Dr. Benjamin Sommer, professor of Bible and ancient Semitic languages with Jewish Theological Seminary, will be the keynote speaker for the 40th Annual Ryterband Symposium, on Thursday, Nov. 8 at United Theological Seminary, 4501 Denlinger Rd., Trotwood. Sommer joined the JTS faculty as professor of Bible in 2008. Previously, he

Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site.     To read the complete November 2018 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Gregory Alan Smith, M.D., age 63, formerly of Dayton, passed away Sept. 29 in Tucson. Dr. Smith was a retired anesthesiologist who practiced medicine in Cincinnati, South Bend, and Tucson. He was a graduate of Fairview High School, Kent State University, and received his M.D. from Toledo Medical School. Dr.

Three events across the Miami Valley will remember the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass — Nov. 9 and 10, 1938 — considered the start of the Holocaust. University of Dayton The University of Dayton will hold a candlelight ceremony with testimony and musical remembrance  for Kristallnacht at 5

By Robert Wiener, New Jersey Jewish News When he was 8 years old, Joshua Nelson made a discovery that would influence his entire life. Buried within his grandmother’s record collection he found a Mahalia Jackson album which included the song, Walk in Jerusalem. “I had heard gospel music before, but

‘I do what I can, with my heart’ By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer It was 1979 when oncologist Dr. Jules Sherman first connected with Hospice of Dayton. “Within a year of starting my practice, I met Betty Schmoll, who was the nurse that started Hospice of Dayton,” Sherman,

The Bible: Wisdom Literature Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer In the recently released documentary, Three Identical Strangers, triplets separated and adopted by different families just months after birth unexpectedly discover they are siblings at the age of 19. Despite growing up in different parenting

By Judy Bolton-Fasman, JewishBoston.com When Elisha Waldman, a pediatric oncologist, moved to Israel more than a decade ago, he was determined to make a difference in the lives of his patients at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. As he chronicles in his memoir, This Narrow Space: A Pediatric Oncologist, His Jewish,

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Becoming a Jew, living as a Jew, and surviving as a Jew are themes at the core of this year’s Cultural Arts & Book Fest, which the JCC presents from Oct. 7 through Nov. 7. Toward Judaism Though Judaism is not a proselytizing

At its 108th annual meeting, held Aug. 15, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton elected Bruce Feldman its new president. Feldman’s election marks the first time in the Federation’s history that spouses have served as Federation presidents: his wife, Debbie, was president of the Federation from 2003 to 2006. Bruce