Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site. To read the complete May 2016 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Jew in the Christian world by Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer A literary character that’s two-dimensional, “lacking in depth, complexity, or history” is known as a flat or cardboard character, writer Brandon Sanderson explains. Such characters do not change over the course of the story. In the real

Leshon Ima – The Mother Tongue with Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, brings to mind the unique relationship between world Jewry and the land of Israel. For Jews, to come to live in Israel from any place in the world — be it from the highest

What’s on your iPhone or MP3 player? Taylor Swift? Drake? Lennon and McCartney? Well, put them on pause because class is about to begin — at iTunes U. ITunes, of course, is the free Apple software best known as the program used to purchase, download and listen to music on

Wilma L. Keller, age 89, of Centerville, passed away April 2 at Bethany Village. Mrs. Keller was retired from Dayton Public Schools and a member of Temple Israel. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bertram; parents, Charles and Dovie Smith; and sister, Vechel Barlow. Mrs. Keller is survived

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer The symbolism and rituals associated with the Missing Man Table in remembrance of POW/MIAs are nearly as intricate as those of a Passover Seder. In military dining facilities and at special military meals, a round table is set with a white cloth, sometimes with

The JCC Film Fest will celebrate the recent restoration of a movie house in Miamisburg dating to 1919 when it presents its opening-night film, Once in a Lifetime, at the Historic Plaza Theatre at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5. One hour before the screening, the Film Fest will host

Film review by Michael Fox, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer The marvelously claustrophobic and deeply damning Israeli courtroom drama Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem actually consists of three trials. Seeking a divorce after some 30 years, Viviane aims to cast her husband Elisha as the defendant. However, the

Film review by Michael Fox, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Exceptionally intelligent and resourceful, and supported by a loving middle-class family, the young protagonist of A Borrowed Identity has a wide-open future. He does have one handicap, though, that will block his ascent into the upper echelons of Israeli

Film Review by Michael Fox, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer The recent history between Jews and African-Americans, from the Crown Heights riot of 1991 through the dustup between Black Lives Matter and Bernie Sanders last summer, is strewn with misunderstandings. One has to go back half a century to