The Dayton Jewish Observer, August 2023

Beth Abraham plans weekend of song Aug. 25-27 for rabbi's installation

Joey Weisenberg, founder and director of Hadar's Rising Song Institute, will lead a weekend of spiritual musical experiences culminating with the installation of Beth Abraham Synagogue's new rabbi, Aubrey L. Glazer, Aug. 25-27.

Hadar's mission is to empower Jews to create and sustain "vibrant, practicing, egalitarian Jewish communities of Torah, avodah (worship), and chesed (lovingkindness)."

Based in Philadelphia, Hadar's Rising Song Institute is a meeting place and incubator for musicians and prayer leaders who seek to reinvent Jewish spiritual music.

Weisenberg — a student and teacher of traditional Jewish melodies — is an instrumentalist, composer, and prayer leader. He is the author of Building Singing Communities and The Torah of Music, winner of a 2017 National Jewish Book Award.

At Beth Abraham, he'll engage participants in communal singing, immersive study, and experimental music making.

He'll lead the Kabalat Shabbat service at 5:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 25 followed by Shabbat

dinner, with a nigun circle after dinner for those who are interested. A nigun is a wordless, mystical prayer melody, based in Chasidic tradition.

Following Shabbat morning services lead by Weisenberg and noon kiddush lunch on Saturday, Aug. 26, Weisenberg will lead the learning session, The Torah of Music.

On Sunday, Aug. 27 at 1 p.m., he'll lead Glazer's installation ceremony.

Glazer arrived in Dayton last September to serve as the rabbi at Beth Abraham, the Dayton area's only Conservative synagogue. He was born and raised in Toronto, received his ordina-

tion from Jewish Theological Seminary, and has served at Congregation Shaare Zion in Montréal, Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco, and the JCC of Harrison, N.Y.

The Ruth and Fred Scheuer Life Enrichment Series is the sponsor of Weisenberg's programs at Beth Abraham.

Beth Abraham Synagogue is located at 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood.

The cost of the Friday night dinner is $26 adults, $13 children 3-12, with a $75 family maximum. RSVP to 937-2939520 by Aug. 16. All other installation weekend programs are free and open to the public.

Passing of retired longtime Federation staffers, Mel Caplan and Karen Steiger

Two longtime Jewish Federation staff members have died in recent weeks: Mel Caplan at age 86 on June 23, and Karen Steiger at age 74 on July 7. Each was a steady presence during the eras in which they served the Jewish community.

Mel Caplan arrived in Dayton in fall 1977 to serve as director of the new JCC on Denlinger Road in Trotwood, three months before it opened to the public. He significantly expanded the JCC's programming over nearly two decades until his promotion with the Jewish Federation as its chief operating officer in 1996.

In that position, he oversaw all Federation community services. Caplan retired in November 2002, after 25 years with the Federation — three months after the Federation opened the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education in Centerville, now the base of operations for the Federation

and its agencies. "He gave his all on behalf of the community, a true professional," retired Federation Executive Vice President Peter Wells said of Caplan. "He was dedicated to building a better Jewish community. He was a dear friend who was concerned about others. A true mensch."

Karen Steiger began her job as front desk receptionist at the Boonshoft CJCE the day it opened, Aug. 15, 2002, and retired last year, 20 years to the day.

“For so many years, Karen was the first face to greet parents and children every day here at the Boonshoft CJCE — home to our early childhood program — knowing the names of each of them," said Federation CEO Cathy Gardner. "We’re grateful for all Karen Steiger and Mel Caplan gave of themselves, and for so many years, in service to our community.”

— Marshall Weiss

Mel Caplan Karen Steiger

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer Joey Weisenberg

Hillel Academy: Ohio voucher expansion a 'big win for students '

Day school anticipates increased enrollment, stronger footing

By Marshall Weiss

The

Observer

With a significantly expanded EdChoice Scholarship student voucher program as part of Ohio's 2024-25 two-year budget, all families in the state are eligible to receive vouchers toward kindergarten through 12th-grade private school tuition beginning with the 2023-24 school year.

Ohio families with an annual income up to 450 percent of the federal poverty level are now eligible for $6,165 per child for Kindergarten through eighthgrade private school tuition, and $8,407 for ninth through 12th grades.

A family of four with an annual income of $135,000, for example, is at 450 percent of the poverty level.

"It's a great change," says Hillel Academy of Greater Dayton Interim Principal Anna Smith. "And not just for Hillel. For students, it's a great win."

Hillel is the Dayton area's Jewish day school, open to Jewish children from kindergarten through sixth grade. Its 2023-24 school year begins Aug. 16.

Families above 450 percent of the federal poverty level will receive scholarship funding tiered at lower levels, but at a mini-

More on the new state budget...8

mum are eligible for 10 percent of the total amounts.

Hillel's full tuition for the 2023-24 school year is $10,000.

"It's a very significant help for families," Smith adds. "Hillel's already a great value, but being able to have the assistance of over 60 percent of the tuition is pretty generous.

"There are some families that automatically rule out private school because of tuition. And having that voucher that expands accessibility, I think, will make them more open to it. It will help students achieve the private-school education that they haven't yet had."

Hillel Academy President Andy Schwartz says that Hillel's longstanding policy is never to turn away a child because of a family's inability to pay.

"We do have scholarship money coming in," he says. "But sometimes we have to go back to the donors to have them increase their amount to cover the gap."

Smith says more than half of

Hillel students currently receive financial scholarships from the school.

Schwartz added that the expanded EdChoice vouchers "will potentially provide additional funds to support the school and make it easier to meet any budgetary gaps that arise."

Located on the third floor of Beth Abraham Synagogue at Sugar Camp in Oakwood, Hillel Academy is able to accommodate 50 students in total each school year.

For the 2023-24 school year, 32 students are currently enrolled.

"We are still taking admissions for all grades," Smith says. "We're open to Jewish students in K to six. We look at transcripts and testing and make sure we can accommodate students' needs."

Schwartz notes that because of the small size of the school, "it is difficult for us to accommodate children with special needs. We don't have the resources."

Smith says children must be accepted to a private school before the state will award the vouchers.

"Parents will contact us. They could technically apply for the vouchers by themselves, but nothing's going to happen until I put them into the system. Once the application opens up, we'll send it out to all of our Continued on Page Four

The polarizing issue of state vouchers for private school tuition can pose a dilemma for parents of school-age children. In the ideal case, doing what's best for your child is doing what's best for your community. And doing what's best for your community is doing what's best for your child. But in our imperfect world, if you had to choose between doing what you believe is best for your child or doing what you believe is best for your community, which would you choose? My wife and I profoundly experienced the pain of such a choice 17 years ago, when we made the hard decision not to re-enroll our two children at Hillel Academy Jewish day school. At that time, we saw the secular education there as substandard overall. We wanted our children to have a Jewish day school education. We celebrated the importance of Jewish day school. But not at that cost. Today, we are so happy for the parents who enroll their children at Hillel. We wish the quality of its secular education would've been as excellent when our children were there.

Marshall Weiss

'It's a very significant help for families.'

Hillel Academy Interim Principal Anna Smith Hillel Academy President Andy Schwartz

Asa child of a Holocaust survivor, Helen Ostreicher Halcomb always thought about the millions of European Jews who weren’t afforded a proper funeral or burial. It compelled her to dedicate her life to preparing people for their eternal rest and protecting our cemeteries for generations to come.

Even without having anyone buried in one of our local Jewish cemeteries, Helen got involved with the Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton campaign because she believed we needed to take care of our own. “I saw the need, not only in Dayton, but throughout the country in other small Jewish communities. It’s wonderful that Dayton is being proactive and preparing for our future,” said Helen.

“The thought that our cemeteries would go unattended was frightening,” continued Helen. “I wanted to guarantee that I’ve done all that I could to help people find their perfect peace.”

Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton is an endowment organization created to maintain our three Jewish cemeteries in perpetuity. Please join us as we strive to maintain the sanctity, care, and integrity of these sacred burial grounds.

Preserving our Past Ensuring Our Future

Voucher expansion

Continued from Page Three

families if they would like to apply for it."

State's tax-deduction program also benefits Hillel

Hillel Academy has also started leveraging a state program approved with Ohio's 2022-23 budget, Every Child Every Family, a scholarship granting organization in which donors in Ohio may designate the private school of their choice to receive donations of up to $750 for an individual or $1,500 married/filed jointly and receive the full amount as a state tax credit.

Howie Beigelman, president and CEO of Ohio Jewish Communities — the lobbying arm of Ohio's eight Jewish Federations — says the state has expanded the tax deduction program with its 2024-25 budget.

