With Bark Mitzvah Boy, The Dayton Jewish Observer Scott Halasz has been promoted to managing editor of the Xenia Daily Gazette, Fairborn Daily Herald, and Beavercreek News-Current. Scott has been with the Greene County News Group since February 2014, covering local government, schools, courts, sports, and breaking news, and in

Rabbi David Sofian, Temple Israel’s senior rabbi from 2003 until his retirement in 2015, will teach the course, 20th-Century Jewish Philosophers, Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m., Sept. 14, 21, 28, and Oct. 5 at the temple. The class will explore the main ideas of Milton Steinberg, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Martin Buber,

Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site.     To read the complete September 2021 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Philip S. Rubin, age 85, formerly of Dayton, passed away peacefully July 22 in Flower Mound, Texas, where he had been living for the past several years. He was a graduate of Springfield High School and the University of Miami, Fla. He was the son of Jacob and Mary Rubin.

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Two Israeli tech companies looking to expand their reach in the United States turned to students with the University of Dayton’s MBA capstone program for comprehensive market studies this year. The studies, for Lehavot and Gevasol, marked the first time UD’s MBA capstone

Stories of Jewish Dayton recovers long-buried episodes of life in the Miami Valley By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer On July 12, The History Press published my second book, Stories of Jewish Dayton. It’s a thank-you to the Jewish community of my adoptive home. Stories of Jewish Dayton honors

Jewish Federation CEO Cathy Gardner announced July 7 that Marc Jacob has been hired as senior director of the Jewish Community Center. Jacob previously served as director of Dayton’s JCC from 2006 to 2008, where he began working as teen and day camp director in 2001. A native of London,

Reflections on a year in Israel By Rikki Mangel Since August 2020, I have been in Israel for a gap year in a women’s college in Jerusalem. I expected challenges to come up with the Covid-19 restrictions, but I never imagined that I would go through all the events that

By Rabbi Tina Sobo, Temple Israel Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach was a very poor but well-respected Torah scholar who worked diligently in the flax trade — notable for its difficult labor. His students, concerned at how strenuous the work was for ben Shetach, and wishing to learn the most from

Considering Creation Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer You might be surprised to learn that Cain was a spiritual genius, the inventor of an idea practiced by billions of people across time and place, as described by Rabbi Aryeh Fohrman. That’s certainly not the