Skip to Main Content
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

Howard Berliner, left, and Irwin Loiterstein. Photo: Bill Motchan

St. Louis’ Christmas tree king? Yeah…he’s Jewish

BY BILL MOTCHAN, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished December 5, 2019

It’s the busy season for Irwin Loiterstein. He has to schedule deliveries, calm anxious customers and extract countless pine needles from every fiber of his clothing. Loiterstein is Jewish and St. Louis’ primary wholesaler of Christmas trees. He...

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...

Laura K. Silver

A Mother’s Day I Won’t Soon Forget

By Laura K. SilverPublished May 18, 2012

Mother’s Day this year was nice-for the most part. I woke up to breakfast served by my husband. I received cards made by my kids. I spent the day at my Mom’s house. And to round out a pleasant day, I got my arm stuck in the freezer. Yes, that’s...

Highlighting the side dishes this Thanksgiving

by Margi Lenga Kahn, Special to the LightPublished November 16, 2011

As any food columnist knows, turkey is the centerpiece of the traditional Thanksgiving menu. While we can smile at New Yorker columnist Calvin Trillin’s campaign to have the national Thanksgiving dish changed to spaghetti carbonara, you don’t mess...

Load More Stories