"Funding can now be used to make up the difference between the full voucher that you're getting per child and the amount of tuition. It doesn't have to be, but it could be if you raise enough, that you can have that amount go beyond the voucher amount towards the cost of tuition."

Beigelman notes that Ohio's 202425 budget "may be the best yet for our communal priorities in all my time in Ohio."

Regarding the "massive expansion" of the state voucher program, Beigelman gives much credit to Rabbi Yitz Frank, who has served as executive director of Agudath Israel of Ohio for a decade. Agudath Israel of America is an umbrella organization of Orthodox Jewry.

Frank, who is based in Cleveland, is president of School Choice Ohio, a liaison to the Ohio Department of Education on behalf of Jewish day schools, and is acting president of the Ohio Council for American Private Education.

"Our organization has been involved for several decades in trying to expand school choice options for families in Ohio," Frank says. "The original program that was just recently expanded got started in about 2004-2005, when the now lieutenant governor, Jon Husted, was the speaker of the House. Eligibility for the program has been consistently expanded for the past decade or so.

"We got to the point where there's a critical mass of legislative leaders that want it to happen, and families around the state that wanted it to happen, and there is certainly a

degree of national momentum to expand these types of programs."

He says Ohio is now one of eight states to have some version of universal voucher eligibility.

In addition to opening up more opportunities for Jewish families to send their children to Jewish day schools, Frank says that with more potential for growth, Jewish day schools will be able to plan in more strategic, intentional ways.

"Particularly among Jewish day schools in areas that are declining from a Jewish population perspective, a Jewish community/Jewish day school is going to have a difficult time growing. So maybe this can reverse some of that."

Frank estimates there are approximately 4,500 students in Ohio's 12 to 13 Jewish day schools. Most of those students, he says, are concentrated in the Cleveland area.

"While there are many in the Jewish community who have strong feelings about this program — both positively and negatively — the overall thrust of these programs is generally targeted to students that really, really need the empowerment that those scholarships provide," Frank says. "It's important to keep in mind that the vast, vast majority of the students being helped by this program are the ones that really need it the most, and that's an important value. Broadening it to make it more widely available helps sustain the program, because now you have more and more stakeholders that feel this is important and are benefitting from it."

Hillel Academy's Anna Smith says that four Hillel families have used the previous voucher system.

Beigelman says Ohio's 2024-25 budget "walks a very good line" regarding concerns he's aware of among Jews across the state.

"We always support public school funding," he says. "We have Jewish community members who use public schools, we have Jewish community members who work there, and if not for us, for our neighbors who go there. We wouldn't want to see anything happen to that.

"And that's why this is a great budget, because it does fully fund the increased funding that was required for public schools, but it also provides this support for non-public schools and that choice for parents and families."

For Hillel Academy enrollment information, contact Interim Principal Anna Smith at asmith@daytonhillel.org.

**Correction** The article Journeys to Judaism in the July Observer incorrectly stated that Ryan Lechich began studying for conversion with Beth Abraham Synagogue's Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer at the beginning of 2023. Lechich first began exploring conversion with Glazer last summer and formally began to study for conversion with the rabbi at the beginning of 2023.

THE DAYTON

OBSERVER

Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss mweiss@jfgd.net

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Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton Mary Rita Weissman President Dan Sweeny President Elect Marni Flagel Secretary Neil Friedman Treasurer Ben Mazer VP Personnel Teddy Goldenberg VP Resource Dev. Dr. Heath Gilbert Immediate Past Pres. Cathy Gardner CEO

The Dayton Jewish Observer, Vol. 27, No. 12. The Dayton Jewish Observer is published monthly by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, a nonprofit corporation, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459.

Views expressed by columnists, in readers’ letters, and in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinion of staff or layleaders of The Dayton Jewish Observer or the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton. Acceptance of advertising neither endorses advertisers nor guarantees kashrut.

The Dayton Jewish Observer Mission Statement

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The Dayton Jewish Observer

‘I don’t want our cemeteries to be like the cemeteries of Europe.’

— Helen Ostreicher Halcomb

Agudath Israel of Ohio Exec. Dir. Rabbi Yitz Frank

Conference brings Holocaust, genocide educators from across Ohio to Dayton region

Story and Photos

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

More than 60 middle and high school educators from across Ohio who teach about the Holocaust and genocide gathered in the Dayton area June 13 and 14 to participate in the Holocaust and Genocide Education Network of Ohio's summer conference.

"Sometimes you go back to your school and you’re the only person doing this," said HGEN President Tim Murnen, a professor of education at Bowling Green State University, in his opening remarks at Wright State University's Dunbar Library. "After these two days are over, we’d like to build a Holocaust educator network across the state to give each other support in this work."

With the theme Courage, Knowledge, and Community, the conference —

which was free to educators — was the idea of Dayton Holocaust Committee Chair Renate Frydman, founder and director of the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center, housed at Wright State's Dunbar Library.

"Really, the reason we are all here in Dayton today is because of Renate, because of the work that she’s done forever," Murnen said.

"We want to learn new things, we want to talk to each other," Frydman told the teachers. " I know you’re making students’ lives better."

The keynote speaker for the conference was Laura Houghton, education coordinator of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Houghton talked about the museum's resources for teachers — including ready-to-go lessons and the museum's

guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust. She also facilitated a discussion about teachers' first-person experiences and classroom situations.

Other conference speakers addressed bullying, racism, antisemitism, book banning, and various aspects of the Holocaust and genocide.

Conference attendees visited the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center and toured Prejudice and Memory: A Holocaust Exhibit, on permanent display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Frydman curated the exhibit, which has been on display there for 24 years and was renovated last year.

Day two of HGEN's conference was held at the Dayton Metro Library Downtown, which hosted the traveling version of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial

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HGEN of Ohio President Tim Murnen and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Education Coordinator Laura Houghton at HGEN's educators' conference, June 13 at Wright State.

More than 60 middle and high school Holocaust and genocide educators from across Ohio attended HGEN's educators' conference, shown here on June 13 at Wright State.

Dayton Holocaust Committee Chair Renate Frydman (L) watches as HGEN of Ohio President Tim Murnen, an education professor at Bowling Green State University, welcomes participants to the first day of HGEN's educators' conference, June 13 at Wright State.

Schear throws down Jewish deli gauntlet with All The Best

Story and Photos

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

Unless you're living under a culinary rock, you know that All The Best Deli opened its restaurant and deli service in late June, just north of the new UDF at Far Hills and Whipp in Washington Township.

In his favorite booth — next to the kitchen — owner Lee Schear's parents and grandmother watch over him in a vintage photo. His family ties to the food business date to 1899, when his Lithuanianborn grandfather began selling food from a horse-drawn wagon on Dayton's West Side. The Schear family ultimately expanded the business to become Liberal Markets, with 48 supermarkets at its peak.

Schear — who has built his reputation starting, growing, and selling off businesses such as Superpetz, Cashland, and 247Sports — dreamed of opening an "authentic New York deli" for much of his life.

He's brought in what he considers the best deli meats (Sy Ginsberg's in Detroit) and smoked fish (Acme in Brooklyn) to present Daytonians with what he claims is now "the best deli in Ohio."

To those who cherish the tastes and memories of legendary Jewish delis in America's biggest cities, Schear's All The Best Delicatessen throws down the gauntlet. The name alone dares to challenge his customers. Each true fresser has a gold standard in mind of what constitutes an authentic Jewish deli.

Running the day-to-day operations at All The Best as general manager is restaurant/hospitality industry veteran Bob Posner.

All this, you may already know. Here, in an interview with Schear and All The Best's food maven, Carin Solganik, The Observer shares what's going on behind the deli counter and back in the kitchen.

We've all heard about how you're bringing in deli from your favorite places. But what do you prepare here in your own kitchen?

Schear: We do a lot more than a typical deli. It’s all Carin's food. This whole concept is Carin’s. I couldn’t do this until she retired. She was the head of prepared foods for Heinen’s (grocery store) in Cleveland, 25 upscale stores.

She’s been with a lot of restaurants, done a lot of catering. And I knew her going back to high school. And I said, 'When you retire, we’re going to do the deli.' She put the whole thing together.

Solganik: I’ve been in the food business my entire life. I learned how to cook with my mother, cooking for the Jewish holidays: matzah balls and chopped liver and chicken soup. My grandparents owned a

deli in Cleveland in the ‘30s. My dad made his own pickles. My family’s a food family.

