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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

In St. Louis, Holocaust plays ask: Who betrays the Jews when it counts

In St. Louis, Holocaust plays ask: Who betrays the Jews when it counts

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished August 25, 2025

What does it truly mean to be an ally—especially when the cost becomes unbearable? That question lies at the heart of two one-act plays being presented as staged readings at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum on Thursday, Aug. 28 from...

From clinic to community: Dr. Ron Bose takes center stage at Lynnie’s Light

From clinic to community: Dr. Ron Bose takes center stage at Lynnie’s Light

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished August 17, 2025

The Staenberg Family Complex near Creve Coeur will glow with purpose on Wednesday, Sept. 10, as the St. Louis Jewish Community Center hosts its annual Lynnie’s Light for Life event—a gathering that blends community, compassion and commitment to cancer...

Drew Patchin

12-year-old cancer warrior Drew Patchin turns life’s hard lessons into children’s book

By Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-ChiefPublished August 13, 2025

Already an honorary parade marshal, junior FBI agent and police officer, boy scout camp director, basketball official, Fox 2 morning host and five-time pediatric brain cancer warrior, 12-year-old Drew Patchin can now add “author” to his list of...

Jewish Federation of St. Louis President and CEO Danny Cohn speaks at a ribbon-cutting event at Covenant Place in March.

100 days in, new Jewish Federation leader is surprised, inspired by St. Louis Jewish life

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished August 8, 2025

When Danny Cohn stepped into his role as president and CEO of Jewish Federation of St. Louis in mid-March, he brought with him a deep love for Jewish communal work and an understanding that every community is its own ecosystem, with its own rhythms,...

B'nai mitzvahs are back — but they’ve never looked like this

B’nai mitzvahs are back — but they’ve never looked like this

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished July 24, 2025

Five years after the pandemic forced families to trade dance floors for Zoom screens, bar and bat mitzvah celebration parties are back in full swing — with a twist. From tech-forward experiences and immersive entertainment to a growing focus on personalization...

Barbara Finch.

Barbara Finch, 87, leads protest from home—reflecting spirit of Unsung Heroes

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished June 16, 2025

As part of the more than 2,000 “No Kings” protests held across the country on Saturday, June 14, about 65 demonstrators gathered outside the Bethesda Barclay House, an independent living residence in downtown Clayton, to protest President Donald Trump...

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?”...

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...

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...

Phyllis Siegel leads newbies learning mahjong dressed in one of her signature mahj shirts.

Retired teacher brings bridge, mahjong to life

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished May 7, 2025

Phyllis Siegel may not have coined the phrase “Once a teacher, always a teacher,” but she certainly embodies it. Twenty years into retirement after a 30-plus-year career teaching French and sixth grade in the Mehlville School District, the 74-year-old...

Or Garti takes a selfie with her campers at Camp Ben Frankel.

From war zones to bunk beds: Camp Ben Frankel hosting 50 Israeli kids this summer—thanks to St. Louis donors

By Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-ChiefPublished May 5, 2025

Camp Ben Frankel is hoping to welcome up to 50 Israeli children this summer, up from the 18 it hosted last summer, thanks to a fundraising campaign that has drawn strong support from the St. Louis Jewish community and beyond, as well as funding from Jewish...

Philip Fishman and Peggy Rothman.

After loss, two Jewish seniors find love in St. Louis—and a remarkable coincidence

BY ELLEN FUTTERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPublished April 24, 2025

Philip Fishman has a thing for coincidences. Sometimes he seeks them out—especially when he’s writing historical fiction novels. Other times, they find him. You decide which this is. When Fishman was 7 years old, his family moved to Olney, Ill....

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