Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site.     To read the complete April 2020 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

By Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz I am not a medical professional, an epidemiologist or an expert on pandemics. I leave the serious information in those important fields for the professionals who have the appropriate training to help us get through the coronavirus epidemic. Even though I do not possess medical knowledge,

Nagi T. Ahmed Nasr, age 79 of Dayton, passed away March 5. He was born May 20, 1940 in Cairo, Egypt, the son of Hassan and Malaka Ahmed Nasr. He is survived by his wife, Beverly Farnbacher; children, Lelia Jenkins and Nadia (Jason) Saunders; grandchildren, Alana, Adassa, Jacob and Jase;

Key leader of Teleki Square Synagogue revitalization who worked on film visits Dayton for screening at Neon By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Over nearly two decades, András Mayer and his brother, Gábor, have led the rebirth and restoration of the Teleki Square Synagogue, Budapest’s last shtiebel (little Jewish

Temple Israel hosts Aimee Ginsburg Bikel reading children’s book based on her husband’s childhood An interview by Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Jewish Journal Theodore Bikel’s The City of Light — published in December — is based on a short story by Theodore Bikel, but the book’s author is his widow,

It was the summer of 1997 when Dayton Playhouse’s Futurefest presented Faye Sholiton’s new play, The Interview, about a Holocaust survivor and her estranged daughter. Since then, The Interview has had more than three dozen readings and staged productions across the United States. Sholiton — a prolific playwright and founding

Jenny Caplan breathed a big sigh of relief recently when she finished up a big editing project that took nearly two years. An assistant professor in the department of philosophy and religious studies at Towson University, Jenny edited a collection of academic essays on the television show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The

A Bisel Kisel with Masha Kisel, The Dayton Jewish Observer I grew up in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and immigrated to Chicago, where I struggled to fit into a suburban Jewish private school. My husband, Sam Dorf, grew up in the vibrant Jewish community of Brookline, just outside

Opinion By Michele Dritz I really enjoy Masha Kisel’s writing, especially her columns where she describes the history and culture of her family, and of Eastern Europe. I often learn something new and get to glimpse things from her unique vantage point. It is because of that enjoyment and respect

By Rabbi Elchonon Chaikin, Chabad of Greater Dayton Since I was a child, Purim has been one of the year’s greatest highlights. I continue to look forward to it each year as winter comes to a close. The memories of seeing who had the loudest grogger, of making sure to