Henry Guggenheimer, who escaped Nazi Germany at age 12 in 1940 with his widowed mother, died Nov. 7. He was 96. Born in Stuttgart, he and his mother traveled through Eastern Europe and ultimately by freighter from Japan to San Francisco. He attended high school in Lima, Ohio, was drafted

Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site!     To read the complete December 2024 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Eleanor (Elly) Chaet of Las Vegas, Nev. passed away peacefully Aug. 23. Born Jan. 1, 1933 in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Morris and Rose Resnick, she resided in Dayton 42 years until retiring to Las Vegas in 1999. Elly worked primarily as a residential Realtor in Dayton until moving to Las

Rabbis recited prayers and Psalms, leaders of Jewish community organizations lit memorial candles, and “victory before peace” emerged as a rallying cry at the Jewish Federation’s program to mark one year to the day since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre. From the podium of the multipurpose room at the

Story and Photos by Talia Doninger, Special to The Dayton Jewish Observer Local Native Americans visited children with Beth Abraham Synagogue’s religious school Oct. 13 to share the art of their traditional storytelling. The Conservative congregation’s new religious school director, Elyssa Wortzman, organized the program to explore how Native Americans

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Who do you call when you need volunteers to help clean headstones at a cemetery that dates to 1875? In Beth Jacob Congregation’s case, they called on the Air Force Junior ROTC at Tecumseh High School in New Carlisle. Nine cadets teamed up

By Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz As you are aware, the situation in Springfield has been quite tenuous over the past several weeks. All of us should be deeply concerned by what is happening in our backyard. Springfield residents are facing bomb threats and gatherings of neo-Nazis and White supremacists. Jewish values

  Mendel Mangel, son of Devorah and Rabbi Nochum Mangel, has received his rabbinic ordination through Chabad’s Machon Limud Halacha Lemaan Yilmedu program. Orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Marc Lubitz is now practicing with Beacon Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Miamisburg. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Marc graduated from Wright State University’s

The Synagogue Forum of Greater Dayton presents its 14-session Introduction to Judaism course on Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Nov. 12 and running through March 4. The annual class is open to anyone interested in Jewish learning, dialogue, and exploration. A hybrid course, some sessions are held at

By Talia Doninger, Special to The Dayton Jewish Observer Lolita set the literary world of 1955 on fire. Controversial, provocative, and polarizing, Vladimir Nabokov’s novel was rejected by multiple publishers before George Weidenfeld took a chance on it. Critics called it obscene, bookstores hesitated to display it. But for Weidenfeld,