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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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Tracing Jewish roots: How St. Louisans can explore their heritage through genealogy

Tracing Jewish roots: How St. Louisans can explore their heritage through genealogy

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished December 2, 2024

For Jewish St. Louisans, uncovering the stories and histories of their families have become more than just a personal journey—it’s a community effort. Genealogy, the study of family lineage and history, has seen a rise in popularity, especially within...

Shirel Golan, at left, died by suicide in October. Her family says she didn't get the help she needed after surviving the Hamas massacre at the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. (Courtesy Golan family)

Horror at Nova: Survivor crisis deepens with shocking new suicide claims!

Deborah Danan, JTAPublished December 2, 2024

PORAT, Israel — Eyal Golan sat at a table flanked by two citrus trees in his parents’ garden in the tranquil community of Porat — a makeshift office that, reluctantly, has become his command center. From here, he has given countless media interviews...

Can ‘September 5,’ a film about Israeli hostages in a time of Israeli hostages, survive the news cycle?

Can ‘September 5,’ a film about Israeli hostages in a time of Israeli hostages, survive the news cycle?

By PJ Grisar, The ForwardPublished December 1, 2024

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox. September 5, director Tim Fehlbaum’s gripping control room thriller about the 1972 massacre at the Munich Olympics...

Olivette Mayor Missy Waldman (center) presents a check to JFS and the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry

Olivette Turkey Trot raises $25,000 for Kornblum food pantry

Bill Motchan, Special To The Jewish LightPublished December 1, 2024

More than 2,000 runners and walkers -- and several dozen dogs-- participated in the Olivette Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 28. The event, now in its 11th year, follows a 5K course that begins and ends at Stacy Park. The Turkey Trot entrance...

Pavel Haas

The untold story of a Holocaust composer silenced too soon—hear his music live in St. Louis!

BY KATHLEEN LEES, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished December 1, 2024

The winter season kicks off a new Holocaust Composer Series—a collaboration between the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) to humanize Holocaust education. “We wanted to bring everything to life...

First responders stand next to a crater where a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in northern Israel's Haifa district on October 31, 2024 (Ahmad Gharabli/ AFP)

Israeli security cabinet approves ceasefire with Hezbollah

Ron Kampeas, JTAPublished November 26, 2024

(JTA) — Israel’s security cabinet has approved a U.S.-brokered ceasefire proposal with Hezbollah, which would end more than a year of conflict with the terror group on Israel’s border with Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested...

How Judaism makes every day Thanksgiving Day

How Judaism makes every day Thanksgiving Day

Kohenet Rabbi Sarah Bracha GershunyPublished November 26, 2024

Our last thoughts before sleep and our first thoughts upon waking have a powerful impact on our minds. This may be why Judaism instructs us at bedtime to dwell on the central Jewish creed, the Shema, and shortly after we rise to recite the prayer Elohai...

Two members of the new IDF battalion along with Orit Efron Raana who takes care of the distribution in Israel.

Faith and action: How a Baptist ministry and St. Louis nonprofit are helping Israeli troops

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished November 26, 2024

For nearly two decades, the Gentile Ministry—a Pacific, Mo.-based coalition of Baptist pastors and their congregations—has openly supported newly formed security and IDF-associated units in Israel. Through a network of relationships they've built...

Max Oppenheimer and Max Gornish reveal the signage of the new Staenberg Lobby at Epstein Hebrew Academy on Monday, Nov. 25 at a dedication ceremony.

Beautiful Legacy: Staenberg Lobby unveiled at Epstein Hebrew Academy

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-ChiefPublished November 25, 2024

Roughly 25 people attended the unveiling and dedication of the Michael Staenberg Lobby at Epstein Hebrew Academy on Monday, Nov. 25. While Staenberg has been a long-time supporter of the Jewish day school in Olivette over the past four years, “he has...

"First Date" performed by New Jewish Theatre.

Rebekah Scallet’s winning streak continues with NJT’s brilliant ‘First Date’

BY GERRY KOWARSKY, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished November 25, 2024

Rebekah Scallet knows how to pick ’em. As artistic director of the New Jewish Theatre, Scallet decides which shows the company will produce. Her five selections for the 2024 season included only two well-known titles, but Scallet knew what she was...

Longtime B’nai B’rith lodge in St. Louis closes

Longtime B’nai B’rith lodge in St. Louis closes

Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished November 25, 2024

After 179 years, B’nai B’rith Lodge #22 has closed. The St. Louis Jewish institution’s demise was tied to dwindling membership and contributions. At its largest point, the lodge had a total membership of 1,200. The final roster showed 110 members. Lodge...

Rabbi Zvi Kogan is pictured in an undated photo distributed by Chabad. In background: The Jewish Community Center of the UAE hosts Yom Kippur prayers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 15, 2021 (Andrea DiCenzo/Getty Images)

Three arrested in the murder of Chabad rabbi in United Arab Emirates

Philissa Cramer, JTAPublished November 24, 2024

The Emirati Interior Ministry announced Sunday night that it had arrested "the three perpetrators involved in the murder of Zvi Kogan, a Moldovan national according to his identification documents at the time of entry into the UAE, where he lived as a...

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