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

Photos and video: Temple Israel Thanksgiving Dinner For Those In Need

Photos and video: Temple Israel Thanksgiving Dinner For Those In Need

Published November 30, 2021

A Temple Israel holiday tradition continued last week as congregation staff and volunteers mobilized to prepare, pack and distribute 500 Thanksgiving meals to homeless shelters, schools, early childhood development centers and independent living...

The Deutsch Early Childhood Center at Temple Israel: Graduation parade

This week’s Spotlight photos

Published June 4, 2020

To celebrate their three graduating classes, The Deutsch Early Childhood Center at Temple Israel held its graduation parade on May 14. Families decorated their cars, drove through TI’s circle, and students and their families said hello to their teachers...

Davis Brown (left), pictured with his brother, Leo, is now pen pals with Sam and Marilyn Fox as part of a program started by Rabbi Amy Feder of Temple Israel. 

Pandemic pen pals: Temple Israel rabbi pairs young and old to alleviate social isolation

By Ellen Futterman, EditorPublished March 25, 2020

Davis Brown wrote to his new pen pals about his school (Parkway Central Middle) as well as the sports and hobbies he enjoys (soccer, graphic design, chess, video games). He also asked if they liked to travel and about their favorite foods. And he mentioned...

Sheldon Low in the studio in 2016. Photo: Zach Dalin Photography

Couple work to repair the world with music

By Kayla Steinberg, Staff WriterPublished July 25, 2019

In Sheldon Low’s family, music has been something of an heirloom, passed l’dor v’dor. The St. Louis native, 36, is a third generation songleader. His grandmother sang with singer-songwriter Debbie Friedman, and his father sang at Camp Ben Frankel...

Students at Monroe Elementary School in St. Louis city help Dr. Terry Weiss unload his weekly delivery of food from Operation Food Search. Photo: Bill Motchan

Dr. Terry Weiss: Devoting retirement to helping those who need it

BY ERIC BERGER, ASSOCIATE EDITORPublished May 30, 2019

About a month after the 2014 fatal shooting of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, Dr. Terry Weiss attended Rosh Hashanah services at Congregation Temple Israel and heard a rabbi there speak about the urgency of taking action amid chaos to spur positive...

Rabbi Amy Feder

Traditions enrich Passover, no matter how long it lasts

By Rabbi Amy FederPublished April 25, 2019

The Torah portion for this week is Pesach (final day), which leads to the inevitable question: Just when is the final day of Pesach?  The Torah is clear: Pesach begins on the 15th day of Nisan and lasts seven days. Which sounds cut and dried, but only...

Rick Recht performs at the 2017 Yom Haatzmaut (Israels Independence Day) celebration at the J on May 1.

TI welcomes Rick Recht for Shabbat Alive! service

Published August 10, 2018

St. Louis-based Jewish rock musician Rick Recht will perform spiritual Jewish music with Congregation Temple Israel’s rabbis and regular Shabbat musicians at Shabbat services on Friday, Aug. 17. The Shabbat Alive! service is free and open to the public....

From left: Bryson, Amirah, Jordan and Kanaya.

NCJW helps young shoppers suit up for school

STORY & PHOTOS BY BILL MOTCHAN, SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH LIGHTPublished August 2, 2018

The first day of class is a big deal for any child. This year, about 1,400 elementary school-age kids from low-income St. Louis families will be ready for the first bell thanks to the National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis. The annual NCJW Back to...

Inside her office at Temple Israel, Rachel Andreasson has a painting illustrating her family’s business, which is connected to convenience stores such as On the Run.  Photo: Eric Berger

Long drive from small-town Judaism to Temple Israel director

BY ERIC BERGER, STAFF WRITERPublished December 27, 2017

Rachel Andreasson and her family have logged more miles traveling to Congregation Temple Israel than most of its members. So it’s a good thing that they’ve been able to stop at some of the Missouri gasoline stations they operate during the hour-plus...

In this file photo, Jayme Fingerman (left) co-chaired Temple Israels 2017 Thanksgiving Dinner for Those in Need and joined Creve Coeur police officers and volunteers such as Dee Mogerman in packing food for guests.  Photos: Eric Berger

A Thanksgiving mitzvah

By Eric Berger, Staff WriterPublished November 29, 2017

Guests at Congregation Temple Israel’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner for Those in Need typically just head to the auditorium for a meal with the usual holiday spread. But on Wednesday last week, after they finished eating, they were also invited to go...

Temple Israel plans night out for interfaith couples

Published August 17, 2017

Congregation Temple Israel is hosting a community-wide evening for interfaith couples on Thursday, Sept. 7. The evening will include wine and an assortment of other refreshments, heavy hors d’oeuvres, and an opportunity to create a hand-painted rustic-style...

Rabbi Steven L. Mills

Former Temple Israel Rabbi Steven L. Mills dies at 57

BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief EmeritusPublished July 12, 2017

Rabbi Steven L. Mills, a former St. Louisan who served as associate rabbi at Temple Israel from 1995 to 2000, died July 2, 2017. He was 57.Rabbi Mills, spiritual leader of Temple Beth Am in Parsippany, N.J. since 2014, was a graduate of Cleveland Marshall...

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