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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

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A man, standing behind police tape, talks on his cell phone outside the Capital Jewish Museum following a shooting that left two people dead, in Washington, DC, in the early hours of May 22, 2025. Two Israeli embassy staffers were killed in the shooting. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)

2 Israeli embassy staffers shot to death outside DC Jewish museum event

Ben Sales, JTAPublished May 22, 2025

(JTA) — Two people were shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., where the American Jewish Committee was hosting an event. Both of the people killed were staffers at the Israeli embassy in Washington, according to Jewish...

Five questions with my Jewish allergist

Five questions with my Jewish allergist

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished May 21, 2025

A few months ago, I asked our readers a simple question: If we offered some service journalism that wasn’t necessarily “Jewish” but still useful, would you read it? The answer was a resounding yes. So here we are. Recently, I woke up congested....

1975 Jaws Movie Poster

The surprising Jewish story hiding beneath the surface of Jaws— screening in St. Louis for its 50th anniversary

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished May 21, 2025

It’s also the perfect time to revisit the surprising Jewish angles woven into “Jaws.” You see, the Jewish identities of director Steven Spielberg and star Richard Dreyfuss have sparked a cottage industry of critics and scholars trying to decode...

A Tzitzel Bagel from Lefty's

The tzitzel bagel — a crunchy St. Louis classic with a century-old story

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished May 21, 2025

When it comes to food history, St. Louis is known for a few... let’s say, distinctive inventions. There’s toasted ravioli, the deep-fried, marinara-dipped snack that no one outside the 314 seems to understand. There’s gooey butter cake, a sugar...

Emily Baker as Heidi. Photo by Patrick Huber

Going — or thinking of going — to The Heidi Chronicles? Here’s your pre-show cheat sheet

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished May 21, 2025

If you’re planning to catch the New Jewish Theatre’s upcoming production of “The Heidi Chronicles,” here’s a quick primer to help you get the most out of the show. Whether you’re a longtime fan of playwright Wendy Wasserstein or just curious...

Jeremy Piven

No entourage: Solo Jeremy Piven brings stand-up comedy tour to Chesterfield

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished May 21, 2025

One of the first things Jeremy Piven will do when he steps onto the stage at the Factory in Chesterfield on June 8 is let the audience know he’s Jewish — just in case anyone was wondering. “You know how you can tell someone’s Jewish?”...

Struggling to talk about antisemitism and hard topics? This event is for you

Struggling to talk about antisemitism and hard topics? This event is for you

Published May 21, 2025

Congregation Temple Israel, in partnership with Project Shema and the Anti-Defamation League Heartland, is hosting an interactive workshop for the community titled “Why We Are Polarized and What to Do About It.” The workshop, led by Project Shema,...

Raquel Scharf-Anderson

Mirowitz head of school planning to step down

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished May 21, 2025

The Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School is bracing for a significant leadership transition. Head of School Raquel Scharf-Anderson has announced her resignation, effective June 2026 — though the change may come even sooner.  “Leadership is...

Professional WWE wrestler Sami Zayn hypes up the crowd during "Monday Night Raw" at T-Mobile Arena on April 21, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Mike Marques/WWE via Getty Images)

Antics or antisemitism? Pro wrestler Sami Zayn has Israeli WWE fans feeling betrayed.

Andrew Lapin, JTAPublished May 21, 2025

(JTA) — In 2021 at a viewing party for “WrestleMania,” the world’s flagship pro wrestling event, Oren Treitman and his fellow Israeli fans cheered for Sami Zayn. In the larger WWE storyline, Zayn had taken on the persona of a conspiracy theorist,...

Lynnsie Balk Kantor and Doug Gilberg were married May 18 at CRC, with Rabbi Daniel Bogard officiating.

Good cheer, open hearts inspire couple’s wedding despite St. Louis tornado

By Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-ChiefPublished May 20, 2025

Friday’s tornadoes may have knocked out power a day and a half before their wedding May 18, but Lynnsie Balk Kantor and Doug Gilberg never considered rescheduling. The lights were out, the AC was gone, and the parking lot and neighboring streets looked...

Environmentalist Alon Tal, who served as a Knesset member in 2021-2022 with the Blue & White party, says now is the time for action in Israel, not despair. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Israeli environmentalist Alon Tal: This war is no excuse for neglecting the environment

Published May 20, 2025

Alon Tal is one of Israel’s leading environmentalists and a former member of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. Now the chair of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Public Policy, Tal will be hosting a landmark conference at Stanford University...

How a rabbi and a bishop built a lasting St. Louis interfaith legacy

How a rabbi and a bishop built a lasting St. Louis interfaith legacy

By Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished May 20, 2025

A set of ornate hand-carved oak doors lead to the baptistry at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown St. Louis. The doors were added to the 155-year-old Episcopal cathedral in 1942. They are inscribed with a commandment from Deuteronomy 6:5 in Hebrew and...

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