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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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Margi Lenga Kahn’s Crisp Oven-Baked Latkes.

Can you fry your latkes in olive oil?

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished December 22, 2024

Somewhere in the realm of culinary myths and kitchen rumors is this gem: “Don’t fry latkes in olive oil.” Maybe it’s something you heard from a friend’s aunt or saw in a food blog comment section. Here’s the truth—you absolutely can. St....

Hanukkah High Notes: Mirowitz students dazzle in ‘Extravaganukkah’ showcase

Hanukkah High Notes: Mirowitz students dazzle in ‘Extravaganukkah’ showcase

Bill Motchan, Special To The Jewish LightPublished December 22, 2024

Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School’s Hanukkah Extravaganukkah showcased the singing talents of students on Friday, December 20 at Congregation B’nai Amoona. Mirowitz school supporters listened to songs performed by each class. The program was...

Notes From A Jewish Mother: A Hanukkah gift: 8 nights of random musings

Notes From A Jewish Mother: A Hanukkah gift: 8 nights of random musings

Amy Fenster BrownPublished December 19, 2024

The holiday season is about to kick into high gear.  This year we’ve got Hanukkah and Christmas on the same day, followed a week later by New Year’s Eve.  That’s a lot of celebrating, eating and drinking interspersed with gift giving, gift receiving...

It’s time for latkes—and potatoes are not required

It’s time for latkes—and potatoes are not required

Margi Lenga Kahn, Special To The Jewish LightPublished December 19, 2024

My husband recently came across a T-shirt online printed with the following message: “When Life Gives You Potatoes, Make Latkes!” Clever, I thought, and with the celebration of Hanukkah just a week away, so appropriate.  However, latkes weren’t...

David, Mila, Emmett and Raymee Alper. The menorah Mila is holding was designed and created by David, who is a glass artist.

When holidays collide: How interfaith families are blending traditions on same-day ‘Christmakkuh’

Story & Photo By Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished December 18, 2024

When Santa slides down the chimney, he may find sufganiyot and latkes instead of cookies and milk in some homes. This month, the first night of Hanukkah will occur on Christmas Day. Since 1900, the 25th day of Kislev and the 25th day of December have...

(Getty Images; Collage by Grace Yagel)

St. Louisan Ken Holtzman among 18 notable Jews who died in 2024

JTA StaffPublished December 18, 2024

As 2024 comes to a close, we look back and mourn the Jewish icons who have left outsized legacies on politics, the arts, sports and everything in between. In chronological order, here is a selection of obituaries of 18 notable Jews who died in 2024. Pearl...

Madam Owlberta Wobblewings

Owlberta Wobblewings is back—and she might be bringing babies!”

By Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished December 18, 2024

There could be more nachas for Madam Owlberta Wobblewings in early 2025. We first introduced you to Ms. Wobblewings, a great horned owl who took up temporary residence on the balcony outside an apartment rented by Rebecca and Zach Berg—in Owlivette....

Eliana Eshel is an educator at United Hebrew Congregation’s Saul Spielberg Early Childhood Center.

This St. Louis teacher is reshaping Jewish early childhood education

BY KATHLEEN LEES, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished December 18, 2024

Children express themselves in a myriad of ways. For Eliana Eshel, this is why it’s essential to incorporate interactive opportunities for children to learn about their faith.  “It’s about teaching the values we try to live by to our children,”...

Linda Concors (left) and Nancy Seidel.

‘We just knew!’ Meet the inseparable duo who became BFFs at 80+!

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-ChiefPublished December 18, 2024

Hearing about Linda Concors and Nancy Seidel’s budding best friendship underscores my hope that no matter the age, you’re never too old to make another treasured bestie. The two met after Linda and her husband, Jerry, moved into Brookdale Senior...

A fly finds a home — now its book needs one! Help 89-year-old Jan Baron bring her story to life.

A fly finds a home — now its book needs one! Help 89-year-old Jan Baron bring her story to life.

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-ChiefPublished December 17, 2024

When Jan Baron called to say she wanted to talk about a children’s book she had written, I jumped at the chance. I don’t know how long I’ve known Jan, probably 15 years or so, but it was when she was chosen as a Jewish Light Unsung Hero in 2013...

Sept 23, 1978; Rochester, NY, USA; Bob Dylan performs at Rochester Community War Memorial. Mandatory

For Bob Dylan’s biographer, ‘A Complete Unknown’ is a dream come true — even if it’s mostly fiction

By Jim Sullivan, The ForwardPublished December 17, 2024

If you’re a music writer, it doesn’t get much better than this: You’ve written 15 historical books, but this one is about a key, formative period in Bob Dylan’s life and career. Published in 2015, it gets optioned by Dylan’s people, and nine...

Candace Owens speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland.

Advocacy group names Candace Owens ‘Antisemite of the Year’

Jewish News Syndicate StaffPublished December 17, 2024

U.S.-based advocacy group StopAntisemitism has named conservative American political commentator Candace Owens Antisemite of the Year. “From defending Hitler’s actions in Germany and mocking Jewish fears over Kanye West’s antisemitic tweets, to...

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