Stand-up comedian, former Israel Defense Forces “lone soldier,” and National Jewish Book Award-winning author Joel Chasnoff will present a benefit performance for Hillel Academy Jewish day school at 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 18. A native of Evanston, Ill. who now lives in Ra’anana, Israel, Chasnoff is the author of The

America 250 — Part Four In the news series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer The Relative Influence of European Thinkers and the Bible on American Political Thought. How the Bible influenced the Founding Fathers. Proclaim Liberty: How the Hebrew Bible Molded America. The Hebrew

Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz, who lives in Cincinnati, will deliver the keynote address for Hadassah Dayton’s 100th Birthday Grand Centennial Celebration Party, 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 11. “The event will be a tribute to past and current Dayton Hadassah members and it is open to the community,” said

After 46 years as a judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio — seven of them as chief judge — Walter H. Rice retired from the federal bench Aug. 28. As reported by the Dayton Daily News, the 89-year-old judge will occasionally preside over reentry

Dayton’s Jewish Family Services will offer the community a grief and loss support group on Thursdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m., beginning Sept. 24. JFS Mental Health Clinician Bonnie Parish will facilitate the group, which she describes as a “caring, confidential, and supportive environment where individuals experiencing the loss of

Look for Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site!     To read the complete October 2026 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Beth Sue Adelman, whose compassionate heart benefited the Dayton community in countless ways for many decades, died peacefully on Sept. 2. She was 75. As both a professional and a volunteer, Beth sought to help others in myriad ways, whether making nightly phone calls to check on an elderly friend,

Wright State University will present a performance of the one-person play Anschel by Michael London, based on the book Anschel’s Story by Renate Frydman, at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17 in the Creative Arts Center’s Herbst Theatre. The free presentation is sponsored by the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center, based at

Dr. Felix Garfunkel, who survived the Soviet and Nazi invasions of Czernowitz, Romania, ghettos, concentration camps, and a death march, died this morning. He was 95. Garfunkel received his medical training in Ecuador, one of the few nations to accept displaced Jews during and after World War II. He established

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Could it be bashert (intended) that Beth Abraham Synagogue returns to its building at the time when Jews begin the process of teshuva leading up to the High Holidays? Teshuva is the Hebrew word for repentance. Literally, it means return, to return to