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

Photo of author Dean Robbins with book cover image

St. Louis native returns for the J’s Children’s Mitzvah Program

BILL MOTCHAN, Special to the Jewish LightPublished February 20, 2022

Dean Robbins fondly remembers growing up in St. Louis and playing softball at the Jewish Community Center. When he was rounding the bases, “I was thinking about Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Lou Brock and all the great Cardinal stars in the late ’60s.” He...

Members of the mishpacha group celebrate Hanukkah in 2015.

St. Louis ‘mishpacha’ group has been connecting participants for 40 years

BILL MOTCHAN, Special to the Jewish LightPublished February 20, 2022

In December, a St. Louis mishpacha (family) group created by the Jewish Community Center celebrated its 40-year anniversary. The 15-family group includes two original members. Through four decades, they’ve celebrated simchas and mourned losses together....

J Associates plans 2nd Annual Fabulous Feud Live on March 12

J Associates plans 2nd Annual Fabulous Feud Live on March 12

Published February 7, 2022

In the same spirit as the popular television game show “Family Feud,” J Associates’ second annual Fabulous Feud Live on Saturday, March 12 will feature families from the community who will team up and square off against each other to play The...

Camp Sabra images

Camp Sabra

Published January 20, 2022

Phone: 314-442-3151 Website: campsabra.com Camp Sabra is the perfect place for a joyous, Jewish summer camp. Our campers spend their days wakeboarding, ziplining, tubing and more. Now more than ever, our children need a place where they can connect...

J Day Camps

J Day Camps

Published January 20, 2022

Phone: 314-442-3432 Website: jccstl.com/daycamps Make new friends and learn new skills! J Day Camps gives campers options on their activities – sports, arts, gymnastics and more. Plus, ON-SITE SWIMMING! 78% of 2021 campers improved swim skills....

Lynnie’s Light for Life to honor legacy of Lynnie Isaacs Palan

Lynnie’s Light for Life to honor legacy of Lynnie Isaacs Palan

ELLEN FUTTERMAN, Editor-in-ChiefPublished August 16, 2021

The Jewish Community Center and the family of Lynnie Isaacs Palan (z”l), invite the community to honor the legacy of an inspiring woman. Lynnie’s Light for Life 2021 takes place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1  at the J’s Staenberg Family Complex...

Jewish Federation of St. Louis and the J sponsored the Sababa Jewish Arts and Culture Festival on Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018 at Washington University. Photo: Zach Dalin Photography

Sababa festival postponed until 2022 due to COVID-19

ERIC BERGER, Associate EditorPublished August 11, 2021

Organizers of Sababa, the Jewish Arts & Culture Festival, have postponed the event until October 2022 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second postponement for the festival, which features artists, music and food and was first...

Sheldon Low and Hadar Orshalimy

Sababa Jewish Arts & Culture Festival returns in October

Published August 8, 2021

Editor's note: Organizers have postponed the Sababa Jewish Arts & Culture Festival until 2022. The Jewish Community Center has announced that Sababa, St. Louis’ Jewish Arts & Culture Festival, will be held outdoors on Oct. 10 on the...

Photo: Sharon Mccutcheon, Pexels

Q&A with Jewish Book Festival director Hilary Gan

ELLEN FUTTERMAN, Editor-in-ChiefPublished July 23, 2021

Hilary Gan, Director of Literary Arts at the Jewish Community Center In one or two sentences, can you explain your job?  I oversee the annual Jewish Book Festival and the Used Book Sale, with the full force of some amazing committees...

The 2019 St. Louis Senior Olympics will take place May 23-28. File photo

The J plans St. Louis Senior Olympics for Labor Day weekend

STAFF REPORTPublished July 6, 2021

After missing a year due to the pandemic, St. Louis Senior Olympics will return this year — over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 3 to 6 —the Jewish Community Center has announced. The 2021 event marks the 41st year of the St. Louis Senior Olympics,...

Love it was Not

Jewish Film Festival: Documentary tells strange tale of survival in Auschwitz

CATE MARQUIS, Special to the Jewish LightPublished June 4, 2021

“Love It Was Not” is a Shoah survivor’s story about a young woman who was at Auschwitz, but it is also a strange tale about obsession, love and survival. The documentary opens with an old photo. We see a picture of a healthy, pretty, young woman...

Staff of the Jewish Community Center’s Camp Sabra at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Camp Sabra seeking summer staffers

Published June 2, 2021

Camp Sabra is currently looking for summer staff who want to forge friendships, create lasting memories and build skills for the future. Camp Sabra is hiring counselors, specialists, unit heads, lifeguards, ropes staff and ski staff.  Each summer,...

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