joseph’s story amazes, with or without the dreamcoat

Rabbi Michael AlperPublished December 7, 2023

For the past 15 years, I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside my wife. People often ask us whether it’s difficult to live and work together, and the truth is I really can’t imagine it any other way. We both like to talk about everything from...

Joshua doing battle with the Gibeonites. (Getty Images)

Seeking justice for Israel’s slain and missing without losing our moral compass

Rabbi Justus Baird, JTAPublished October 20, 2023

This article initially appeared in My Jewish Learning’s Shabbat newsletter Recharge on Oct. 21, 2023. To sign up to receive Recharge each week in your inbox, click here. (JTA) — They say that while the Torah doesn’t change each year, we...

On Oct. 16, group of Chicago-area rabbis attended the funeral of Wadea al-Fayoume, a six-year-old Palestinian-American who was stabbed by his familys landlord, to pay their respects and condemn islamophobia in the wake of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.

Chicago rabbis attend funeral of Palestinian-American child killed in alleged Islamophobic hate crime

Jackie Hajdenberg, JTAPublished October 17, 2023

(JTA) — Before he paid his respects at the funeral of Wadea al-Fayoume, the 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy stabbed to death in what police are calling a hate crime, Rabbi Ari Hart called the officiants of the funeral to make sure his presence would...

The Miniature Torah

‘Turn it, turn it, turn it’ – The never-ending cycle to Torah continues

By Rabbi Brigitte RosenbergPublished October 5, 2023

This week we joyously celebrate the bounty of our lives during the festival of Sukkot. Even though most of us are not farmers, we think about the cycles of nature and, more specifically, the harvest season.   If we were farmers, while focusing on the...

Three alternative ways to fast that aren’t about food

Three alternative ways to fast that aren’t about food

Avital Kadosh, Special To The Jewish LightPublished September 18, 2023

As Yom Kippur quickly approaches, I am struck by the meaning behind the rituals and customs that surround our holiest day of the Jewish calendar. Chief among them: fasting for 25 hours. The Torah commands us to abstain from eating and drinking between...

Every year we get the opportunity to start again, to try again and to reinvent ourselves, writes the actress, podcaster and Jeoparday! host.

Mayim Bialik’s guide to embracing the new Jewish year

Mayim BialikPublished September 14, 2023

This article originally appeared in Kveller. (JTA) — The Hebrew month of Elul — which leads up to Rosh Hashanah — is when I like to take stock of my previous year, and a part of me feels like I say the same thing every single time: Heck of a...

Image via Shutterstock.com

New traditions for a new year, from Rosh Hashanah to Sukkot

Ethel G. Hofman, JNSPublished September 4, 2023

(JNS) -- Ready or not, Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of Friday, Sept. 15, and lasts through sundown on Sunday, Sept. 17—the first two days of Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar. It coincides with Shabbat this year, so an especially grand festive meal...

Rabbis Dave Levy and Rachel Ain and their two sons, Jared and Zachary, at the University of Texas, where Jared is a member of the class of 2027. (Courtesy)

Everything my college student needs to know he learned at synagogue

Rabbi Dave Levy, JTAPublished August 29, 2023

(JTA) — Last week we did it: My wife and I dropped our eldest son off for his first year of college. As you can imagine, it is a heady, emotional moment. There is pride and joy mixed with anxiety and the bittersweet sense that this primary chapter of...

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