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
All content by Josefin Dolsten
Havi Fisher: "It’s hard to feel like a burden instead of an asset.” (Courtesy of Fisher)

What it’s like to be a transgender Jew in the military now

Josefin Dolsten
Published February 1, 2019

7 Jewish things to know about Howard Schultz

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 31, 2019
Rabbi Capers Funnye, left, and Martha Leah Williams, at the Jewish Africa Conference in New York, Jan. 29, 2019. (Josefin Dolsten)

African Jewish communities get some mainstream recognition after years on the margins

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 29, 2019

Trump administration allows funding for foster agency that rejects non-Christians

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 24, 2019

Chelsea Clinton expecting third child with husband Marc Mezvinsky

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 23, 2019
Elina Tilipman, left, and Sarah Klegman founded Challah Hub. PHOTO: Sally Claire Photography

How these Jewish women launched challah baking businesses and got thousands of Instagram followers along the way

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 22, 2019
Young members of Jewish Voice for Peace protest Birthright (Courtesy of Jewish Voice for Peace)

Boston Jewish community council says members cannot work with anti-Zionist Jewish groups

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 18, 2019

A Women’s March guide: Which local marches are and aren’t affiliated with the national group, and why

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 16, 2019

9 NY rabbis endorse Women’s March following talks with Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 16, 2019
Robert Kraft before the start of Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 1, 2015. Photo: Mary Schwalm/New England Patriots

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft wins $1 million ‘Jewish Nobel’ prize

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 9, 2019
Elliot Draznin is the president of a Jewish sorority but does not identify as a woman. (Courtesy of Draznin)

In a first, a transgender person is campus president of this Jewish sorority

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 8, 2019
Rabbi Rachel Rubenstein is trying to engage young families in her role as executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County, New York. (Gail Conklin for the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County)

Meet the 27-year-old female rabbi leading a NY Jewish federation

Josefin Dolsten
Published January 4, 2019

7 of the most heartwarming Jewish stories of 2018

Josefin Dolsten
Published December 21, 2018

Anti-Semitism allegations are splitting the Women’s March

Josefin Dolsten
Published December 21, 2018

Kosher certifying agency admits one of its supervisors warned restaurant against hosting lesbian comic

Josefin Dolsten
Published December 13, 2018

Natalie Portman says Israel’s nation-state law is ‘racist’

Josefin Dolsten
Published December 13, 2018
Leah Forster says she never mentions her sexual orientation when performing for an Orthodox audience. (Courtesy of Forster)

A lesbian comedian did not want to become famous by tussling with rabbis

Josefin Dolsten
Published December 12, 2018
Israeli bobsled team

Israel has a bobsled team, and it wants to compete in the Olympics

Josefin Dolsten
Published December 11, 2018
Rachel Brosnahan stars as Miriam “Midge” Maisel, the titular character in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” (Amazon Studios)

Here are the Jewish Golden Globes nominees

Josefin Dolsten
Published December 6, 2018

At gala supporting Israeli settlement, plenty of love for Trump to go around

Josefin Dolsten
Published December 4, 2018

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks Hebrew in address at anti-Semitism conference

Josefin Dolsten
Published December 3, 2018

A Chabad House in Maryland is set to be demolished, but it’s fighting back

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 29, 2018

William Shatner didn’t include a Hanukkah song on his new Christmas album

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 28, 2018

A Holocaust denier who ran for Congress is still active on YouTube and Twitter

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 28, 2018

New Yorker cartoonist Liana Finck draws on the light and shadows of her Jewish upbringing

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 23, 2018

The Reform movement’s rabbinical group appoints its first female leader

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 15, 2018
Kosherfest participants check out the products at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, N.J., Nov. 13, 2018. (Josefin Dolsten)

5 unique kosher foods you’ll be eating in 2019

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 15, 2018

How a rabbi saved 4 Torah scrolls from being destroyed in the California wildfires

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 12, 2018

Sarah Silverman: I’m lucky I don’t have to sew a Jewish star on my clothes

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 12, 2018

How an Iranian asylum seeker raised over $1 million for the Pittsburgh synagogue

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 9, 2018

The Jewish women who won elections last night

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 7, 2018

NY House candidate Antonio Delgado’s wife opens up about the couple’s Jewish involvement

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 5, 2018

2 Jewish fathers lost their daughters in the Parkland shooting. Now they’re fighting on different sides of the gun debate.

