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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

St. Louisans' strategies for the maximum Christmas Chinese food experience

St. Louisans’ strategies for the maximum Christmas Chinese food experience

By Bill Motchan, Special to the Jewish LightPublished December 22, 2022

I’ll be spending Christmas Eve with General Tso. It’s a dining tradition many of us in the Jewish community share, like latkes on Hanukkah and hamantashen on Purim. While our Christian friends and neighbors dream of sugar plum fairies this weekend,...

This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward's free email newsletters delivered to your inbox.

Does the cheesecake shortage of 2021 mean that Christmas is becoming more Jewish?

Andrew Silverstein, The ForwardPublished December 23, 2021

This story was originally published on [DATE] by The Forward. Sign up here to get the latest stories from The Forward delivered to you each morning. Promptly at noon Friday, I went to a Philadelphia cream cheese website to sign up for the...

Navigating  the December Dilemma

Navigating the December Dilemma

Jewish Light EditorialPublished December 12, 2019

With Hanukkah and Christmas overlapping this year, the annual concern that has come to be known as the December Dilemma takes on added timeliness. Navigating through a cluster of joyous religious holidays without prompting hurt feelings, charges of discrimination...

Gail Appleson is a freelancer who lives in St. Louis. She is a member of Kol Rinah. 

Christmas cheers can trigger holiday blues for some Jews

By Gail ApplesonPublished December 21, 2016

There are tons of articles describing how omnipresent Christmas festivities can cause or exacerbate depression among Christians. But the phenomenon, known as the holiday blues, also affects Jews.It’s irrelevant that Christmas — the centerpiece of...

Juliana Wishne

Dear Juliana: Celebrating love is for everyone

Published February 8, 2012

Dear Juliana, With Valentine's Day approaching, I'm left in a Jewish dilemma. I want to celebrate it like all of my friends in my public high school, but I'm worried about the fact that it's not a Jewish holiday. Can Jews celebrate Valentine's Day guilt-free?...

Tal Recht sings on stage with Rick Recht.

Recht’s Jewish Rock Radio hits new milestone

By Dan Durchholz, Special to the Jewish LightPublished December 28, 2011

In the last few months, Jewish Rock Radio, the St. Louis-based Internet radio station, achieved several notable milestones. For one thing, the station celebrated its first anniversary. Jewish Rock Radio, which can be accessed at http://jewishrockradio.com,...

My family tree is lined with tinsel

By Sue Fishkoff, J. Weekly, SAN FRANCISCOPublished December 28, 2011

This Dec. 25, while many Bay Area Jews will be lighting their Hannukah candles and tucking into their traditional Chinese takeout, I'll be where I am every year - enjoying Christmas dinner at my mother's house. Yes, my mother isn't Jewish. And yes, I...

Aaron Whittington and Ken Cohen volunteer at Temple Emanuel
during the Jewish-Muslim Day of Service on Dec. 25. The inaugural
event, organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council, the
National Council of Jewish Women and the Islamic Foundation of
Greater St. Louis, drew close to 400 people. For a gallery of more
than 30 images from the event, visit
www.stljewishlight.com/multimedia. Photo: Yana Hotter

Interfaith service event draws 400

By David Baugher, Special to the Jewish LightPublished December 28, 2011

Looking out over a sea of people in garb ranging from hijabs to yarmulkes to baseball caps, enjoying laughter and conversation with one another over bagels and coffee on a holiday few in the room even celebrate, Batya Abramson-Goldstein couldn't help...

"Sisters" and best buds Natalia Almonte and Belle Gage celebrate
their ninth birthdays together earlier this year.

A major family mitzvah

By Ellen Futterman, EditorPublished December 21, 2011

Sometimes, the smallest things can change your life in profound ways. For Dr. Brian and Amy Gage of Clayton, it was a short email telling of a 5-year-old from the Dominican Republic who needed a place to stay in St. Louis. The email was sent three years...

Rabbi Roxanne Shapiro

In Joseph’s colorful tunic, lessons about gift giving and receiving

By Rabbi Roxanne J.S. ShapiroPublished December 14, 2011

A "ketonet passim" (ornamented tunic/striped tunic/robe of many colors) caused all this mess? Joseph was hated for this?It was not the tunic itself...but rather what it represented. Why should Joseph be blamed? He could not help that his father loved...

A photo of Matisyahu from his Twitter feed showing new 'do.

How do you spell “Hanukkah?,” musing on made-for-TV movies

By Ellen Futterman, EditorPublished December 14, 2011

Musings of a made-for-TV holiday movie junkie I have a confession - I am a sucker for bad, as in cheesy and totally predictable, holiday movies. I'm not talking classics such as "It's a Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street" or "Holiday Inn," though...

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