The Synagogue Forum of Greater Dayton will present its 16-session course, The Basics of Judaism, on Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Oct. 28. The annual class opens Dayton’s synagogues to anyone interested in Jewish learning, dialogue, and exploration. The course offers an in-depth look at Judaism from Conservative,

Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site.     To read the complete October 2019 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Charlotte Vangrov Horwitz, age 102, a native Daytonian, died Sept. 4 of natural causes. The widow of Dr. Alan S. Horwitz, she was a well known member of the community, active for many years in a number of organizations, including the Women’s Auxiliary of Good Samaritan Hospital (of which she

Fight against antisemitism is now priority of Christians United for Israel Story By Marshall Weiss, The Observer “It’s impossible to talk about Israel without mentioning the Bible,” Pastor Lyndon Allen tells a half full but responsive audience at the Victoria Theatre the evening of Sept. 1. “Our motto as an

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer As painful as it is to revisit the horrors of the Holocaust, Samuel Heider feels an obligation to share his story with anyone willing to listen. More than a generation of middle and high school students across the Miami Valley have heard Heider tell how

By Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel A pop-up notice scrolls across my news feed. September is National Preparedness Month, a time to promote planning for family and community disasters and emergencies. I shake my head. First, because the timing feels laughable. And second, because I know there is no training

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer It’s been more than 40 years since the Dayton area has had a kosher restaurant. But that changed in July, when Priya and Napoleon Rajavelu opened Heavenly, their vegetarian Indian restaurant at 9486 N. Springboro Pike in Miamisburg, across the street from LexisNexis.

By Richard Bromberg My wife, Diann, and I ask a lot of questions about the Oregon District massacre. We are impacted in a different way than many. We are red flaggers. Red flaggers are forensic specialists who are risk assessors, attempting to identify people with significant violence or suicide potential.

By Jane Kaufman, Cleveland Jewish News For years, Rabbi Frank Muller has taken security into consideration but never thought Youngstown’s Jewish community would be threatened by the rhetoric of a white nationalist. “We live just over an hour from Pittsburgh,” the spiritual leader of Congregation Rodef Sholom in Youngstown told

A Bisel Kisel with Masha Kisel, The Dayton Jewish Observer My great-grandmother Valentina lived surrounded by plants. Her balcony was lined with potted geraniums and violets; inside were wall to wall cacti. Our ritual when I came over to her small apartment in the center of Kiev, which was often,