BY BARRY GILBERT, Special to the Jewish Light
• Published January 26, 2017
When you witness mandolinist Will Soll play klezmer music or sing in Yiddish, you naturally think that this has been his lifelong passion. Surprise: Soll has been on this musical and cultural journey for only a decade.“I am the most unlikely ambassador...
Anyone interested in gaining adult-level introductory knowledge of Judaism is invited to enroll in a 16-week session that will meet Tuesday nights from 7 to 9 p.m. starting Feb. 7. “Introduction to Judaism” is designed for Jewish and non-Jewish people...
Kol Rinah is offering a Jewish spiritual parenting discussion class, led by Rabbi Jessica Shafrin, with two classes each month from January to May. The class will use the book “Nurture the Wow” by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg. Participating parents will...
By Eric Berger, Staff writer
• Published November 2, 2016
How do you observe Shabbat on Mars if the day is not 24 hours and there are 687 days in a year? Or a question with more immediate relevance: Is lab-engineered bacon kosher?These are the kind of topics that Jewish scholars and scientists will explore...
By Dorothy Firestone, Special to the Jewish Light
• Published October 26, 2016
When I was a child, every dinner was a family gathering. What I mainly remember of those meals is that my father shared the chicken legs with me. (This was when chickens were sold whole, not in parts, with only two legs.) I have forgotten what side...
Jewish Light Editorial
• Published October 26, 2016
If you think more, better and educated dialogue is critical to young people’s understanding and concern about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, then you may be uneasy about a couple aspects of a recent Brandeis University study.The report on the study,...
By Rabbi Hyim Shafner
• Published October 13, 2016
This Shabbat, we read Ha’azinu, the second-to-last portion in the Torah. This Torah portion is written in two narrow columns like a poem or song and is often referred to as a song. But why does the Torah, a book of history and law, end with song?The...
By Julie Levitt Roberts
• Published September 28, 2016
Forgiveness is never easy. It’s even harder if you’re suffering from a debilitating illness. In 2004, life as I knew it was brought to a halt when I was diagnosed with autoimmune neuromuscular disease. Some doctors thought it was multiple sclerosis;...
What are the Jews? Not a religion, for there are many who would say they are Jewish but are not religious. Not a nation, for a nation is identified with its land and shared culture, and Jews have not had a land for most of their history and do not share...
Growing up, my Jewish identity stemmed from my mother’s side of the family. As Reform/secular Jews, we celebrated our religion during Hanukkah, mourned during funerals and heard family history: travels and narrow escapes from Minsk, Russia, to Ellis...
Jewish Federation of St. Louis will continue its Sh’ma: Listen! Speaker Series on Tuesday, Aug. 30 with a talk by Rabbi Michael Berger on “Jews Are Just Like Everyone Else...Only More So: The Changing Face of American Religion and What It Means for...
Ellen Futterman, Editor
• Published August 10, 2016
Girl powerAmarah Friedman first got involved with Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing! when she was entering fifth grade. The girls Jewish youth program, hosted locally by Nishmah at the Jewish Community Center, is based on a national program called Moving...
