Tom Blum, age 95 of Dayton, passed away Dec. 31. Mr. Blum was a suit salesman at Rike’s for many years, a member of Beth Jacob Congregation, Army veteran of World War II, member of Jewish War Veterans Post 587, and Disabled Veterans of America. Through the years he was

Myths and Misconceptions series The Jewish Family Identity Forum with Candace R. Kwiatek, The Dayton Jewish Observer My father-in-law, Jack Kwiatek of blessed memory, had an unusual habit when out for a walk: he would scrutinize the sidewalk cracks. Why, you might ask, as I did on numerous occasions —

With Rachel Haug Gilbert Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Dr. Corinne Wright graduated from Wright State University with her Ph.D. in human factors and industrial organizational psychology on Dec. 13. Her dissertation, Bridging the Gap: Exploring the Need for Better System Representations in Higher Education, examined how universities can

Look for The Adventures of Bark Mitzvah Boy each month in The Dayton Jewish Observer and at this site. To read the complete January 2015 Dayton Jewish Observer, click here.

Some food for thought The Jewish Internet with Marc Mietkiewicz, Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Chanukah is over. And we’re stuffed. So what better time to look at food — the meatless kind. If you want to cut down or cut out meat in your diet while observing kashrut

The Dayton area’s Jewish community will offer three ways to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January. Pulpit exchange For the 23rd year, Temple Israel and Omega Baptist Church will host a pulpit exchange over the MLK weekend. On Friday, Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m., the Revs. Vanessa and Daryl

Leshon Ima – Mother Tongue with Dr. Rachel Zohar Dulin, Special To The Observer Our secular calendar received its final form in the year 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII after multiple changes over many years. January is named to honor the two-faced Roman god Janus, who guarded the gates of

Carmen M. Appel, age 107, of Dayton, passed away Dec. 10 in her own home. Mrs. Appel was the oldest member of Beth Abraham Synagogue. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lydia and Max May; her beloved husband, Bert; and son-in-law, Charles Frydman. Her good deeds and volunteerism

You don’t have to wait until Passover to dig into Judaism’s founding liberation narrative By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer If Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings left you feeling stood up at the Tabernacle, you’re not alone. Rottentomatoes.com indicates that 72 percent of mainstream media critics have panned

Hollywood’s depiction of the Exodus spans nine decades By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Hollywood has had its share of big-budget biblical flops, but until now, the Exodus narrative has not been among them. Studios have brought Moses to the big screen sparingly, but in ways that defined the