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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

Jeff Nussbaum returning to St. Louis with facinating new book on historical undelivered speeches

Jeff Nussbaum returning to St. Louis with facinating new book on historical undelivered speeches

Jordan Palmer, Chief Digital Content OfficerPublished May 26, 2022

The great speeches of history have lifted our hearts during dark times, given us hope in times of despair, provided courage when we felt fear and helped define the course of human history. But, what about the great speeches that were never delivered?...

Local Jewish author dives into Woodstock ‘then and now’

Local Jewish author dives into Woodstock ‘then and now’

JUDITH NEWMARK, Special For The Jewish LightPublished April 14, 2022

When Alex Ludwig was born in 1979, Woodstock was 10-year-old news. Of course, people remembered the festival, a counter-cultural phenomenon that drew some 500,000 kids to Max Yasgur’s dairy farm for three days of peace, love and music. And what...

What St. Louis Jews are reading

What St. Louis Jews are reading

Jordan PalmerPublished November 27, 2021

What are St. Louis Jews are reading? That is the question posed last week on Facebook, to kick-off a new column, creatively titled, "What St. Louis Jews are reading." Now, it's up to you, the Jews of St. Louis to help write it. But first some context....

Books

Fight summer isolation: Take a vacation in a good book

By Kate Robbins, Special to the Jewish LightPublished July 17, 2020

With COVID-19 keeping us stuck inside this summer, a good book has become more important than ever. A book can transport you into another world without ever leaving the house, and the St. Louis Jewish community has lots of great books to recommend. From...

The cover of Leesa Neiner’s book, ‘Kids Are Amazing.’ Cover art by Christine Gunn. 

An inspiring book club

Ellen Futterman, EditorPublished February 6, 2020

As she explains it, Leesa Neiner was looking for something meaningful that she and her daughter, Alyson, could get involved in. “When my daughter was about 8 or 9 years old, we tried sports, we tried music, we tried everything and found we had talent...

Yourself Bashir will be speaking at the Jewish Book Festival on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.  

Author credits father’s wisdom for helping him deal with adversity

By Repps Hudson, Special to the Jewish LightPublished October 31, 2019

Simply stated, Yousef Bashir’s memoir “The Words of My Father: Love and Pain in Palestine” is worth reading because the attitude of this Palestinian from an old, established Gaza family is not what we might expect, given his experiences during...

  

Biographer captures complexity of Robin Williams’ personality

Eric Berger, Associate EditorPublished October 31, 2019

The first time that The New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff spoke with Robin Williams, he was surprised not by the iconic performer’s various accents but with how “his voice was so serene and quiet,” Itzkoff recalled. And while Williams...

Isaac Mizrahi will be the keynote speaker at this year's Jewish Book Festival. He will speak about his book "I.M.: A Memoir on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.

The wait is over: 2019 St. Louis Jewish Book Festival starts Nov. 3

By Cate Marquis, Special to the Jewish LightPublished October 31, 2019

Readers eagerly wait for it all year. The 41st annual St. Louis Book Festival takes place Nov. 3-17 at the Jewish Community Center’s Staenberg Family Complex. The festival is one of the nation’s largest, with 25 events in 12 days.This year the opening...

Art Shamsky will be speaking at the Jewish Book Festival Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m.  

University City native Art Shamsky chronicles years after ’69 Miracle Mets

BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in Chief EmeritusPublished October 31, 2019

It is hard to get your arms around the fact that it has been a half-century since the 1969 New York Mets evolved from the “Lovable Losers” of Major League Baseball to the “Miracle Mets” who defied all odds to win the World Series of that year....

Book covers

Here are 6 new children’s books for the Jewish New Year

Penny Schwartz, JTAPublished September 13, 2019

A Rosh Hashanah apple cake bake-off fit for reality television and another installment in the Scarlet and Sam series from the award-winning author Eric A. Kimmel are among the highlights in the crop of new High Holiday books for children.Six engaging...

Eight Jewish books  to read this summer

Eight Jewish books to read this summer

By Victor Wishna, JTAPublished July 13, 2017

Sure, winter might seem like the ideal time of year for curling up with a good book — but summer is when you might actually have time to read.So before these warm months all too swiftly fade to fall, here are eight Jewish-themed titles, from a wide...

Washington University professor Henry I. Schvey is the author of ‘The Poison Tree.’

WU professor exposes hard childhood in memoir

BY SUSAN FADEM, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished November 2, 2016

A mensch. A widely published academic. Embraced by family and friends. Excels at putting others at ease, making them feel affirmed.Why then would Henry I. Schvey, longtime Washington University professor of drama and comparative literature, suddenly expose...

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