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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

St. Louis Synagogues

St. Louis Synagogues

Published February 26, 2023

As much as a synagogue is a prayer community, it is also a place where Jews gather in order to socialize, be educated, commit to social action, be inspired, and gain counsel. Although communities with smaller Jewish populations may be “one-synagogue-towns,”...

New, free Jewish learning experience coming to St. Louis

New, free Jewish learning experience coming to St. Louis

Published July 6, 2022

This fall, Congregation Shaare Emeth will launch JQuest, a new Sunday morning learning experience for PreK and Kindergarten. JQuest is open to the community and no temple membership is required to participate. “The experiential learning that happens...

Sonya J. Vann. Photo: Eden Theological Seminary website

Central Reform Congregation hires new executive director

Published May 16, 2022

Sonya J. Vann has been named executive director of Central Reform Congregation, the congregation announced in a news release this week. Vann, who has a Master of Divinity degree, served as the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Eden Theological...

Clockwise from top left: Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh, Rabbi Rachel Bearman, Rabbi Amy Feder and Rabbi Michael Alper

Reform rabbis from St. Louis congregations lead intro to Judaism course

Published September 28, 2021

Temple Emanuel is hosting an introduction to Judaism course from Oct. 5 to Jan. 25.  Classes will be taught virtually on Zoom. There is no tuition fee for the course.   Students are asked to purchase the book, “Honoring Tradition, Embracing Modernity:...

Congregation Temple Israel

Temple Israel welcomes community to online High Holiday services

Published August 31, 2021

Temple Israel welcomes the St. Louis community to enjoy its virtual High Holy Days services from home, live-streamed on their website and Facebook page. Services include traditional Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur rituals, live worship music, and sermons...

The Lighter Side: Q&A with Beth Kodner, director of Camp Emeth

The Lighter Side: Q&A with Beth Kodner, director of Camp Emeth

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

Q&A with Beth Kodner, director of Camp Emeth at Congregation Shaare Emeth How long have you worked in the Jewish community?   I was a camp counselor at Shaare Emeth when I was in high school and college and then returned in 2009...

Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham holds open the door to the sanctuary at Congregation B’nai Amoona, which has been holding services at limited capacity since October. Photo: Bill Motchan

As arc of pandemic heads the right way, synagogues start to reopen their doors

ERIC BERGER, ASSOCIATE EDITORPublished June 4, 2021

Rabbi James Bennett of Congregation Shaare Emeth has officiated more funerals over the past year than he has at any time since he started his career in 1984.  Many of those were due to COVID-19.  And while Bennett said he is excited to hold...

B’nai Amoona gala to honor Rebbetzin Paulie Rose

B’nai Amoona gala to honor Rebbetzin Paulie Rose

Published April 26, 2021

Congregation B’nai Amoona will honor Rebbetzin Paulie Rose during the “Recognizing the Rose Among Us” virtual gala event  at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 23. The cost for a virtual ticket is $72. Musicians Ben Nordstrom and Steve Neale will headline...

Jeffrey Stiffman is Rabbi Emeritus at Congregation Shaare Emeth

What does retirement look like for St. Louis rabbis?

Eric Berger, Associate EditorPublished April 22, 2021

In the mid ’90s, when Rabbi Jeffrey Stiffman served as chairman of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) ethics committee, the Reform Jewish group faced a quandary: What do you do when a retiring rabbi sticks around too long? “There...

Studying, teaching, family pursuits top rabbis’ post-retirement wishes

Studying, teaching, family pursuits top rabbis’ post-retirement wishes

Ellen Futterman, Editor-in-ChiefPublished April 22, 2021

What are you looking forward to when you retire from the rabbinate? That’s the question we posed to several St. Louis area rabbis. Here’s what they told us: Rabbi Noah Arnow, Kol Rinah, age 41:  Although retirement feels rather distant...

Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose is the Rabbi Bernard Lipnick Senior Rabbinic Chair at Congregation B’nai Amoona. Rabbi Rose is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, which coordinates the d’var Torah for the Jewish Light. 

Second chances: Jewish tradition smiles on mulligans

BY RABBI CARNIE SHALOM ROSEPublished March 4, 2021

This week’s parshah, Kee Teesa, contains one of the ugliest transgressions in the long history of the Jewish people: Chet HaEgel, the sin of the forging and worshipping the Golden Calf.Quite honestly, if I had my druthers, and the chutzpah to do so,...

On Sunday, Feb. 28, Temple Israel welcomed more than 100 cars to our campus for safe and socially distanced parking lot activities such as Purim-themed games, stories, prizes, as well as a professional circus show with juggling, acrobatics and more. Families were encouraged to wear costumes and decorate their vehicles, as well as bring boxes of pasta to donate to the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry and a bag of coins to play games, which was collected for Tzedekah. All guests were gifted a Mishloach Manot with sweets, Hamentashen, grogger, and other goodies.

Temple Israel’s Purim Car-nival

Published March 2, 2021

On Sunday, Feb. 28, Temple Israel welcomed more than 100 cars to the congregation's Purim Car-nival and Mishloach Manot. Families were able to enjoy safe and socially distanced parking lot activities, such as Purim-themed games, stories, prizes, as...

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