I’ve always lived here, even when I was working at Cleveland. I had an apartment there, I went there all week, and then I would come home on Fridays. I did that for seven years. And then I retired, right after the beginning of Covid, primarily because my mom was 94 and I really couldn’t manage her life from a distance anymore.

I didn't really like retirement. My real passion is concept development. We went to New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, and every place I went, I learned something different about how to operate a deli and something interesting about sourcing the products. We started about a year and a half ago.

A lot of what I do, and this is what I learned in my consulting life, I will take multiple recipes. Like when we did the chopped (chicken) liver, I made Lee taste three versions of chopped liver: one broiled liver, one poached liver, and one sautéed liver.

Schear: And we loved Zabar’s, which is the best we could find.

Solganik: And then I take their recipes and I adjust them to what we’re doing. We make our own chopped liver, we make our own creamed herring. Not only do we cut our own fries, we soak them overnight, par fry them, and then fry them to order.

We make the horseradish-mustard sauce that goes with the fries and also serve it with the Vienna Beef hot dogs and Gabila's Coney Island Knishes. When we reprint the menu, I’m going to serve the horseradishmustard sauce with the brisket.

We make our own potato pancakes. We make our own chicken soup. We make our own stock, and we make the soup from the stock. We cook the chicken in the soup again and then we use that chicken for our

Lee Schear and Carin Solganik at All The Best Delicatessen, which opened in Washington Township at the end of June. Lee is the owner, Carin came up with and implemented the concept, including recipes for a multitude of food items prepared there.

'The idea behind All The Best is to look at all the best places and steal all the good ideas from them.'

chicken soup and for our chicken salad the Jewish way: boiled chicken. We make split pea soup (vegetarian) from scratch, borscht from scratch. We make our own matzah balls from scratch with Matzah Project Matzah Meal.

Schear: The idea behind All The Best is to look at all the best places and steal all the good ideas from them. I fell in love with Second Avenue Deli, which I think is the best in the country. A lot of the motif, the gestalt of All The Best, is Second Avenue. Because I just think they do everything right. They have the best food.

What else do you prepare here?

Solganik: We make our own cole slaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, health salad, Israeli salad, and cucumber salad. We make our own egg salad and we sauté onions and mushrooms with schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), then we add it to the eggs. Chicken salad, tuna salad, all of our salads are made here. We don’t really make any desserts.

Schear: But they’re baked for us to our specifications. Like the cheesecake, which is a rip-off of New York cheesecake.

Solganik: We went through a lot of versions to get the cheesecake that we specifically wanted. It's from Sweet Butter Bakery in Cincinnati. We also use Davis Bakery in Cleveland.

Are there any tweaks you’re working on?

Solganik: 'Why don’t you have blintzes? Why don’t you have noodle kugel?' My next thing is going to be the specials — noodle kugel, blintzes — to just do

them as specials. And getting platters ready for the Jewish holidays. Rosh Hashanah and break-the-fast. We’re going to do party trays, especially for the holidays. And then we’re going to do catering for offices. And online ordering.

Schear: 'Don’t you have half sandwiches?' You have to order a half sandwich with something else now. I think we’re going to start going to half. It’s harder on

us — sales go down — but people get what they want. Which is the essence of a good retail business. Give people what they want instead of fighting them.

Even though All The Best isn't kosher, you sell kosher cheeses in your deli case. How come?

Solganik: I intentionally bought packaged kosher cheese because I believe there are a lot of people who keep kosher at home but still eat out. And I wanted to have things they can take home. And the one thing I knew I could find was a decent kosher cheese that we could keep wrapped and sell in the deli as packaged cheese and that you could buy and take it home and it would still be kosher for you.

And then the challah I have on Friday nights, we keep that packaged, so that is kosher also, however, she uses butter in her bakery (Sweet Butter Bakery), so it’s kosher dairy, not pareve.

How's all going since you opened?

Schear: We’ve been mobbed. The first week we were open, we actually had to shut the doors and go out to people in the parking lot and say, 'Don’t come in, the wait’s too long.’ We were in trouble because we could only park 60 cars. It’s been really double of what we expected. And we have 50 employees.

Solganik: There’s a lot of repeat business. Our Jewish clientele are the most repetitive, three and four times.

Schear: And the hardest customers.

Deli cases at All The Best Delicatessen in Washington Township.

What to know about Ohio's 2024-25 state budget

An interview with Ohio Jewish Communities Pres./CEO Howie Beigelman

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

Ohio's significant expansion of its voucher program for private school use and its tax credit program for private school benefit are two reasons Howie Beigelman says the state's 2024-25 budget "may be the best yet for our communal priorities in all my time in Ohio."

The president and CEO of Ohio Jewish Communities — the lobbying arm of the state's eight Jewish Federations — shares with The Observer other aspects of this budget that mark opportunities for families and schools.

There's now STEM funding available for private schools?

We at OJC have seen the need for STEM education, with more high-tech manufacturing coming back to Ohio and other 21st-century economy jobs. STEM is so critical.

What other states have done, and the Orthodox Union pushed this in New York and New Jersey specifically a few years ago on similar ideas, they were able to get state funding for STEM in non-public schools.

We took their idea, and we made it work for Ohio as such. And we got a couple of different programs set up for STEM in non-public schools.

One allows for grants of up to $75,000 for STEM equipment — such as a 3D printer, things like that —

the cost of one full-time employee. You can use up to that amount.

How will that work?

It will be an application you file, there are grants, a certain amount you’re requesting for a grant. It comes right to the school for the purpose of the grant, and it’s awarded. And then, another program we have is a smaller grant program.

DriveOhio, which is a state agency that focuses on all the new smart mobility stuff the state’s working on — driverless cars and tech stuff — they work with schools to do coding days.

And we had them come into a couple of Jewish day schools in Ohio this year and do coding days, and they bring robots with them and K-12 students learn now to code.

And some of the schools were interested in getting those robots afterwards and keeping it going. So this is a grant program that allows schools that are involved with that program, DriveOhio, to get some grant funding to help purchase those robots.

The third thing we do is we created not only for non-public schools — but also for community centers,

with colleges and create STEM workforce training certificate programs so that K-12 students but also people who are high school graduates or high school dropouts — people who need a little help getting training in the area — get a certificate in some kind of either coding or STEM-related field. Those three programs are totally new.

What is OJC’s role with the increase in state security grants?

Security is an area we worked on a lot for the whole community broadly in the non-profit sector, but schools are a big part of that. Schools and preschools are a big part of that for us, and with a lot of focus on increasing security funding.

We doubled the amount of security grants in the state budget (to $8.5 million per year), and pilot projects to focus on new and emerging threats. Unfortu nately, we have the new threats. Fortunately, the state is looking and saying, how can we counter those new threats proactively?

Can you share specifics?

Based on feedback we got from Jewish Federation CEOs, Jewish Community Relations Council directors, and security directors around the state, we made some changes to the program itself: more flexibility in some of the funding.

When we first created the program, the focus was on protecting institutions from attack. You could only put the camera or license plate reader on the premises. You couldn’t put it on a very high traffic street next to

Friday Night

Please

Saturday Morning

Kiddush lunch and learning - Through study and conversation, Joey explores what it means to be part of a community of song and how music can be part of personal, creative, and spiritual practice.

Sunday A ernoon

Throughout

Ohio Jewish Communities Pres./CEO Howie Beigelman

Shabbat, we’ll explore how melodies can be inclusive, expansive, and build community. The weekend culminates on Sunday with the installation of our new rabbi, Rav Aubrey Glazer.

join Beth Abraham in welcoming Joey Weisenberg, founder of Hadar’s Rising Song Institute, for an experiential weekend of sound, song, and learning.

Friday Night dinner at Beth Abraham $26 adults, $13 children 3-12 and $75 family; Nigun Circle to follow RSVP by Aug 16, at bethabrahamdayton.org

5:30 A spiritually uplifting and

song-

lled Kabbalat Shabbat

9:30 Shacharit A

song-

lled service led by Joey Weisenberg

1:00 Installation Concert Joey combines original music with ancient prayer, musical virtuosity, and grassroots folksong as we o cially install Rav Aubrey Glazer

Weekend of and

25-27

your synagogue or community center for incidents happening on the street.

Now, the program allows for folks to — with permission from local municipalities’ law enforcement — place cameras on a public street. And that’s very powerful.

There are opportunities for institutions like a Federation to potentially ask for a larger grant and cover some things in the community. And it used to be the rule was that you could only have one applicant per address. If you have a campus, there’s one address (but sometimes more than one institution). Now, as long as they can showcase why they need the different things, they can each apply for a grant. You don’t have to pick and choose only one institution this cycle that is going to apply for a grant or will get a grant. More than one could in theory get one.

