Jewish food blogger Whitney Fisch takes over as director of the Hillel at Miami University in Oxford, Aug. 1. Fisch received her MSW from The University of Michigan School of Social Work. She has served as a counselor with a private Jewish middle school in Miami, Fla. and most recently

A Bisel Kisel with Masha Kisel, The Dayton Jewish Observer When I set out to teach a course called The Jewish-American Experience on Film at the University of Dayton, I didn’t anticipate that I would talk about race in America. I envisioned a chronological survey of films and television shows

With Scott Halasz, The Dayton Jewish Observer Childhood Memories, a photograph by Stephen Goldberg, has been accepted for inclusion in Partnership2Gether Western Galilee’s Covid-19 Photo Exhibition with Munio Gallery. The exhibit is a curated collection of photographs taken by Israeli, Hungarian, and U.S. amateur photographers. It highlights the time of

By Rabbi Levi Simon, Chabad of Greater Dayton If you peek through the front windows of my house, the first thing you might see would be our children’s toys, our books, and large dining room table. You’d probably get a pretty good idea of what our family is like and

Our Dual Heritage Series Jewish Family Education with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer When writer and storyteller Sarah Montana was 22, her mother and brother were shot to death in their home by a neighborhood teen looking for valuables to steal. Seven years later, she recounted in a

By Josefin Dolsten, JTA Midway through Lila Duke’s Bat Mitzvah, her family’s cat made an appearance. Minnie’s interruption was one of many ways that Lila’s coming-of-age ceremony was different from what she had expected. While the 12-year-old still read her Torah portion in front of more than 100 people, still

By David A.M. Wilensky, J. Virtual B’nai Mitzvahs are a part of life now. The kid reads Torah and delivers a D’var Torah, often over Zoom, to an audience of friends and family. But is there a way to hold a virtual party after the virtual ceremony? Isaac Lachter found

By Sophie Panzer, Jewish Exponent While their parents may have relied on tape recorders and CDs for their own B’nai Mitzvah preparations, students today learning to chant Torah can turn to YouTube. “There are lots of cantors who have produced high-quality recordings on YouTube,” said Ben Rotenberg, education director at

By Rabbi Tamara Cohen, Moving Traditions Today is your Bat/Bar/B’nai/B-Mitzvah and it is a day of celebration. It is not the day you and your family envisioned and planned for. And we are so sorry because that’s what we all wanted it to be. But your Torah will be no

By Rachel Ringler, The Nosher Jimmy’s Chicken Shack was a food and jazz hub on St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem in the 1940s. Malcolm X worked there. Jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker Jr. washed dishes there. At that same address you can still find food and jazz; but the name and