By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Dayton, Montgomery County, and the Dayton Development Coalition have contracted Hadas Bar-Or of Tel Aviv to serve as business development director for the Dayton Region Israel Trade Alliance office. Bar-Or, formerly the trade representative to Israel for Massachusetts, has signed a contract to

  Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site. To read the complete March 2014 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

A look at the Holy Book series by Candace R. Kwiatek, The Jewish Family Identity Forum, The Dayton Jewish Observer My middle-school students recently expressed interest in learning Kabalah. A topic with the qualities of quicksand, Kabalah traditionally is not studied until the age of 40, and even then only

By Rabbi Haviva Horvitz, Temple Beth Sholom, Middletown, Ohio It is safe to say that there are many Jewish holidays which could be described as: “they tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat.” But none more so than Purim. If you do not know the story, the Book of

Hillel Academy has hired Patty Caruso as its director of development. She’s assisting with fund raising, marketing, public relations, publicity, and outreach to continue the Jewish day school’s already growing enrollment. Elaine Bettman is one of eight honorees for this year’s YWCA Women of Influence Awards Luncheon, to be held

Movie Review By Michael Fox, Special To The Observer When The Monuments Men was bumped from a prime December release date to February, the company line was that co-writer-director-star George Clooney needed more time to properly finish the film. Now that I’ve seen the movie, another explanation presents itself: Lacking

By Chavie Lieber, JTA Just because they’re the same shape doesn’t mean they have the same soul. Hamantashen, the Purim season’s traditional triangle-shaped cookie, are conventionally filled with jam, but the pastry has come a long way since its namesake ruled in ancient Persia. From New Orleans, where hamantashen centers

The Jewish Internet With Mark Mietkiewicz, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer “The other day someone asked what my plans are for Purim. I think, like every other parent of food-allergic children, my heart skipped a beat and sunk to my feet. Not this time of year again!” writes Sara

Leshon Ima with Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer So far this year, we’ve celebrated the holidays earlier than usual. That Chanukah, for example, coincided with Thanksgiving, made it clear that this is an “intercalation” year in which an adjustment had to be made to assure

Elliott J. Heller, age 62, of Dayton, passed away unexpectedly Feb. 1 at his residence. Mr. Heller was the owner of Winkler Heller & Company CPA Firm, received his undergraduate and MBA degrees from the University of Cincinnati, and was a member of Beth Abraham Synagogue. He was preceded in