To confirm, this is in the 202425 state budget cycle?

Yes, though usually the budget takes effect immediately. Some of the funding prospects take the agencies and departments a little time to get

the applications set up based on the changes that are made. Usually, we see a fall application process for these, and recipients will be announced a few months later, and there may be a second round in the second year.

And there’s also going to be funding for Holocaust education ($1.825 million for the Ohio Holocaust & Genocide Memorial & Education Commission), also for the first time in the budget. We’re here to help, but it’s on folks to reach out and apply for these things.

We had great partnerships, in the bipartisan sense, both in the house and the senate, and the governor’s office as well. In the Dayton area, we had some great members of the legislature who focused on stuff for us as well. We had bipartisan support for everything.

Dayton-area state reps and senators who were most helpful in the STEM, security, and Holocaust education-related amendments were Sens. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) and Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), Reps. Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) and Willis Blackshear (DDayton).

Neo-Nazis protest outside Toledo Jewish Federation campus

By Meghan Walsh Cleveland Jewish

News

Eighteen neo-Nazis showed up to the Toledo Love Fest in Uptown Toledo and the Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo in Sylvania on the evening of July 15 to protest against the LGBTQ and Jewish communities at their respective locations.

The group, called Blood Tribe, was also responsible for the protests at a drag brunch in Columbus in May.

Members of the group showed up to Equality Toledo’s Toledo Love Fest at about 7 p.m., according to Daniel Pearlman, vice president of community and government relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo.

“They were outside of the event, there was a security perimeter already established, and they were all masked; they were all wearing the same clothing,” Pearlman said.

“They were holding tiki torches and they were trying to intimidate participants of this

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event. So, they were there for about 15 or 20 minutes. Most of the event attendees were ignoring them, or at least trying to ignore them.”

After leaving the Love Fest, the group made its way to the Sylvania campus of the Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo, where it protested in a similar manner with the intention of harassing and intimidating members of the Jewish community, he said, adding that fortunately there were no events taking place on the campus at that time.

The campus consists of the

Sylvania

YMCA/JCC, Jewish

Federation of Greater Toledo, Congregation B’nai Israel, and Temple Shomer Emunim.

“There was a Sylvania Township Police Department police officer who told them that they’re not allowed on the property. It’s private property,” Pearlman said.

“So, instead, they parked across the street at a strip mall and were walking on the sidewalk on public property, which they were allowed to do, continuing to wear their masks and tiki torches and clothing, Continued on Page 10

ENROLL NOW! TEMPLE ISRAEL RELIGIOUS SCHOOL

House defense bill targets religious freedom group run by Jewish veteran

By Stewart Ain, Forward.com

A nonprofit founded by a Jewish veteran to stop the U.S. military from promoting or favoring any particular religion is the target of an amendment in the annual defense authorization bill.

The amendment, approved July 14 by the House, would bar the Department of Defense and its staff from communicating with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which was founded by its president, Mikey Weinstein.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH, 10th District) inserted the amendment seven years after the MRFF forced the removal of a Christian Bible from a POW-MIA table at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Fairborn, Ohio. The Missing Man Table had been set up at Wright-Patterson Medical Center's dining facility. Turner blasted the removal of the Bible in 2016 as an act of censorship.

Weinstein said that after that incident, Turner became intent on passing legislation to thwart his group. Staff at Turner’s Washington office said he was not available for comment.

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The Senate version of the defense authorization bill does not include any language about the MRFF. But if Turner’s amendment, which was adopted by the House Armed Services Committee, remains in the final bill that becomes law, it will prohibit a military commander from making a decision in response to an email from the nonprofit, or to answer emails or phone calls from it.

stitutional,” said Weinstein, a lawyer and former Air Force officer. “It takes away from members of the military the right of free speech.”

Turner, he added, is trying “to assassinate a well-respected large civil rights organization.” Weinstein said more than 900 people — almost all volunteers — run the MRFF.

The MRFF has drawn the ire of conservative Christian groups for its efforts to bolster the division between church and state.

Among Weinstein’s wins: He has convinced the Navy to remove Bibles and other religious materials from its guest lodges and pushed the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy to take down a massive picture of Jesus protecting a lifeboat of sailors.

Turner’s amendment singles out Weinstein. It states that the military may not “communicate with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, its leadership, or its founder.”

It also stipulates that it’s forbidden to “take any action or make any decision as a result of any claim, objection, or protest made by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation without the authority of the Secretary of Defense.”

According to Jewish Insider, as of press time, the full Senate was to vote July 18 on a procedural measure to begin consideration of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

“This amendment is blatantly uncon-

Toledo

Continued from Page Nine

No Jewish community members were harmed and no vandalism took place, he said. The group left after about 15 to 20 minutes, and the police stayed there the entire time.

“We immediately got in touch with Equality Toledo, which is an organization we have a very close working relationship with,” Pearlman said. “We also got in touch with other community partners who we thought may have a chance at being impacted by these neo-Nazis. We contacted partners in the Muslim community. Toledo has a large Muslim community and a lot of mosques. We all have a close working

relationship. Fortunately, they did not go anywhere else after they came to the Jewish Toledo campus.”

"It’s unclear yet which and how many of the more than 600 amendments that have been introduced will ultimately receive debate time and votes on the Senate floor," Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reported. and basically just trying to instill fear in the hearts and minds of the Jewish community.”

He said that the Federation is grateful for these close working relationships with other organizations and law enforcement.

Multiple jurisdictions, as well as the FBI, were involved because the group crossed city lines.

Pearlman said he believes the decision to go to the Jewish Toledo campus was spontaneous and that the group had originally planned to protest only at the Toledo Love Fest.

“We’re not surprised, necessarily, that a neo-Nazi group decides to harass a Jewish institution, but we weren’t really the main or the initial target,” he said. “It just proves that when one group is targeted, oftentimes another group will be targeted as well.”

The Dayton Jewish Observer

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH)

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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 5:30–7:30 PM | BOONSHOFT CJCE, 525 VERSAILLES DRIVE, CENTERVILLE, 45459

Join us as we honor our outgoing board members, install new board members, and recognize our 2023 award recipients for their contributions to the Dayton Jewish community. We will also explore why it's great in Dayton and the Miami Valley!

Hors d’oeuvres will be served. Dietary laws will be observed.

More details, including a list of board nominations for the Jewish Federation, are available at jewishdayton.org. To request a hard copy of the nominations or for any additional questions, please contact Alisa Thomas at athomas@jfgd.net.

JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

Thank you to all those who supported the Film Festival Raffle. We still have THREE unclaimed winning tickets!

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THANKS TO ALL OF OUR INDIVIDUAL FESTIVAL DONORS FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT!

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August 2023

Legacies, Tributes, & Memorials

CAROLE RABINOWITZ CAMP FUND

JOE BETTMAN MEMORIAL TZADIK AWARD

In memory of Melvin Caplan

Jean and Todd Bettman

Elaine Bettman

Elise Martin

In honor of Donald Zulanch’s recovery

In honor of Robert Bernstein’s recovery

In memory of Martha Moody Jacobs’ mother, Maurine Moody Scott

In honor of Noah Baumgarten’s Bar Mitzvah

In honor of Mari Jenefsky-Titus’ special birthday

Beverly A. Louis

CANASTA

JOAN AND PETER WELLS AND REBECCA LINVILLE FAMILY, CHILDREN AND YOUTH FUND

In honor of Bob and Debby Goldenberg’s 55th wedding anniversary

In memory of Emily Fogel

Joan and Peter Wells

The Heuman Scholarship Awarded

THE JEWISH FOUNDATION OF GREATER DAYTON IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE CHARLIE BLUMER HAS BEEN NAMED AS THIS YEAR’S RECIPIENT OF THE HEUMAN SCHOLARSHIP!

CANASTA WITH SUE NELSON AND LINDA SCHUMAN

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AT THE BOONSHOFT CJCE | FREE

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Charlie attends the University of Cincinnati, where they are majoring in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies with a minor in Music. Charlie hopes their major will make them a more educated writer when it comes to representing marginalized communities in their stories. After graduation, Charlie would like to have a sustainable career as a screenwriter and singer/songwriter.

Charlie plans to further their education by attending the Vancouver Film School after UC. The school offers a one-year non-degree screenwriting intensive, which Charlie says will give them the opportunity to put the knowledge they gain at UC to good use in their writing.

