Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site.     To read the complete August 2015 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

By Rabbi Levi Simon, Chabad of Greater Dayton If you would see my son Shmuel you might mistake him for a girl, as many have, because of his long hair. Rochel, my wife, and I are not having him grow up as a hippie; we are marking the beginning of

The Jewish Internet with Mark Mietkiewicz, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Q: What do these performers have in common: Kirk Douglas, Paula Abdul and Krusty the Clown? A: They all celebrated their high-profile Bar or Bat Mitzvahs as adults. The Bar Mitzvah is not only a rite of passage,

Leshon Ima – Mother Tongue with Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Many are the words and phrases in the Hebrew language that express joy and celebratory events. Indeed, the language is rooted in a culture that is rich in celebrations, immersed in festivities and exultations

Beverly Ruth Froikin, age 86, of Los Angeles, formerly of Dayton, died June 1. Mrs. Froikin retired from Hillel Academy in Dayton in 1986 after 25 years of service, and was a member of Beth Abraham Synagogue, where she sang in the choir. Mrs. Froikin was preceded in death by

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Dayton’s three liberal Jewish congregations joined with 17 area churches to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling in support of gay marriage. Hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, We Do Support Marriage Equality — an interfaith coalition of clergy and congregations across

  Pa. temple and Martin Shorr also settle congregation’s countersuit against him By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Rabbi Martin Shorr’s arrival and departure from Beth Jacob Congregation two years ago after little more than two weeks brought about two civil suits in Montgomery County that were only recently resolved.

By Shelley A. Sackett, Jewish Journal of Massachusetts Dayton’s JCC will present the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education’s first outdoor concert when the rock band Moshav performs there on Sunday, Aug. 9. In Hebrew, the word moshav means a cooperative community in Israel. It was indeed a moshav that

Demographer’s conservative estimate: nearly a third of Jews in Miami Valley unidentified. Recent Pew studies are key to understanding trends. By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Virtually every year for more than a century, The American Jewish Year Book has included population estimates for Jewish communities across the United

By Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel The Talmud states, kol Yisrael aravim zeh b’zeh, all Israel is responsible for one another (Shevuot 39a). To me, this teaches that Judaism is rooted in relationships; a Jew cannot live in a vacuum. We are connected one to the other — in our