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What became of Queen Vashti?
By Laura Paull, j. The Jewish News of Northern California Anna Solomon’s third novel, The Book of V., follows several women in different time periods whose lives offer interpretive windows into the biblical stories of Esther and Vashti. One character is Lily Rubenstein, a young wife and mother in contemporary

Finding religion in delis, museums
By Alix Wall, j. The Jewish News of Northern California Rachel B. Gross can pinpoint the exact moment the idea for her book was planted. It was when one of her undergrad professors introduced herself as “an anthropologist of Jews.” “I just thought that was the coolest thing possible, that

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 March 2021 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Obituaries
Morton L. Epstein, age 80 of Dayton, passed away peacefully Feb. 2 at Hospice of Dayton. Mr. Epstein joined the Air Force after high school to pursue his passion for meteorology. He spent most of his working years as the building manager at Front Street. He was a lifelong fan

JCRC Community Conversations
Kenneth S. Stern, director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate and former longtime director of the American Jewish Committee’s division on antisemitism and extremism, will talk about his new book, The Conflict Over The Conflict: The Israel/Palestine Campus Debate, at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 10 via Zoom

Navigating emotional health during Covid
Absence of the human touch is hard to bear By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Through a long fall and winter in which Jewish Family Services staff have worked to ease the anxiety, fear, and loneliness of clients sheltering against Covid, JFS Director Tara L. Feiner says she is

Of plagues & ‘black weddings’
By Rabbi Judy Chessin, Temple Beth Or Planning a wedding these days is a daunting proposition with the current Covid-19 restrictions. Wedding couples wonder if they will be allowed to invite guests or need imprinted masks to go along with their kipot. Only one wedding was designed for just such

Heaven on Earth
Considering Creation Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer In 1928, settlers at Kibbutz Beit Alpha were draining the swamps in the Jezreel Valley when they spotted mosaic shards. Excavations unearthed a fifth-century synagogue complex with a nearly perfectly preserved floor mosaic. The middle panel

Mr. Mazel
With Scott Halasz, The Dayton Jewish Observer Neurologist Dr. Joel Vandersluis and the research division of his practice, Neurology Diagnostics, are participating in a clinical trial aimed at combating Alzheimer’s. The Trailblazer-Alz trial, conducted by Eli Lilly, has had marked success treating patients with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Treatment is

Intro to DNA testing with Diana Nelson
Local genealogist Diana Nelson will lead the Zoom session Introduction to DNA Testing at 10 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 14 for Miami Valley Jewish Genealogy & History in partnership with Beth Abraham Synagogue Men’s Club Speaker Series and Temple Israel’s Ryterband Lecture Series. Nelson is the education chair of the Greene