In addition to their studies, Charlie is also very active in the Jewish community. They have served as a youth advisor, song leader, and music teacher at Temple Israel, song leader at Wise Temple in Cincinnati, and as a song leader and creative writing/video specialist at GUCI.

Charlie’s proud parents are Molly and Jeffrey Blumer.

Mazel tov, Charlie!

The Heuman Scholarship is made possible through a fund established by Bob and Vicky Heuman. Since its creation in 2006, the Heuman Scholarship has been awarded annually to an undergraduate or graduate student who demonstrates both academic achievement and financial need. The scholarship is open to Jewish students who reside in the Dayton area.

JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

How common is the ‘Common Era?’

How A.D. and C.E. took over counting years

By Miriamne Ara Krummel

This Dec. 31, people from cultures all around the world will be raising a toast to welcome in A.D. 2024. Few of them will think about the fact that A.D. signals “anno Domini,” Latin for “in the year of our Lord.” In A.D. temporality — the one acknowledged by most societies today — next year marks 2,025 years since the purported birth of Jesus.

So why are we all toasting this new year, given that most of the world’s nearly 8 billion people aren’t Christians?

My fascination with time was nurtured by the millennium and the hype that surrounded its approach, as the globe anticipated traversing from 11:59 p.m., Dec. 31, 1999 to 12:00 a.m., Jan. 1, 2000.

Convinced that there was some truth to fears about technological disruptions caused by the Y2K bug, I stayed away from the ball drop in Times Square. Instead, I watched the celebration on my laptop and enjoyed trailing journalists’ reports abroad. I began to wonder: How did it come to be that people all over the Earth subscribed to — and were aware of — the temporal system followed by the Christian West? After all, cultures have historically experienced and documented time in a variety of ways.

These questions about time blossomed into a research project and book. Part of the phenomenon was caused by global capitalism, but I soon learned that another aspect involved the globalization of “anno Domini.” The A.D. system, often called “C.E.” or “Common Era” time today, was introduced in Europe during the Middle Ages. It joined the world’s other temporal systems like the Coptic, Seleucid, Egyptian, Jewish and the Zodiac calendars, along with calculations based on the years of rulers’ reigns and the founding of Rome.

Latin Christendom slowly but confidently came to dominate Europe, and its year dating system then came to dominate the world, so that most countries now take A.D. for granted, at least when it comes to globalized business and government. A.D.‘s ubiquity has almost silenced other ways of thinking about time. This began during the medieval era, under the influence of educated Christian monks — what historian Bernard Gueneé describes as “anno Domini’s” “conquest of time.”

My recent work as a medieval studies professor focuses on the demonization of Jewish communities in Europe at a time when the A.D. system was gaining prominence and marginalizing the Jewish calendar.

Counting backward

Part of the story of “anno Domini” time takes us back to the fourth and fifth centuries, when Christian scholars like Eusebius of Caesarea and John Chrysostom were trying to calculate what they considered was the beginning of Christian time — in other words, the birth date of Jesus of Nazareth.

Eusebius and Chrysostom were working with the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth and death. According to the Gospels, Jesus was arrested around the time of the Jewish holiday of Passover, and the Gospel of John suggests that Jesus was about 33 when he died. Therefore, Eusebius and Chrysostom first tried to determine the date of his death based on Passover dates in the

Jewish calendar. But both men failed in their calculations and blamed the Jews for their difficulty. In their twisted reasoning, the Jewish community had postponed Passover in order to make “anno Domini” time impossible to calculate. This accusation illustrates the intense antisemitism common in Europe at their time and which work like theirs helped continue.

But in many ways, the real author of the world’s modern sense of time, the one who decided to choose the date when Year One would begin, is the Venerable Bede, an English monk who lived circa 673-735.

Bede found himself with several calculations he did not approve of, and decided Jesus must have actually been born on Dec. 25, 1 B.C. By his reasoning, in other words, the A.D. system began the year after Jesus’ purported birth. Bede also determined that March 25, 34 A.D. marked Jesus’ death.

Bede, a monk in an important monastery in Northumbria, popularized the A.D. dating system by using it in his work Ecclesiastical History of the People of England, which made him the first historian to tell time by “anno Domini.” The Ecclesiastical History was dedicated to King Ceowulf of Northumbria, written in Latin in 731, and translated into Old English around the end of the ninth or the beginning of the 10th centuries. Still read by many today, it popularized “anno Domini” time by infusing A.D. time into events Bede told about the English people.

Taken together, these ingredients helped A.D. time become the norm. While the Christian calendar is built on and infused with other cultures’ time systems, A.D.‘s popularization contributed to sidelining these calendars to the margins — what postcolonial scholars call “temporal colonization.” For example, the date Bede set for Easter in his work The Reckoning of Time is based on a polytheistic celebration of Eostre, a German goddess. Eostre has, thus, disappeared into Easter.

Likewise, the fraught connections between the dates of Jesus’ Passion, Easter, and Passover further fueled antisemitism at a time when Jewish communities were also trying to formalize a Jewish calendar.

Changing the name

Approximately 1,400 years ago, when Bede selected a date to begin “anno Domini” time, he perhaps unwittingly started the process of privileging Christian time, which is now near-universally recognized.

Today, many people use the expressions “common era” and “before the common era,” or C.E. and B.C.E., instead of A.D. and B.C. But despite what we call it now, the roots of this system are not “common” but Christian. As the medieval studies scholar Kathleen Davis writes, using C.E. “does little to diminish the effect of a globalized Christian calendar.”

Initially, I too had applauded C.E. as a less Christian replacement for A.D. But today, I’d argue it is just the equivalent of a yellow sticky note placed over it. There’s nothing naturally “common” about the “common era,” and it’s worth applauding all kinds of diversity — even in time — on planet Earth. This year, what will you be toasting at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31?

Miriamne Ara Krummel is a professor of English at the University of Dayton. Her third book, The Medieval Postcolonial Jew, In and Out of Time, was published last year. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Broadway's very Jewish year

By David Winitsky

Broadway gave out its Tony Awards in June, and as I kept whispering to my wife, it was “a big night for the Jews.” Leopoldstadt, Tom Stoppard’s Holocaust drama, won best play. Parade, about the lynching of a Jewish man in the American South, won best musical revival. Miriam Silverman (The Sign in Sydney Brustein’s Window) and Brandon Uranowitz (Leopoldstadt) won for signature Jewish roles, and Alfred Uhry, who wrote the book for Parade, spoke while wearing a 2-inch diamond Magen David lapel pin.

It was a very prominent season for Jews on Broadway stages and beyond. The Sign in Sydney Brustein’s Window, Lorraine Hansberry’s second play — with a White, Jewish protagonist — arrived in a starstudded Broadway bow. Prayer for the French Republic at Manhattan Theatre Club — an examination of antisemitism in France — marked a massive turn in playwright Josh Harmon’s Jewish journey.

The Atlantic’s Yair Rosenberg raved over Edward Einhorn’s Shylock and the Shakespeareans, a reworking of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, and Second Stage presented Camp Seigfried, a different angle on German fascism. In California, the La Jolla Playhouse tried out Lempika, a musical about the notorious Jewish artist Tamara de Lempicka, who fled Europe for the United States in 1939.

You might see a thesis at work in producing these shows, most of which spotlight Nazis, antisemitism or the Holocaust: They urge audiences to remember and learn from the past to prevent future atrocities at a time when antisemitism is on the rise.

There’s lots to recommend this idea. A history forgotten is a history that will repeat. Representation matters. Giving Jews the moral victory (if not the narrative one) strengthens our resolve. Great artistry in the service of big ideas is a win for everyone.

And let’s not leave out the performances themselves. Uranowitz in particular was brilliant and gave a moving Tony speech honoring his ancestors who were murdered by the Nazis in Poland.

However, I can’t help but admit to some skepticism. I’m drawn by thinkers like Dara Horn, author of People Love Dead Jews, who ask, “By revisiting the history of raging antisemitism, are we just giving violent extremists a to-do list for the future?”

But more important is that today’s Jewish life — even the parts necessarily focused on antisemitism — is radically different than it was 50 or 75 or 500 years ago. Even with the challenges and outright discrimination, the Jewish community today, here and abroad, is more diverse, more free, and more complex than at arguably any time in history.

So I’d like to humbly offer some alternatives for producers and artistic directors who want Jewish representation on their stages. As the artistic director of the Jewish Plays Project, a development house for 21st-century Jewish theatre based in New York and working around the country, I have the unique pleasure to be able to point to the plays written in just the last few years that can change the paradigm right now.

