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

Temple Emanuel

Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh: Embrace the music and the dance of faith

RABBI ELIZABETH HERSHPublished January 13, 2022

What inspires you? How are you empowered? The Torah portion Beshalach teaches us about the importance of faith, patience and action. We read about the importance of keeping our word and the importance of singing and dancing. There are moments we find...

Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh

Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh named a founding member of Melton Rabbinic Council

Published September 14, 2021

Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh of Temple Emanuel has become one of the founding members of the Melton Rabbinic Council. The Melton Rabbinic Council will serve as a sounding board for major Melton ideas, directions and future initiatives. Melton is the largest...

 

Openness to miracles includes those we create

By Rabbi Elizabeth HershPublished July 2, 2020

Do you believe in miracles? Have you ever gazed at a sunset and wondered whether there was anything more breathtaking and awesome? Is not the birth of a child or the love between two human souls also miraculous? And what about ancient miracles? The Sea...

Elizabeth Hersh is Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanuel.

We are not alone; we were present at Sinai

By Rabbi Elizabeth HershPublished September 26, 2019

Rabbi Mark Joel Mahler wrote, “On [his] first Shabbat in Jerusalem, I was at the  Kotel [Wall] with three other first-year Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion students when Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach walked up to us, wished each of us ‘Gut...

Elizabeth Hersh is Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanuel.

Moses, the Israelites and unconditional love

BY RABBI ELIZABETH HERSHPublished January 24, 2019

Reb Moshe Leib loved his fellow Jews so much that he searched daily for lost souls. In one of his excursions, he found himself in a tavern and overheard the following exchange between two Russian peasants: Declared the first: “I love you, my friend!” “No,...

Blessings from a place of peace and love

BY RABBI ELIZABETH HERSHPublished May 23, 2018

 The Priestly Benediction (Birkat ha-Kohanim) that we find in this week’s Torah portion, Naso, is my favorite blessing. In the words of Rabbi Steven Kushner, “Here the ultimate blessing is to be in perfect harmony with the Holy One.” This is “where...

Elizabeth Hersh is Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanuel.

The difference between remembering, forgetting

BY RABBI ELIZABETH HERSHPublished September 20, 2017

Ha’azinu is a lesson about remembering and forgetting. While this Torah portion includes a piece of poetry, one may suggest that the entire Torah is poetry. Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (1817-1893) wrote: “One of the distinguishing marks of poetry...

Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh

Temple Emanuel signs 15-year contract extension with rabbi

Published April 20, 2016

Temple Emanuel has announced that its board of trustees unanimously approved a 15-year contract extension for Senior Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh. The new term will run through June 30, 2031. Congregation leaders said additional details of the employment contract...

Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh received a B.A. from Skidmore College and was ordained as a Rabbi from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She is fortunate to be involved in so many facets of the community including serving as the chaplain for JF&CS and an instructor for CAJE. This will be her fifth year serving as the visiting Rabbi in Decatur, Ill. She has also served congregations in both Sydney and Perth, Australia. When not writing her weekly BLOGS, she can be found running marathons.

Rabbi Hersh returns to head JF&CS Chaplaincy Program; volunteers sought

Published December 28, 2011

Jewish Family & Children's Service (JF&CS) is pleased to announce Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh has returned to the agency's Chaplaincy Program. She steps back into her position having recently spent several months in Australia. A former rabbi at United...

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