Josefin Dolsten
Published November 1, 2018

Iranian refugee raises over $600,000 for Pittsburgh synagogue where shooting took place

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 29, 2018

4 other recent shootings that have targeted the Jewish community

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 27, 2018

Rep. Steve King gave sympathetic interview to far-right Austrian site after visiting Auschwitz on a Holocaust education trip

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 25, 2018

This woman combines Jewish and Japanese cuisines, from gyoza kreplach soup to mochi latkes

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 25, 2018

A Jewish group builds community for transgender and nonbinary teens

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 22, 2018

How a Hanukkah song made its way into the Hebrew translation of Harry Potter

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 19, 2018

This neo-Nazi group is behind those fliers blaming Jews for the Kavanaugh allegations

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 18, 2018
(Illustration by Lior Zaltzman)

Apple adds cream cheese to its bagel emoji after complaints

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 16, 2018

A Venezuelan-American chef wants to show the rich culinary tradition of Latino Jews

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 15, 2018

Marilyn Monroe’s Jewish prayer book is being put up for auction

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 15, 2018

LA Jewish group suspends grants to organization tied to Canary Mission, but says it never funded the controversial anti-Israel blacklist

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 15, 2018

This German group renovates Holocaust survivors’ homes in Israel for free

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 12, 2018
Shais Rishon’s latest book, “Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi,” tells the story of a 20-something black spiritual leader. (Courtesy of Rishon)

A black, Orthodox rabbi’s novel addresses racism in the Jewish community

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 10, 2018

Jewish men get engaged at Troye Sivan concert

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 10, 2018

William Shatner says he experienced ‘a great deal of anti-Semitism’ growing up

Josefin Dolsten
Published October 9, 2018

Progressive Jewish groups denounce Senate panel’s vote to advance Kavanaugh, while conservatives praise it

Josefin Dolsten
Published September 28, 2018

How to understand the Kavanaugh allegations, according to rabbis

Josefin Dolsten
Published September 27, 2018

Why Kesha’s latest song is inspired by Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Josefin Dolsten
Published September 21, 2018
Etrogim can come with a hefty price tag, such as this one that retailed for $345 in Brooklyn. Photo: David Moster 

How a Chinese fruit became a Sukkot symbol

Josefin Dolsten
Published September 18, 2018

An Afro-Cuban-Yiddish opera tells the story of a Jewish refugee

Josefin Dolsten
Published September 17, 2018

Why Stephen Miller’s childhood rabbi singled him out in his Rosh Hashanah sermon

Josefin Dolsten
Published September 13, 2018

Joshua Malina and Lisa Edelstein star in Hillel’s get-out-the-vote campaign video

Josefin Dolsten
Published September 6, 2018

SodaStream is behind this 20-foot Statue of Liberty replica drowning in plastic bottles

Josefin Dolsten
Published September 5, 2018

Author who researches criminal justice system, awarded $100,000 Bronfman Prize

Josefin Dolsten
Published September 5, 2018

Why Jews dip apples in honey on Rosh Hashanah — and why vegans say the custom is a problem

Josefin Dolsten
Published August 23, 2018

Jewish delegation witnesses ‘heartbreaking’ situation at border detention centers and courthouse

Josefin Dolsten
Published August 22, 2018

Jon Stewart found a home for 2 goats wandering around NY subway

Josefin Dolsten
Published August 21, 2018

Jewish community in India mostly unaffected by deadly floods

Josefin Dolsten
Published August 21, 2018

Scarlett Johansson, Gal Gadot and Mila Kunis land on Forbes’ highest-paid actresses list

Josefin Dolsten
Published August 20, 2018
Jerry Wexler and Aretha Franklin in a recording studio in 1960. (GAB Archive/Redferns)

How a Jewish music producer helped Aretha Franklin get her big break

Josefin Dolsten
Published August 16, 2018
Anthony Russell started studying to perform in Yiddish in 2011. (Max Eicke)

A former opera singer fuses African-American and Yiddish music

Josefin Dolsten
Published August 15, 2018

How Judaism and a yearlong trip around the country inspired a Colorado woman to run for office

Josefin Dolsten
Published August 9, 2018

Paul Ryan discovers he’s a little bit Jewish

Josefin Dolsten
Published August 1, 2018

How 17-year-old Ahed Tamimi became a Palestinian national symbol

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 31, 2018

Roseanne Barr defends her Valerie Jarrett tweet, then veers even further off script at rabbi event

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 27, 2018

Seth Rogen is now the voice of Vancouver’s public transit system

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 26, 2018

A kosher cheeseburger is now possible. Well, almost.