Think about Jewish joy. See Audrey Lang’s amazing character Librarian of the Jewish Soul in her play Birdie & Cait and the Book of Life or the Adon Olam sequence at the end of Mark Leiren Young’s Bar Mitzvah Boy

Think about Jewish ethics. Beth Kander’s Return

Continued on Page 16

Groff v. DeJoy is rare Supreme Court decision every Jew can celebrate

By Michael A. Helfand

In one of its most anticipated cases of the year, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Groff v. DeJoy in June, significantly expanding the federal protections afforded religious employees in the workplace.

The decision itself was unanimous, reflecting a broad consensus that employers should be doing more than previously required when it comes to accommodating religious employees.

Jewish organizations from across the ideological spectrum — from Agudath Israel and the Orthodox Union to the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee to the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism — applauded the ruling as providing long-elusive workplace protections.

This new ruling will no longer allow employers to avoid providing accommodations simply because it comes at some minimal cost.

Employers will now have to prove such costs are substantial when considered in the broader context of their business.

When Gerald Groff took his job at the U.S. Postal Service, he was not required to work on Sundays. However, after the Postal Service subsequently entered an agreement to deliver packages for Amazon on Sundays, Groff was informed that he could no longer take off on his Sunday Sabbath, as was his custom, which ultimately led to his termination.

The crux of the case revolved around two words in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: “undue hardship.” According to the text of Title VII, employers are

Broadway's very Jewish year

Continued from Page 15

puts todays’ scientific breakthroughs and faith right up against each other; Marshall Botvinick’s poetic To Reach Across a River gives us an Orthodox woman refusing to leave her faith when she adopts a biracial daughter; and Cindy Cooper’s I Was a Stranger Too directly advocates for immigrants through a Jewish lens. Stage Jewish diversity. Ali Viterbi’s In Every Generation, Molly Olis-Krost’s What We Found and EllaRose Chary’s The Wrong Question show us parts of the Jewish world — Jews of color and queer Jews, among other mixed and modern identities — that haven’t made it to the stage much.

Talk about Israel/Palestine without blowing the roof of the joint. Seth Rozin’s Settlements is nuanced and compelling and real. Alexa Derman’s hilarious and satirical cri-de-coeur Zionista Rising — which just won the JPP’s National Playwriting Contest — brings sharp, contemporary humor to a difficult conversation.

And if you feel you have to talk about the Holocaust and Shylock — and sometimes you do — do it with a new and vital eye. Jenny Berman Eng’s A Moving Picture features a cast of three Jews of color, one Black doctoral candidate and a White student working out how to make a 100-percent true Holocaust film.

It’s a big Jewish world out there. If we can see that life show up at theatres all over the country, we might see a Tony Awards that celebrates brilliant work and moves the Jewish conversation forward — not by being anti-antisemitism, but by being truly pro-Jewish.

By David Winitsky is artistic director of the Jewish Plays Project.

required to accommodate the religious practices of their employees, but only if providing such an accommodation does not present an “undue hardship” to their business.

In this way, federal law balances the religious needs of the employee against the business necessities of the employer. And the words “undue hardship,” at least on their face, imply that the employers are expected to endure some hardship in order to accommodate religious employees, but that obligation ends once the hardship to the employer’s business becomes “undue.”

While the text of the law appears to impose modest, but important obligations on employers, the Supreme Court — back in a 1977 case, TWA v. Hardison — provided a contorted interpretation of Title VII that required far less of employers.

Somewhat counterintuitively, the Court appeared to hold that providing a religious accommodation imposed an “undue hardship” on the employer any time it required the employer to “bear more than a de minimis cost” — that is, a trivial or minor cost.

As a result, if an employer could demonstrate a religious accommodation entailed even a trivial cost, she was off the hook. The court’s decision in Hardison rejected an employee’s claim to have his Sabbath accommodated.

Hardison’s stingy standard, and its significant consequences for American Jews in the workplace, is precisely why so many Jewish organizations with varying political outlooks – including the Anti-Defamation League, American Jewish Committee, National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs, National Council of Young Israel, Orthodox Union (full disclosure: I co-authored the Orthodox Union’s amicus brief), and the Zionist Organization of America — all filed amicus briefs before the Court in Groff.

As these briefs emphasized, the lack of meaningful protections for religious employees had, over the years, repeatedly forced American Jews to choose between their faith and their livelihood, most notably when it came to observing the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.

But in Groff, the Supreme Court overhauled the standard for employers: According to the decision, an employer must accommodate a religious employee unless doing so imposes “a burden (that) is substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business.”

So what does this all mean for the future of religious accommodation in the workplace?

As the solicitor general noted during oral arguments, there are three broad categories where employees typically seek religious accommodations: scheduling changes such as those required to facilitate Sabbath observance; dress and grooming policies such as kipahs and hijabs in the workplace; and religious expression in the workplace, which might include an employee’s desire to display (or avoid) some sort of religious symbol or message.

Under the new standard, employers who seek to reject such requests will have to demonstrate that granting these religious accommodations would impose substantial costs.

Considerations like administrative costs and modest financial expenditures will be insufficient justification for denying such requests. This impact will likely

be felt most directly when it comes to requests to accommodate Sabbath observances.

The Court’s opinion indicates that employers will have to consider voluntary shift swaps and modest incentives — such as overtime payments — in order to accommodate a Sabbath-observing employee.

Importantly, this will vary significantly by occupation. For example, while a postal worker might reasonably request time off for the Sunday Sabbath, a coach in the NFL, where games are mostly played on Sundays, cannot.

Similarly, determining whether the financial burdens of accommodation are truly significant will also depend on context.

Costs that might be significant for a local grocery store may not be significant for a corporate behemoth like Amazon.

Those differences will matter when deciding how much an employer will have to expend when accommodating a particular religious practice.

Finally, the court emphasized that accommodations that trigger deep dissatisfaction from employees — and thereby significantly affect the employer’s business — can qualify as a substantial cost and justify an employer’s decision to deny an accommodation.

But the court was careful to constrain these sorts of considerations: An employer cannot claim that she can’t accommodate a religious employee because other employees have expressed dissatisfaction that is based upon their “animosity to a particular religion, to religion in general, or to the very notion of accommodating religious practice.”

To countenance such bias or hostility would undermine the very purposes of the law — and, in the words of the court, put Title VII “at war with itself.”

To be sure, the significance of Groff is somewhat blunted given that many states have already adopted heightened standards for when religious employees must be accommodated.

Before Groff, many employees could still leverage state law protections to secure accommodations.

An amicus brief filed by 22 states noted that states with broader protections had not faced significant challenges in administering such legal regimes.

Still, the court’s decision will likely provide long overdue protections to religious employees — fulfilling the long-overdue promise of Title VII. Most notably, the decision likely ensures that religious minorities — whose observances are often out of step with the rhythm of the modern workplace — need not cast aside their religious commitments as the price of employment.

This new standard is mindful of context and careful not to require substantial costs that might undermine a business.

At the same time, the court’s decision is clear that employers cannot hide behind minor inconveniences to ignore the requests of their religious employees.

In sum, the court’s decision in Groff — and unanimously so — asks employers and employees to find workable solutions to conflicts between business objectives and faith commitments.

In that way, it may provide a useful blueprint for navigating a host of recurring social conflicts across the human condition.

Michael A. Helfand is the chair in law and religion and co-director of the Nootbaar Institute for Law and Religion at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, visiting professor and Ruebhausen Distinguished Fellow at Yale Law School, senior legal advisor to the Orthodox Union’s Teach Coalition, and senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.

'Employers cannot hide behind minor inconveniences to ignore the requests of their religious employees.'

Classes

Beth Jacob Classes: Sundays, 10 a.m. & Wednesdays, 6 p.m.: Beginners Hebrew, Sundays in person w. Rabbi Agar. Wednesdays on Zoom w. Rabbi Agar. $100. Tuesdays, 7 p.m.: Torah Tuesdays on Zoom w. Rabbi Agar. Thursdays, 7 p.m.: Thursdays of Thought, Ethics of Our Fathers on Zoom w. Rabbi Agar. Saturdays after services: Book of Joshua w. Rabbi Agar. 7020 N. Main St, Harrison Twp. bethjacobcong. org. Register at 937-274-2149.

Temple Beth Or: Thurs., Aug. 3, 10, 7 p.m.: Chai Mitzvah on Zoom. Sun., Aug. 6, 13, 20, 27, 12:30 p.m.: Adult Hebrew. 5275 Marshall Rd. Wash. Twp. 937-435-3400.

