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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

Jewish podcast "Can We Talk?" returns with new episodes

Jewish podcast “Can We Talk?” returns with new episodes

Jordan PalmerPublished March 24, 2022

.... And the award for best title of a Jewish podcast goes to.... "Can We Talk?" from the Jewish Women's Archive. Seriously, what a great name for this conversational podcast, and it's time it gets the spotlight it deserves. The Jewish Women's Archive...

Mental health is a Jewish issue

By Hillel Abramson, Ph.DPublished June 6, 2012

I was pleased to learn that part of the current installment of Can We Talk? is centered on the mental health needs of our Jewish community and how we can best address them.  As a psychologist in private practice, I sense a professional calling and feel...

Ellen Rosenbaum talks during a meeting of Achraiyut (Hebrew for ‘to assume responsibility’) at Congregation Neve Shalom. The group, founded in 1993, is for individuals living with mental illness. The group meets the first Monday of the month. Although most of the group’s members are Jewish, it is open to individuals of other faiths as well.

Confronting mental illness: No easy answers

By Ellen Futterman, EditorPublished June 6, 2012

Jason Wilson wants people to understand that although he hasn’t been able to work full time since 1999, he’s neither lazy nor is he a loser. What he is, he explains, his voice choking with emotion, is mentally ill. The 41-year-old was diagnosed with...

Top local stories of 2011 reflect changes in Jewish community

BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief EmeritusPublished January 4, 2012

St. Louis had a year of ups and downs in 2011, saying farewell to some beloved communal leaders, one local congregation and two longtime kosher mainstays. The community pulled together in response to the tragic devastation of the tornado that struck Joplin....

Letters to the Editor, week of Dec. 21, 2011

Published December 21, 2011

Ad campaign criticisms were overblownI disagree with those American Jewish groups and individuals who thought that the Israeli government-sponsored ads, intended to cajole Israelis living in the United States to come home, were intended to insult and...

Caleb Ellis

A teen perspective on affiliation

By Caleb Ellis, Ohr Chadash StaffPublished December 14, 2011

CAN WE TALK? - TEEN COMMENTARY Throughout the first 17 years of my growing up, there's no question that Judaism has played an integral role. Like many of my Jewish peers, I underwent the staples of elementary Jewish education. I reluctantly attended Hebrew...

Can We Talk?

Synagogues aim to evolve to fit changing needs

By David Baugher, Special to the Jewish LightPublished December 14, 2011

They come for the wedding. They come for the bar and bat mitzvah. They come for the High Holidays. But the question that troubles Rick Kodner doesn't revolve around lifecycle events. How do you get them to come the rest of the time? "What's happened is...

Eli Temkin at the Next Dor house. 

What’s next for the Jewish NextGen?

By David Baugher, Special to the Jewish LightPublished December 7, 2011

Rachel Tabak, 28, grew up at Congregation B'nai Amoona, which she still attends with family for the High Holidays. But she said she isn't a member of the congregation on her own. "I think that really kicks in when you have kids," said Tabak. "In between...

Sherie Schild and Janice Barrier wait with 16 other couples from
St. Louis to be married during a trip to Iowa in 2009. The couple's
wedding was officiated by Rabbi Susan Talve of Central Reform
Congregation. Photo: Kristi Foster

The changing St. Louis Jewish community

By David Baugher , Special to the Jewish LightPublished November 30, 2011

As Barry Rosenberg nurses a cup of coffee at a local café, the President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater St. Louis paints a picture of what many once thought was a typical Jewish home. "Most of our institutions were designed to serve what...

Editorial: For Art’s Sake

Published June 22, 2011

Art is life. Art isn't life.It's life because it's so often from here-and-now reality that artists derive their inspiration. The water lilies Monet obsessed upon were most definitely real. Shakespeare and Moliere poked much fun at the social niceties...

Letters to the editor: week of June 22

Published June 22, 2011

Can We Talk? series draws responsesIn the op-ed piece by Karen Aroesty (June 8), she concludes, "Terrorism can never be justified, even when cloaked in the respectability of artistic license." I absolutely agree.However, after seeing the dress rehearsal...

Brian Mulligan and Nancy Maultsby perform in rehearsals for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ production of ‘The Death Of Klinghoffer.' Photo: Ken Howard/OTSL

The artistry of ‘Klinghoffer’

By Lew Prince, Special to the Jewish LightPublished June 15, 2011

Let's set the politics of "The Death of Klinghoffer" aside for a moment and look at what you're getting into if you spend an evening at Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OTSL) with John Adams' music and Alice Goodman's libretto. Ultimately, any artwork intended...

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