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The ultimate chocolate babka recipe
By Bryan Libit, thenosher.com My mom grew up in New York and went on the hunt for the perfect babka she remembered from the Jewish delis and bakeries that used to be all over the city. Now there are barely any great bakeries left, so, other than perfecting her golf

Study must lead to a better world
By Rabbi Hershel Spalter, Chabad of Greater Dayton As graduations lead into summer, the connection between them and our lives becomes clear. When my Zaydie (grandfather) visited me when I studied at a yeshiva high school, he shared with me a lesson his father had taught him. What he said at

Obituaries
H. Ira Fritz, Ph.D., age 80 of Dayton, passed away April 26 at Kettering Medical Center. Dr. Fritz was a retired biochemistry professor from Wright State University and was a professor at Union Institute. He was a member of Beth Abraham Synagogue and Men’s Club, and a member of Rod

LGBT-friendly Boy Scout unit to launch at Temple Israel
Likely a first for U.S. Reform movement By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Attaining the rank of Eagle Scout often marks the crowning achievement of the Boy Scouting experience. But for Lake Miller of Yellow Springs, who earned his Eagle Scout at 15, it was only the beginning. A

Memories of Meadowbrook
Over a period of 90 years, it was a family club as much as a country club. By Marc Katz, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer It was unseasonably cool on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1963, when Arnold Palmer drove the first hole at Meadowbrook in an era when even the

Women of the Wall exec. dir. hopeful for egalitarian worship plaza
‘You here have made a difference’ By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Each month, Women of the Wall Executive Director Lesley Sachs says she must think of a new, creative way to smuggle a Torah scroll into the women’s section at the Western Wall — Judaism’s holiest site —

Face to face with Jewish history in Curaçao
Story and Photos By Jon Freeman, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer A February trip to the Caribbean island of Curaçao gave me the kind of unexpected connection to Judaism I’ve only felt a few times in my life. When my family and I disembarked from our ship, instead of

Kvelling Corner
With Rachel Haug Gilbert, The Dayton Jewish Observer Grant Halasz, son of Teri and Dr. Michael Halasz, has earned his third varsity letter and the 2015-16 Academic All-Ohio Bowler Award. He is one of three bowlers on the Centerville High School Boys and Girls, JV and Varsity Teams to qualify

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

Cardboard characters
Jew in the Christian world by Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer A literary character that’s two-dimensional, “lacking in depth, complexity, or history” is known as a flat or cardboard character, writer Brandon Sanderson explains. Such characters do not change over the course of the story. In the real