By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer When Dayton’s Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz was invited to deliver a prayer at Sunday night’s vigil on East Fifth Street in Dayton’s Oregon District — the site where nine people were gunned down earlier that day — she already knew where to find words

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Among its current members, no one is sure exactly when the Yellow Springs Havurah was born. New Yorker Len Kramer moved to Yellow Springs in 1968 after he graduated college and took an engineering job at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. “Maybe 10 years

A Bisel Kisel Masha Kisel, The Dayton Jewish Observer At a recent Jewish Film Fest screening in Dayton, I picked up a pamphlet listing classic Jewish authors. There were notable omissions of many Eastern European names, which I hope to remedy by telling you about Isaac Babel, a Russian-speaking Jewish

With Scott Halasz, The Dayton Jewish Observer Ben Pierce graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business with a dual major in finance and honors accounting. At Ohio State, he won a PaceSetters Award for being among the top business school students, was a teaching

Our Dual Heritage Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer “This country is a blessed nation. (Its people) are special. The world knows it. In our innermost thoughts, we know it. This is the greatest nation on earth.” What first came to mind upon reading

By Rabbi Ari Ballaban Temple Beth Or In the realm of halacha (Jewish law) and morality, there are those who compare the act of accepting refugees to the mitzvah of redeeming captives — pidyon sh’vuyim. In contrast to the aphorism that “one shouldn’t negotiate with kidnappers,” halacha actually requires (in

By Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin Dr. Masha Kisel wrote with personal authenticity on the immensely complex topic of abortion (Robbing mothers of their personhood, religious freedom, July Observer). I trust that words written from such a deep place will have their positive effect, in particular, in evoking a deeper and better

As part of its yearlong 125th birthday celebrations, Beth Abraham Synagogue will present Kaleidoscope of Us! From Babies To Bubbies: Celebrating, Sharing, Reflecting, Noshing, from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 25. The afternoon of art, food, and entertainment will feature a performance of Jewish music by The Robyn Helzner

A Huber Heights man was sentenced July 9 to 30 months in prison for a 2017 hate crime: attacking a man he thought was Jewish. Izmir Koch, 34, was found guilty in December by a judge for his part in the assault of a man smoking a cigarette outside the

Jerome B. Kopmar, cantor emeritus of Beth Abraham Synagogue, will present a recital to commemorate his 50 years in Dayton, at 7 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 18 at Beth Abraham Synagogue. Kopmar founded and led the Beth Abraham Youth Chorale from 1971 to 1983. Under his baton, the ensemble garnered a