By Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel In the book The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness, Joel ben Izzy shares the story The Search for Truth. It is about a man who gives up everything he cares about in search of truth. He scours the world until at last

By Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel Election Day is almost upon us. With real health concerns due to Covid-19, I fear some might decide it’d be easier to stay at home than to head to the polls. This is, of course, why we’ve seen numerous debates about early and mail-in

By Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz Temple Israel Miami Valley rabbis share thoughts on unprecedented U.S. antisemitism Less than 10 years ago, I heard sociologist Robert Putnam share his findings about the American religious experience from his book, American Grace. He pointed to a notable decline in antisemitism since 1946 and, more

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 Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel Having served as Temple Israel’s director of education for many years, I have had several conversations with parents about their children’s Jewish education. One topic stands out to me, especially at this time of year when school returns to session: holding funerals on Sunday

Rabbi Karen N. Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel As Purim approaches, my thoughts turn to our heroine, Queen Esther. Though introduced to us merely for her beauty, Esther is remembered for her bravery and strength of spirit. When Queen Esther learned of Haman’s wicked plan to destroy all the Jews in the

By Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel Every year, as I prepare for the High Holy Days, I turn to familiar texts to help me refocus on their meaning. For the past few years I have enjoyed rereading Rabbi Alan Lew’s book, This is Real and You are Completely Unprepared. This

Thirteen years after she first arrived at Temple Israel, Karen Bodney-Halasz to become its next senior rabbi Story and Photos By Marshall Weiss, The Dayton Jewish Observer Although she’s overseen Temple Israel’s religious school since 2003 and has served as assistant rabbi there since her ordination in 2007, Rabbi Karen

By Rabbi Karen Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel The Talmud states, kol Yisrael aravim zeh b’zeh, all Israel is responsible for one another (Shevuot 39a). To me, this teaches that Judaism is rooted in relationships; a Jew cannot live in a vacuum. We are connected one to the other — in our

By Rabbi Karen N. Bodney-Halasz, Temple Israel Special To The Dayton Jewish Observer Rabbis Phyllis and Michael Sommer have been friends of mine since we served on staff together at Goldman Union Camp Institute 15 years ago. They are down to earth, outgoing, loving, and to top it off, they