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 26, 2018

Karlie Kloss converts to Judaism, gets engaged to Joshua Kushner

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 24, 2018

Orthodox Union to stop certifying kosher beef slaughtered using controversial method

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 24, 2018

How the cast of a new ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ production learned Yiddish in only a month

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 20, 2018

State Department says it is working to extend Iraqi Jewish Archive’s stay in US

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 19, 2018

Bipartisan group of senators discussing bill to keep Iraqi Jewish Archive in US

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 18, 2018
Rabbi Georgette Kennebrae grew up in a military family that moved between Japan and Oklahoma. (Josefin Dolsten)

Gay and African-American rabbi wants to shatter stereotypes of what a Jew looks like

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 17, 2018

Bomb threat called into Jewish military history museum in DC

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 12, 2018

Jared and Ivanka attend spinning classes in the dark to avoid harassment

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 11, 2018

How Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh could affect issues that matter to Jews

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 10, 2018

Trump nominates Brett Kavanaugh to serve on Supreme Court

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 9, 2018

Why synagogues started putting American flags in the sanctuary

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 3, 2018

Center for Jewish History president steps down, denies right-wing critics are to blame

Josefin Dolsten
Published July 2, 2018
Shoshanna Nambi wants to teach her rabbinical school colleagues about Ugandan Jewish traditions. (Courtesy of Nambi)

This woman is studying to be the first female rabbi from Uganda

Josefin Dolsten
Published June 26, 2018

Jews separated from families during the Holocaust condemn US border policy

Josefin Dolsten
Published June 20, 2018

5 must-know facts about Prince William’s historic visit to Israel

Josefin Dolsten
Published June 19, 2018
Rabbi Isaiah Rothstein wants people of all backgrounds to feel welcome in his Brooklyn community. (Josefin Dolsten)

How a biracial Orthodox rabbi is using his background to create a unique community in Brooklyn

Josefin Dolsten
Published June 18, 2018

Natalie Portman slams former friend Jared Kushner as a ‘supervillain’

Josefin Dolsten
Published June 15, 2018

A groundbreaking project aims to study the Latin American Jewish experience

Josefin Dolsten
Published June 7, 2018
In anticipation of the construction of a new synagogue in Nabagoye, Uganda, the women and children there were given the honor of transferring the Torahs from the old synagogue to a temporary home. (Courtesy of Be’chol Lashon)

Ugandan rabbi: ‘We as a Jewish community need to be treated like any other Jewish community’

Josefin Dolsten
Published June 4, 2018
In anticipation of the construction of a new synagogue in Nabagoye, Uganda, the women and children there were given the honor of transferring the Torahs from the old synagogue to a temporary home. (Courtesy of Be’chol Lashon)

Conservative movement outraged by reports that Israel is blocking Ugandan Jews

Josefin Dolsten
Published June 1, 2018

French-Muslim activist denies tweet featuring Jews was a hit list

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 31, 2018

Philip Roth won’t be having a Jewish funeral

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 25, 2018
Jamila Humphrie, left, and Emily Schorr Lesnick are an interfaith couple that is taking part in an aufruf ceremony in a Conservative synagogue. (Courtesy of Humphrie and Schorr Lesnick)

Banned from marrying interfaith couples, Conservative rabbis are finding other ways to celebrate them

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 23, 2018

Most Israelis supported their army in 2014 Gaza conflict. Do they feel the same about this week?

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 17, 2018

Why these Latin American countries support moving their embassies to Jerusalem

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 10, 2018
Rabbi Aaron Panken teaching a Talmud class to Hebrew Union College students. (Courtesy of HUC)

Rabbi Aaron Panken remembered as joyful leader who embodied the ‘best of the Reform movement’

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 7, 2018

Birthright co-founder proposes opening lobby in Israel to advocate for North American Jews

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 4, 2018
(Screenshot from Facebook)

Saying ‘mazel tov’ on Facebook now activates a colorful confetti animation

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 3, 2018

How comic books taught American kids about the Holocaust

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 2, 2018

US Army base investigates dismissal of volunteer Jewish lay leader

Josefin Dolsten
Published May 2, 2018
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