By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer There was hardly a place to stand when the funeral service for Ilya Golub began on Dec. 25 in the chapel at Beth Jacob Cemetery. Members of the Russian-Jewish community, friends, business associates and neighbors came to remember the hard working, gregarious Golub,

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer “Hashem makes everything we see and so we pray to Him, Hashem makes our hearts sing, And so we’ll dance and sing for Him.” Hillel Academy Jewish day school’s six kindergartners sang out these words, part of a song they wrote called Caterpillars, Birds &

Memoir of raising 4 biological & 5 adopted kids No Biking In The House Without A Helmet By Melissa Fay Greene • Farrar, Straus and Giroux • 354 pages • $26 Interview By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Former Daytonian Melissa Fay Greene is known for her accounts of

Musical about Southern Jewish family and maid during Civil Rights era at Loft Theatre By Jennie Szink, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Imagine being an 8-year-old who receives a large sum of money for Chanukah, only to lose it to your housekeeper — almost a second mother — because

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer From Sept. 7-13, 23 local business and government leaders participated on the Dayton region’s third Israel trade mission since 2008. The goal of the trip — coordinated by the two-year-old Montgomery County-Dayton Region Israel Trade Alliance — was to expand the breadth and

With Charlotte Golden, The Dayton Jewish Observer Josh Halpern, 18, will perform this month with the Polaris String Quartet on National Public Radio’s From The Top, a nationally-syndicated program that features young musicians across the country. The show is expected to air locally at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 19

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Cantor Joyce Dumtschin, who was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndrome in 2009, is scheduled to receive a stem cell transplant at James Cancer Hospital in Columbus on Sept. 27, the day before the eve of Rosh Hashanah. “Only 30 percent of people who need

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer For the first time in 57 years, Beth Jacob Synagogue will not have a Rabbi Fox on the bima. In a letter to the Traditional congregation’s members dated Aug. 22, synagogue President Dr. Herman I. Abromowitz announced that Beth Jacob’s board voted on

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer This fall, Dayton’s harvest of live theatre yields three Jewish-oriented productions: Neil Simon’s familiar Lost In Yonkers, the rarely performed Abie’s Irish Rose, and the musical Caroline, Or Change. Richard Brock, director of Abie’s Irish Rose, says he’s tried for years to get

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Judy Grampp, a paramedic who works in the ER at Good Samaritan Hospital, lost her 31/2-year-old grandson, Joey Cross, to Tay-Sachs disease on Oct. 17, 2010. Grampp is now the driving force behind an educational panel for the community about Tay-Sachs and other