By Michele Alperin Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer The Zohar, Dr. Daniel Matt says, dares to be imaginative with the Torah, empowering individuals to interpret the story in totally new and individual ways. Most powerful are its views of God. “It is the divine energy that is animating all

By Uriel Heilman, JTA NEW YORK — It was an ominous hum. A dozen refrigerated trucks loaded with the body parts of victims of the 9/11 attacks filled a cavernous tent across the street from the Office of the City Medical Examiner, their low-pitched buzz an eerie soundtrack to the

Children of the Bible series By Candace R. Kwiatek Of all the biblical children, Joseph has the messiest, most stuffed scrapbook album. A scrap of ornamented tunic. A dreamer’s doodles. Mug shots and princely portraits. His life’s story, a novella told in great detail, is a series of reversals: favored

With Charlotte Golden Can we kvell! Annie Leah Greene has been awarded a full fellowship from the University of Chicago’s Near Eastern Languages and Civilization Department for her Ph.D. in Middle Eastern history. She recently earned her master’s degree with distinction in Near and Middle Eastern studies from the University

High Holy Days humor? Is this some kind of joke? Actually, yes. Rosh Hashanah ushers in the most solemn period of the Jewish calendar that culminates 10 days later on Yom Kippur. This is a serious time of introspection and cheshbon nefesh, a spiritual accounting. But Jews being Jews, there’s

By Julie Wiener According to one obsessed person who comments on my blog, I think gentile women are superior to Jewish women. Well, apparently so does “Avi Roseman,” the pen name of a 26-year-old single woman who has written and self-published  Secrets of Shiksa Appeal: 8 Steps to Attract Your

By Rabbi Samuel Fox, Rabbi Emeritus, Beth Jacob Congregation With Rosh Hashanah around the corner, each of us should engage in the national pastime of making resolutions for self improvement. Some of us will try to cover the waterfront with a multitude of resolutions, listing a catalog of sins and

Mollie Weintraub Fitterman, age 102, died Aug. 1, 2011. Mrs. Fitterman was the beloved wife of the late Robert Fitterman; dear mother and mother-in-law of Mark (Judith) Fitterman of Bethesda, Md. and Susan (Alan) Witte of St. Louis; dear grandmother of Elissa, Charlotte and Daniel Fitterman, Elizabeth (Vic Rawlings) and

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer With the lease almost up at their storefront at Randolph Plaza and facing a move to West Carrollton, Steve Bernstein, owner of Bernstein’s Fine Catering, and his vice president, Adam Baumgarten, felt remorse about leaving Clayton. That was until Friday, May 13, when

By Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin, Chabad of Greater Dayton Hot enough? At that point of the year when the heat is usually at its hottest, when it’s hard to bear and we seek relief — that’s when we find the anniversary of national disaster, Tisha B’Av, an anniversary of such horrors