Temple Israel: Tues., Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, noon: Talmud Study in person & Zoom. Wed., Aug. 9, 16, 23, 30, 10 a.m.: Social Justice Commentary w. Rabbi Bodney-Halasz at home of Cathy Lieberman. Fri., Aug.,

CALENDAR

11, 11 a.m.: Living w. Loss. Sat., Aug. 5, 19, 26, 9:15 a.m.: Virtual Torah Study. Sat., Aug. 12, 9:15 a.m.: Hybrid Virtual Torah Study. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050.

Adults

Mah Jongg Lessons: Tues., Aug. 1, 8, 5 p.m. Free. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. RSVP at jewishdayton.org. 937-610-1555.

JFS Mental Health First Aid

Training: Sun., Aug. 6, 9 a.m. Free. Lunch provided. RSVP by Jul. 31 to jewishdayton.org. Contact Tara Feiner for info., tfeiner@jfgd.net. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. 937-610-1555.

JCC Boomers Cookout: Sun., Aug. 13, noon. Free kosher cookout (vegetarian options available). RSVP by Aug. 4 at jewishdayton.org. Contact Stacy Emoff, semoff@jfgd.net. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. 937-610-1555.

MAZEL TOV!

Guggenheimer-McDonnell

Joel and Judi Guggenheimer are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Marla, to Jack McDonnell, son of Mark and the late Laura McDonnell. Marla has a master's degree in social work from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, and is currently employed as the food insecurity program director with Gateway Region YMCA. Jack is a certified arborist and is currently employed as the assistant community forester with Beyond Housing in St. Louis. Marla is the granddaughter of Paul and Margaret Maranka and Henry and the late Barbara Guggenheimer. Jack is the grandson of Helen and Wayne Seyer, the late Jerry Howery, the late John McDonnell, and the late Marion McDonnell. A November 2023 wedding is planned.

Bruce Feldman, president of Economy Linen and Towel Service, has been appointed chair of the Sinclair Community College Board of Trustees.

Bruce has served on Sinclair's board in several leadership positions since 2013.

The Ohlmann Group has been named one of the 2023 Best Workplaces in Ohio by Ohio Business Magazine. The marketing and

So A Rabbi Walks Into a Bar: Thurs., Aug. 17, 6 p.m. W. Rabbi Bodney-Halasz. Dayton Beer Co., 41 Madison St., Dayton. 1st round on the rabbi. For info. call Temple Israel, 937-496-0050

Temple Beth Or Exploration of the Jewish Short Story: Wed., Aug. 23, 7 p.m. On Zoom. Register at templebethor.com or 937-435-3400.

Temple Beth Or Friends & Family CPR & Stop the Bleed: Sun., Aug. 27, 9 a.m. RSVP at templebethor.com. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 937435-3400.

Family

PJ Families & Hillel Academy Shabbat in the Park: Fri., Aug. 18, 5:30 p.m. Free. RSVP by Aug. 15 to jewishdayton. org. At Iron Horse Park, 6161 Millshire Dr., Centerville. 937610-1555.

Temple Israel Prayer & Play at Night: Fri., Aug. 25, 5:30

p.m. Infants-2nd grade. Contact Rabbi Sobo, educator@ tidayton.org. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050.

Children & Teens

Chabad Camp Gan Israel: Through Aug. 11. Register at chabaddayton.com. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 937-6430770.

Community Jewish Federation Annual Meeting: Wed., Aug. 16, 5:30 p.m. RSVP at jewishdayton.org. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. 937-610-1555.

Beth Jacob Afternoon at the Movies: Sun., Aug. 20, 3 p.m. Free. The Chosen. 937-2742149. 7020 N. Main St. Harrison Twp.

Beth Abraham Synagogue In-

stallation Weekend for Rabbi Glazer: W. Joey Weisenberg. Fri., Aug. 25, 5:30 p.m.: Kabalat Shabbat, dinner, nigun circle. $26 adults, $13 children 3-12, $75 family max. RSVP by Aug. 16. Sat., Aug. 26, 9:30 a.m.: Shabbat services followed by kiddush lunch, learning. Sun., Aug. 27, 1 p.m.: Installation concert, reception. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. 937-293-9520.

2313 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood 937-293-1196

advertising company is owned by Linda Ohlmann Kahn and Lori Ohlmann. Linda, Ohlmann's CEO, has also been named to the board of the Miriam Rosenthal Foundation for the Arts. Established in 1965 to "further the quality and scope of professional arts available in the greater Dayton area," the foundation's original donors named it in memory of impresario, fundraiser, and publicist Miriam Rosenthal

Send your Mazel Tov announcements to mweiss@jfgd.net.

Bruce Feldman

CONGREGATIONS

Beth Abraham Synagogue

Conservative

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer

Cantor/Dir. of Ed. & Programming

Andrea Raizen

Fridays, 5 p.m.

Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.

305 Sugar Camp Circle, Oakwood. 937-293-9520. bethabrahamdayton.org

Beth Jacob Congregation

Traditional

Rabbi Leibel Agar

Fri., Aug. 11, 7:30 p.m.

led by Jese Shell

Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. Evening minyans upon request.

7020 N. Main St., Dayton. 937-274-2149. bethjacobcong.org

Temple Anshe Emeth

Reform

320 Caldwell St., Piqua. Contact Steve Shuchat, 937-7262116, ansheemeth@gmail.com. ansheemeth.org

Temple Beth Or Reform

Rabbi Judy Chessin

Asst. Rabbi/Educator Ben Azriel

Fridays, 6:30 p.m.

5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 937-435-3400. templebethor.com

Temple Beth Sholom

Reform

Rabbi Haviva Horvitz

610 Gladys Dr., Middletown. 513-422-8313. templebethsholom.net

Temple Israel

Reform

Senior Rabbi Karen BodneyHalasz. Rabbi/Educator Tina Sobo

Fri., Aug. 4, 6 p.m.

Fridays, Aug. 11, 18, 25, 6:30 p.m.

Sat., Aug. 12, 10:30 a.m. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050. tidayton.org

Temple Sholom Reform

Rabbi Cary Kozberg 2424 N. Limestone St., Springfield. 937-399-1231. templesholomoh.com

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

Chabad of Greater Dayton

Rabbi Nochum Mangel

Associate Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin

Youth & Prog. Dir. Rabbi Levi Simon. Beginner educational service Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. 2001 Far Hills Ave. 937-643-0770. chabaddayton.com

Yellow Springs Havurah

Independent

Antioch College Rockford Chapel. Contact Len Kramer, 937-5724840 or len2654@gmail.com.

RELIGION

'What did you hear at Mt. Sinai?'

An open letter to a bar/bat mitzvah student

By Rabbi Cary Kozberg Temple Sholom, Springfield

First of all, mazel tov on your upcoming big day!

As you approach becoming a full-fledged member of the Jewish community, we hope that in addition to enjoying the celebration, that you also understand and appreciate the true significance of this milestone in your life: you are now beginning to forge your own unique link in a chain that began over 3,500 years ago…and is continuing!

Perspectives

Indeed, it is our fervent hope that you will not be among those who have chosen to stop adding to this chain, but instead, that as you grow into full adulthood, you will continue to nurture the desire to keep this chain going and that it will grow and always be a part of who you are as a Jew.

We hope that it will inspire you to eventually have children of your own, who themselves will be new links, and that their children will in turn also add new links.

Now…your reaction to what I’ve just said is probably “Whoa! Hold on! I’m still basically a kid…and you’re talking about ME having kids??”

Yeah…didn’t mean to freak you out. You probably haven’t gotten that far in your thinking about your own future.

Given that you are just beginning your teenage years, you probably haven’t given much thought to getting married and having a family of

August Av/Elul

Shabbat Candle Lightings

August 4: 8:29 p.m.

August 11: 8:20 p.m.

August 18: 8:11 p.m.

August 25: 8:01 p.m.

your own. And thoughts about how you will personally fit into the future of the Jewish people have probably not yet appeared on your radar screen.

So, let me share a few thoughts that hopefully will make what I’m telling you a bit less “out there,” but instead more personal.

The rabbis of old taught that when God spoke the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, every Jewish soul that ever was and ever will be was present at that moment.

Now, that does sound kind of “out there.” If it’s true, obviously not every soul there actually had a body. But nevertheless, they imagined that every Jewish soul was there to hear the words that would transform a bunch of newly freed slaves into a people with a sacred purpose.

What they were getting at is this: receiving the Torah is not supposed to be understood as an event that happened “once upon a time.”

