By Karen Davis, Jewish Women’s Archive “I believe in tit for tat, and if that’s the case someone owes me a lot of tat.” That quote begins well-researched documentary about Sophie Tucker, the bawdy singer and comedian known for being “the last of the red-hot mamas.” And thanks to the producing-writing

Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site.   To read the complete April 2015 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

The Dayton Jewish Observer Vegetarian food brought Cantor Jenna Greenberg and Rabbi Josh Ginsberg together. The two met as students at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, when a classmate organized a singles dinner at a kosher vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown. Greenberg had become a vegetarian in her teens,

By Rabbi Judy Chessin Temple Beth Or, and Chair, Synagogue Forum of Dayton Remember the story of the East Coast rabbi who was invited to serve a Midwestern pulpit? On his very first Shabbat, a fight broke out among congregants who disagreed as to whether they should or should not

Jew in the Christian world  Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer During a book discussion that raised questions about Jewish history, rituals, and beliefs, one of the Christian attendees said to me, “Thank you so much for your comments. I’ve met Jewish people before, but

By Sean Savage, JNS.org For a growing number of Jewish families, Passover has become not only a holiday that retells the age-old story of the Exodus from Egypt, but also a time of current conflict and compromise. According to the Pew Research Center’s A Portrait of Jewish Americans survey that

With Rachel Haug Gilbert, The Dayton Jewish Observer Hillel Academy will honor Sandy Sloane Brenner for her 43 years of teaching at the Jewish day school with a brunch on May 31 at Beth Abraham Synagogue. Proceeds will benefit Hillel Academy. Ann Berger is coordinating chefs for the Fifth Annual

The Jewish Internet with Mark Mietkewicz, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Passover is quickly approaching and that means pretty soon you’ll be reaching into a familiar drawer to pull out a stack of well-worn and slightly wine-stained Haggadahs. Nothing will ever replace those Haggadahs and their special memories. But

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer   At Columbus Museum of Art, needleworks depict survival The 36 needlework images by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz on display at the Columbus Museum of Art are deceptively bucolic. Scenes of the Polish countryside appear at first to resemble the style of Grandma Moses.

Leshon Ima, Mother Tongue with Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer If it’s April, we can’t forget that taxes are due soon. Never mind that we are entering the time of sfirat haomer, the counting of days between Pesach and Shavuot. For many of us, counting