By Chavie Lieber, JTA You’re at a wedding or Bar Mitzvah, mingling at the bar or catching up with a distant relative, when you hear it: the opening notes of a familiar tune that as if by some invisible force carries you and other guests to the dance floor for

By Rabbi Bernard Barsky, Beth Abraham Synagogue If you don’t feel the outrage and shame of it, then at least acknowledge the irony. This nation, the land of the free, said to be founded on “Judeo-Christian values” — a four-millennia long tradition rooted in the ideas of redemption and covenant,

Raising teens with values Jewish Family Identity Forum By Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer Prizewinner! Just send the processing fee. Authentic coin replicas! Don’t miss out on these genuine collectors’ items. Unclaimed accounts: Your money is just waiting for your checking deposit number. Free — just a small

  Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Observer and at this site.

On April 18, Beth Abraham Synagogue President Mary Rita Weissman announced to members via email that Rabbi Joshua Ginsberg will become the Conservative congregation’s rabbi as of July 1. A native of Chicago, Ginsberg received his rabbinic ordination and master of Hebrew letters degree from Jewish Theological Seminary. He is

The board of Beth Jacob Congregation voted on April 17 not to extend Rabbi Martin Applebaum’s one-year contract beyond July 31, 2013. Dr. Herman I. Abromowitz, president of the synagogue, notified congregants in a letter the following day. Abromowitz wrote that “a detailed report of Rabbi Applebaum’s status was presented

Federation will unveil new volunteer initiative, plans for coming year, progress on strategic plan By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer When Federation CEO Cathy Gardner says the Federation’s annual meeting will give the community a taste of what’s in store for the new year, she means it. Rue Dumaine’s

With Charlotte Golden, The Dayton Jewish Observer Rabbi Janice Garfunkel was among nine recipients of an honorary doctor of divinity degree on March 21 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. Casey Weinstein was named one of the Dayton Business Journals’s 2013 40 under 40 honorees. Casey is

The Jewish Internet by Mark Mietkiewicz, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Unlike other Jewish holidays, only one festival, Shavuot, has become synonymous with dairy foods. There are people who would be happy to sit down to a table groaning under the weight of blintzes and kugel and onion soup

Joseph Bienenfeld, age 93, passed away March 24 at Cedar Village in Mason. Mr. Bienenfeld was born in Warsaw on April 9, 1919. He was the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust. He met his beloved wife, Freda — also a Holocaust survivor — at a DP