How Jewish St. Louis quietly reinvented itself over 25 year, Part II

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-Chief

Published January 28, 2026

Rabbi Bernard Lipnick (z’’l), the longtime rabbi of B’nai Amoona, is pictured in 2009 and Rabbi Joseph Rosenbloom, the longtime spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel, died in 2020.

Earlier this month, when we published “How Jewish St. Louis quietly reinvented itself over 25 years,” our goal was to step back and look at the broad arc of change that has shaped our community over a quarter century. In doing so, we focused on major milestones, institutions and turning points — knowing full well that no single article could fully capture the people, organizations, leadership transitions and losses that have meant so much to so many.

In the days since publication, some readers reached out to share what they felt was missing: the rabbis who led congregations for decades, the leaders we have lost, the retirements and transitions that marked the end of important chapters, the organizations whose contributions were deeply felt even if not always widely visible. Those omissions were not intentional, and they do not reflect the deep gratitude this community holds for those who shaped Jewish St. Louis in ways both public and personal.

The thoughtful response to the original article reflects the depth of connection many feel to this community’s history. In response, what follows are select additions highlighting contributions readers felt strongly about and wrote to us about. Even so, no follow-up can capture everything, and this addendum is not intended to be exhaustive. It represents a single effort to broaden the lens — not an ongoing revision.

Hiring, retiring and notable deaths

After 17 years at the helm of the Jewish Community Center, Lynn Wittels retired in February 2024 and Steven Rosenzweig took over as president and CEO later that year.

Rabbi Moshe Shulman retired in July 2025 after serving Young Israel for 18 years and made aliyah with his wife Baila. Rabbi Dov Fink began as YI’s rabbi in August 2025.

Rabbi Joseph Rosenbloom, rabbi emeritus of Temple Emanuel, passed away in August 2020, after nearly six decades of service to the congregation. Additionally, Rev. Malachi Owens, Jr., the cantorial soloist at Temple Emanuel for more than 40 years, died in June 2021.

Rabbi Jerome W. Grollman, senior rabbi at United Hebrew who led the congregation for 60 years, passed in 2008. He was active in the civil rights movement, including the March on Washington and Selma. Rabbi Howard Kaplansky, who served UH for more than 30 years, became rabbi emeritus there in 2011.

Another longtime St. Louis rabbi, Bernard Lipnick, passed away in 2010, after serving Congregation B’nai Amoona since 1951 in some capacity, most recently as rabbi emeritus. Like Grollman, Lipnick was closely aligned with the civil rights movement.

Rabbi Ephraim Zimand, who served as spiritual leader of Traditional Congregation for 26 years and a Jewish educator for two decades, died in Jerusalem in 2018.

Teacher and historian Walter Ehrlich, who wrote the definitive two-volume history of the St. Louis Jewish community, “Zion in the Valley,” died in 2006.

Growth and expansion

The J’s Marilyn Fox Building underwent a 15-month renovation, highlighted by the addition of adult day care, expanding services for seniors and adults with special needs in the Chesterfield area. Funded by a $16.2 million capital campaign and completed in 2025, the project also refreshed the community commons, studios, locker rooms and shared spaces.

National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis celebrated the 60th anniversary of its signature Couturier sale in 2024 as it continues to support programs that improve the lives of women, children and families. The organization recently launched the public phase of a capital campaign to support a new building and has already raised more than $4.2 million toward its $5 million goal.

JProStL, an initiative of Jewish Federation of St. Louis, has engaged hundreds of professionals in the Jewish community over the past 21 years through professional development, networking, recognition and contributing to staff at nearly 50 organizations to advance their work and collaborations.

About the Contributor

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-Chief

A native of Westbury, New York, Ellen Futterman broke into the world of big city journalism as a general assignment reporter for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner in the latter part of the 20th century. Deciding that Tinsel Town was not exciting enough for her, she moved on to that hub of glamour and sophistication, Belleville, Ill., where she became a feature writer, columnist and food editor for the Belleville News-Democrat. A year later the St. Louis Post-Dispatch scooped her up, neither guessing at the full range of her talents, nor the extent of her shoe collection. She went on to work at the Post-Dispatch for 25 years, during which time she covered hard news, education, features, investigative projects, profiles, sports, entertainment, fashion, interiors, business, travel and movies. She won numerous major local and national awards for her reporting on “Women Who Kill” and on a four-part series about teen-age pregnancy, ‘Children Having Children.'” Among her many jobs at the newspaper, Ellen was a columnist for three years, Arts and Entertainment Editor, Critic-at-large and Daily Features (Everyday) Editor. She invented two sections from scratch, one of which recently morphed from Get Out, begun in 1995, to GO. In January of 2009, Ellen joined the St. Louis Jewish Light as its editor, where she is responsible for overseeing editorial operations, including managing both staff members and freelancers. Under her tutelage, the Light has won 16 Rockower Awards — considered the Jewish Pulitzer’s — including two personally for Excellence in Commentary for her weekly News & Schmooze column. She also is the communications content editor for the Arts and Education Council of St. Louis. Ellen and her husband, Jeff Burkett, a middle school principal, live in Olivette and have three children. Ellen can be reached at 314-743-3669 or at [email protected].