Religion February 09 By Rabbi Judy Chessin, Temple Beth Or, Chair, Dayton Synagogue Forum Rabbi Judy Chessin While Jews go to great lengths to avoid “racial” stereotypes, science confirms distinctive genetic markers which tie Jewish people to a common Middle Eastern ancestral population. Studies of DNA sequences indicate that Jewish

Children of the Bible Series Jewish Family Identity Forum By Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Open our family’s Friday evening photo album and you would see dinner at the dining room table with a tablecloth and candles. Wine and blessings. Two challot. Birkat hamazon — the blessing after

By JTA Staff JERUSALEM (JTA) — Four months ago, shortly after appearing to make it to the top of the Israeli political pyramid, Tzipi Livni stumbled. Ehud Olmert had resigned as prime minister and Livni had won the Kadima primary election, but she was having trouble assembling a coalition government.

DJCC 100 percent rating DJCC Dir. of Early Childhood Services Audrey MacKenzie On Feb. 11, Dayton Jewish Community Center Director Cheryl Carne announced that the DJCC’s early childhood services program received a 100-percent rating during an unannounced visit by Ohio’s early childhood licensing bureau. The Ohio Department of Job and

Joyce Dumtschin 20 years By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Cantor Joyce Dumtschin Every Rosh Hashanah and at a fair number of Bar and Bat Mitzvahs at Temple Beth Or, Cantor Joyce Dumtschin and her husband, Irwin, sing the Debbie Friedman arrangement of Shehecheyanu, the blessing thanking God for

Second local mikvah Groundbreaking for the Miami Valley Mikvah at Sugar Camp in Oakwood, Feb. 1, 2009. Miami Valley Mikvah to open in Oakwood By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Only a month after the Dayton Ritualarium Society’s new mikvah facility on the campus of Beth Jacob Synagogue in

Open house at new mikvah The Dayton Ritualarium Society will host an open house for women at its new Rosenberg Dayton Community Mikvah, on the grounds of Beth Jacob Synagogue, on Sunday, March 15 at 10:30 a.m. Ritualarium Society mikvah attendants Chana Fox, Devorah Mangel and Jane Novick will host

Hillel Chinese celebration Hillel Academy kindergartners and first graders helped art teacher Scott Gibbs build this dragon puppet, which the students paraded in the lunch room on Jan. 26, the Chinese new year   By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Students, faculty and staff of Hillel Academy Jewish day

Ophir Azoulay profile Ophir Azoulay with his IDF reserve unit at the Philadelphia Corridor Beth Jacob Synagogue ritual director returns to IDF for Gaza op By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer From the moment he landed at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport in the early morning hours of Jan. 6, Ophir

By Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin, Chabad of Greater Dayton What had changed since last August, when I had first visited Mumbai? Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin The Indian army squad in a sandbagged position in front of the Knesset Eliyahu Synagogue, where Gabi Holtzberg had served as rabbi. The Shabbat meals being held