Rabbi Sheldon Switkin, executive director of Dayton’s Jewish Family Services from 1982 to 2002, died Oct. 4 at the age of 85. Over his 20-year tenure with JFS, he oversaw the resettlement of approximately 250 Soviet Jews to Dayton between 1989 and 1996, with nearly 200 arriving in 1992 alone

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Seven minutes into watching the first episode of Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein’s documentary The U.S. and the Holocaust, 91-year-old Holocaust survivor Eleanor Hambury Must saw film footage of a young woman in profile, sitting on a balcony in Germany with

In an email this afternoon to members of Beth Abraham Synagogue, its president, Scott Liberman, announced that Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer was approved to enter the United States in time to lead services in person for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, which begins at sundown on Sunday night, Sept.

National nonprofit OneTable and Federation bring project here By Abigail Klein Leichman, Jewish Standard Young Jewish adults seek out the weekly ritual of Friday night Shabbat dinners to build social connections, mitigate loneliness, and deepen ties to their community and Jewish identity. That is the conclusion of a study from

‘I want people to know her story’ By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Two days before Cantor Joyce Ury Dumtschin died from pneumonia as a result of myelodysplastic syndrome in 2013, she finished writing her memoir, My Trip to Cancer-land. Her intention was to have it published. This August,

The Synagogue Forum of Greater Dayton will present its 14-session Introduction to Judaism course on Tuesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. beginning Nov. 1 and running through Feb. 28. The annual class is open to anyone interested in Jewish learning, dialogue, and exploration. The course offers an in-depth look at

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Maryna Braginsky had never met her niece Polina in person before. The 12-year-old girl’s resemblance to her is striking. And Polina had never met her first cousins — Maryna and husband Michael Braginsky’s six children. The Braginsky house in Centerville is now Polina’s

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer “I don’t know what baseball is, but I’m trying to figure it out,” says Rawa’a Serhan, 18, a visitor to Day Air Ballpark from the Israeli Arab village of Majd al-Krum in the Galilee. Serhan just graduated from high school. She works in

Playwright will discuss The Interview after matinee By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer When second-generation Holocaust survivor Helene Gordon saw Faye Sholiton’s play The Interview at Actor’s Theatre Fairborn in early 2020, she felt like she was reliving her childhood. The drama is about a Holocaust survivor and her

By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Longtime labor relations consultant Mary Rita Weissman — a stalwart volunteer in the Jewish and general Dayton community — was elected president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton at its annual meeting, Aug. 17. Here, she talks about her pathway to Jewish