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Earlham Judaic studies chair leads Peace Museum program
Elliot Ratzman, chair of Jewish studies with Earlham College’s Religion department, will present the talk Judaism and Pacifism: From the Rabbis to the Refuseniks, 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 27 at the International Peace Museum, 10 N. Ludlow St., Dayton. “While many modern Jews have been involved with social, racial, and

Retired Dayton JFS exec. dir. Rabbi Sheldon Switkin dies at 85
Rabbi Sheldon Switkin, executive director of Dayton’s Jewish Family Services from 1982 to 2002, died Oct. 4 at the age of 85. Over his 20-year tenure with JFS, he oversaw the resettlement of approximately 250 Soviet Jews to Dayton between 1989 and 1996, with nearly 200 arriving in 1992 alone

U.S. and the Holocaust documentary brings local survivor face-to-face with her mother
By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Seven minutes into watching the first episode of Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein’s documentary The U.S. and the Holocaust, 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Eleanor Hambury Must saw film footage of a young woman in profile, sitting on a balcony in Germany with

A Titanic Jewish Experience
Titanic Museums’ tribute to Jewish passengers & crew draws direct line to immigration restrictions & the Holocaust Story and Photos By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Below the Smoky Mountains, not far from Dollywood and neighboring Gatlinburg, drivers on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. see outsized, bizarre architecture

Beth Abraham’s new rabbi expected to arrive in Dayton in time to lead Rosh Hashanah services
In an email this afternoon to members of Beth Abraham Synagogue, its president, Scott Liberman, announced that Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer was approved to enter the United States in time to lead services in person for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which begins at sundown on Sunday night, Sept.

New Shabbat dinner programs for young adults launching Oct. 1
National nonprofit OneTable and Federation bring project here By Abigail Klein Leichman, Jewish Standard Young Jewish adults seek out the weekly ritual of Friday night Shabbat dinners to build social connections, mitigate loneliness, and deepen ties to their community and Jewish identity. That is the conclusion of a study from

Late cantor’s memoir published by daughter
‘I want people to know her story’ By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Two days before Cantor Joyce Ury Dumtschin died from pneumonia as a result of myelodysplastic syndrome in 2013, she finished writing her memoir, My Trip to Cancer-land. Her intention was to have it published. This August,

Myth & memory in photographer’s toy dioramas
An interview with David Levinthal By Hannah Kasper Levinson, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer David Levinthal is a photographer based in New York whose exhibit, American Myth & Memory: David Levinthal Photographs, opens Oct. 15 at the Dayton Art Institute. The exhibit is on tour from the Smithsonian American

Recognize the good
By Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel As we move through the High Holy Days, we approach Yom Kippur with a sense of dread. We anticipate feelings of guilt and regret, in addition to hunger, because we know the time is upon us to look critically at ourselves. The task is

An arts harvest for October
By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer This October brings rich arts offerings with Jewish connections to our region, and it begins in Springfield. Those who missed the national tour of Barlett Sher’s production of Fiddler on the Roof in June at the Schuster Center can take it in at