By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Adam Baumgarten was 15 years old when he met Steve Bernstein for the first time. “I was interviewing to be a dishwasher at the Uptown Deli,” he recalled. “Sitting there with him, a Merit Menthol Ultralight 100 in his giant hand, he looked at

By Marc Katz, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Daniel, our soft-spoken, 31-year-old guide, told us the story of a previous tour. A man in his 80s, recalled that when he was 15, he had peddled his bicycle to a soccer field to watch a game. At that young age,

By Rabbi Haviva Horvitz Temple Beth Sholom Middletown What is a Bar or Bat Mitzvah? There are many who would answer that question claiming that it is a big birthday party given to a child entering his or her teenage years. Others might suggest that it is a religious ceremony

Nate Ebner of the New England Patriots has qualified for the U.S. Olympic men’s rugby sevens team competing in August at the Rio Olympics, becoming the only NFL player to make a U.S. Olympic team. Ebner, 27, who is Jewish, was included on the 12-man roster released July 18 by

Back to basics series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Harvard University’s extensive review of neuroscience and behavioral research on early brain development offers three unsurprising but significant findings. The brain is most flexible, or “plastic,” early in life. Brains are built over time, from

By Jackie Fishman In the July Jewish Observer, there was a mention of the Jewish farm colonies established in New Jersey beginning in the 1890s by German Jewish philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch (From the editor’s desk). I grew up in Rosenhayn, N.J., a Baron de Hirsch colony established in

Stephen R. “Steve” Bernstein, age 73 of Gordon, Ohio (Darke County) passed away June 23. Mr. Bernstein started Bernstein’s Fine Catering and Uptown Deli in 1988. He is survived by his wife, Marti; son, Michael Bernstein (Julie Elliott-Herrera); two grandchildren, Kristen Bame and Matthew Bernstein; brother, Larry (Patti) Bernstein; sister,

Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site.   To read the complete August 2016 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Steve Bernstein, founder, owner and chef of Bernstein’s Fine Catering — a mainstay of Dayton’s general and Jewish communities — died Thursday night, June 23. He was 73. “Steve passed away unexpectedly yesterday evening,” Bernstein’s Fine Catering Co-Owner/Chef Adam Baumgarten wrote in a community email on Friday morning. “Our thoughts and

Story and Photos by Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer When Shulchan Yarok participants pull up to the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education in Centerville on a June Thursday afternoon, not only are they greeted by coordinator Juliet Glaser with a box of produce picked and cleaned that