There is a psalm for every day of the week, known as Shir Shel Yom.  Wednesday’s is Psalm 94, and it tells us, “For the law shall return to righteousness, and all those of upright heart shall follow it.” Implicit is the reality that the...

In this week’s Torah portion, Yitro, we encounter one of the most epic moments in the Torah.At the foot of Mount Sinai, accompanied by thunder and lightning, the newly freed Israelites enter into a new covenant with their Redeemer. They hear the Ten...

Elana Hertel has joined Central Reform Congregation as executive assistant to the rabbinic team. She graduated from Missouri State University with a bachelor’s degree in business and event management, holds a Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP)...

This week’s Torah reading describes the first seven of the 10 plagues that were intended to demonstrate how the power of the God of Israel surpasses that of Pharaoh and a host of lesser Egyptian gods and goddesses. At first, it appears that these...

Shir Hadash Reconstructionist Community will celebrate the installation of Rabbi Janine C. Schloss at a virtual Kabbalat Shabbat service at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29. Rabbi Allison Flash of Seattle, a longtime friend and colleague of Schloss, will speak...

After I graduated from college, I spent a year working for Facing History and Ourselves, an international organization whose mission is to use lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate.One of Facing History’s...

I write this message during a season of endings. The secular year is coming to its close, and this Shabbat we fittingly will read the concluding parashah of B’reyshit, the Book of Genesis. Our Torah Reading is Va-y’chi, Genesis 47:28-50:26, which...

How much attention do you pay to your dreams? Clearly, the Pharaoh of Egypt (and his courtiers, as we heard in last week’s Torah Portion!) took their (and the Pharaoh’s!) dreams very seriously.  And in this week’s Parashah of Miketz, the Torah...

St. Louis-area Jewish clergy are offering a one-hour online learning session each day of Hanukkah this year. The “Eight Days of EnLIGHTenment” education series is sponsored by the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, whose membership includes...

Temple Israel students who began college this year have a special nickname for themselves. It doesn’t have to do with COVID-19 or with their time in confirmation class or shared experiences during their b’nai mitzvah year. They call themselves “Miss...

When the annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries ended last week, it broke a record. At 136 hours, the conference stands as the longest Zoom online videoconference call. The previous record was just under 24 hours, set earlier this...

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Charan. He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream; a stairway was...