It was, and is supposed to be a personal experience that one can relate to in the present. It’s not enough to just sit in a religious school class and hear words from a teacher, who heard them from his/her teacher, who heard them from his/her teacher…all the way back.

Nope, not at all!

This notion that every Jewish soul that ever existed was present at Sinai is to remind us

Torah Portions

August 5: Ekev (Deut. 7:12-11:25)

August 12: Re'eh (Deut. 11:26-16:17)

August 19: Shoftim (Deut. 16:18-21:9)

August 26: Ki Tetze (Deut. 21:10-25:19)

that the Torah was not just given to the Jewish people, but more importantly, to each individual Jew.

And therefore, connecting to it should be an individual, personal experience — an experience that a person has — not just with their head, but more importantly with their heart! This is really what becoming a bar/bat mitzvah means: As a new “son/daughter of the commandments,” you have been given the opportunity to personally receive the Torah just as you did 3,500 years ago when you stood with the rest of us at Mt. Sinai.

But there’s more…

Those rabbis of old also taught that not only did every single Jewish soul hear God speak, but each person heard what was spoken, according to their own individual ability: men according to their abilities, women according to theirs, the elderly according to their abilities, the young according to theirs.

And… if God was truly able to make that happen, then certainly God was able to speak to every individual there in a more personal way and give each person a message directed only to them.

So…with this in mind, let me make this suggestion to you (and if it sounds too weird or silly, well…just work with me for a bit).

If you really want to make your bar/bat mitzvah truly special and truly personally and uniquely meaningful to you; if you want it to be an event that you will remember as having been special and not just a chore and something you had to go through, try this little exercise:

A few minutes before the service begins, or just before you are called to the Torah for your first aliyah, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and

imagine yourself going back in time and really standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai with literally all your fellow Jews.

Imagine anticipating with us something that is about to happen — a “once-in-history” experience that will be incredibly miraculous and truly “awe-some.”

Imagine the people there: what they look like, different people from different places, of various color and facial features.

Imagine the sounds you hear that are gradually getting quieter as everybody gets ready to listen.

Imagine the smells: of the wilderness, of sheep and cattle, of your own clothes.

Imagine who is standing nearby: your friends and fellow students, your parents, your grandparents, even your ancestors from the place your family originally came from before coming to America.

Just imagine it all.

And then…imagine hearing the Voice. The Voice speaks the words, “I am the LORD your God…”

And when the Voice finishes speaking to all of you, the Voice speaks only to you. Whatever the Voice says just to you — that's your unique message.

And it’s not just for the day of your bar/bat mitzvah. It’s for the rest of your life.

Even if you’re not able to fully understand or appreciate it —I ask you to just remember it and tuck it away in your head and your heart.

As you move on in your life, as you experience life’s milestones — graduations, marriage, having your own kids — as you face and respond to life’s challenges and celebrate your successes: those are great moments in which to recall, think about, and hopefully gain strength from your personal message.

As you forge a new link in our continuing chain, may you listen to what the Voice said to you so long ago. And may its message continue to inspire and bless you.

And again…mazel tov!

The Torah was not just given to the Jewish people, but more importantly, to each individual Jew.

Rabbi Cary Kozberg

And Just Like That star Alexa Swinton celebrates her own bat mitzvah

By Lior Zaltzman, Kveller.com

Last year, Alexa Swinton brought us arguably one of the most high profile TV b’nai mitzvah ceremonies of all time — or rather, the “they mitzvah” that wasn’t. Swinton, who plays Rock Goldenblatt in And Just Like That, not only gave us a relatable portrayal of a teen struggling with their gender identity, but also of a teen who struggles to connect with their Judaism.

In the final episode of the first season of the show, Rock refuses to celebrate their Jewish coming of age, and their mom, Charlotte York Goldenblatt, takes to the bima instead — both in affirmation of her own faith, and her own way of accepting her child’s choice around their Jewishness.

In real life, Swinton, a gifted and prolific actress who has starred in shows like Billions and Emergence, is celebrating the return of season two of HBO’s And Just Like That, which premiered at the end of June, and her own bat mitzvah.

Swinton and her family recently boarded a plane to Israel, where she and her older sister, Ava, who didn’t get to experience the Jewish rite of passage because of the pandemic, celebrated in a joint ceremony.

While Rock may have flubbed their bat mitzvah readings, Swinton was highly invested in hers.

“My portion is from Pinchas,” an ebullient Swinton tells me over Zoom, sitting side by side with her Jewish mom. “I get to learn about the four sisters,” she recounts, “and it’s a lot about feminism…and how women have been trying to make history and a name for themselves for so long. I get to talk about that in my bat mitzvah, which is very exciting.”

It was Swinton’s first visit to Israel, where she has many relatives she’s never met before.

Swinton was also part of

a program that allowed her to honor a child who was killed during the Holocaust — “where you get to learn about their history and kind of give them a chance to also have their own bat mitzvah while you have yours. I think it’s really beautiful,” she says.

Just like Rock and her upcoming character in the Netflix movie Maestro, Swinton comes from a mixed background. Swinton’s Jewish mother, Inna, emigrated from the Soviet Union as a child. Her father’s family is Scottish (and yes, she is distantly related to Tilda Swinton.)

After the b’nai mitzvah in Israel, the family travels to Scotland on a heritage trip of sorts. “I get to celebrate both parts of my culture and who I am as a person,” Swinton says. Swinton is very connected to her Judaism, precisely because her grandmother could not practice her faith in the Soviet Union. “Being Jewish to me is more about who I am as a person than the religion,” she says, “It’s beyond God.” She celebrates both Christmas and Chanukah (“I’m not going to complain about eight nights of gifts,” she jokes with me),

and her favorite food is her grandmother’s chicken soup (she knows it’s basic, she tells me, but it’s really unbeatable). She loves going to temple, where she talks to friends of her mother and grandmother and learns about their Jewish childhoods.

In fact, the actress has played her mother on stage and on screen, in the off-Broadway play and the upcoming short film Kooky Spook, which tells the story of Inna’s young adulthood as a new immigrant in Fair Lawn, N.J., and her first Halloween. They filmed the movie in both Fair Lawn, where Inna’s family landed after immigrating to the U.S., and in Riga, Latvia. Swinton has been up for a lot of Jewish roles — from Hannah in Fleishman Is In Trouble, where her younger brother, Maxim, did end up getting the role of Solly, to Anne Frank in Disney’s A Small Light That role went to another gifted Jewish actress, Billie Boullet, and losing it left Swinton a little heartbroken. “Being a young Jewish girl, like an actor, your dream role is going to be Anne Frank,” she professes — but she was up for both Continued on Page 20

While Rock may have flubbed their bat mitzvah readings, Swinton was highly invested in hers.

Craig Blankenhorn/Max

Alexa Swinton as Rock on HBO's And Just Like That

Unlike her character Rock, the gifted actress is very proud of being Jewish.

Alexa Swinton

Continued from Page 19

Maestro and A Small Light at the same time, and at the end of the day “we were super happy” to get that role, she says.

Swinton will play Leonard Bernstein’s youngest daughter, Nina, in the upcoming Netflix movie, Maestro. She did know of the Jewish composer beforehand — “we’re a very musical family” — but she’s done a lot more research to prepare for the role, including spending time at the Bernstein family home.

When she and her mother got the script “we were like, oh my God, this is beautiful, this is about Leonard Bernstein. It’s an incredible script about a Jewish family,” she tells me.

Unfortunately, the timing was not great — Swinton was on a trip with her mother and sister, and had to film her audition in the hotel closet.

She didn’t really think she would get the role. But then she got a direct audition with Bradley Cooper — and the rest is history.

“I don’t really know if I met Bradley,” she jests about working with Cooper on Maestro. “I think I might have just met a modern rendition of Leonard, because he was always on.”

Swinton is proud of the Jewish representation she’s been able to bring to her projects.

“I think it’s wonderful that I’ve gotten to play so many Jewish people,” she says. ”It’s nice just to have something in common with the character you’re

playing, and it makes you feel much more connected.”

For now, you can watch Swinton playing the moody and lovable Rock in the new season of And Just Like That, which airs a new episode every Thursday until Aug. 3, and which marks the much awaited return of Kim Cattral to the franchise.

This season, Rock will be investing a lot more time in their hobbies. “I think they find a lot about themselves,” Swinton says, “and they wear some pretty cool clothes.”

Swinton tells me she didn’t know her character would be non-binary at first.

“One of the audition scenes was the scene where Rock was like, oh, I don’t really feel like a girl. So I was like, ‘Oh, I’m interested to see where this will go.'”

Ultimately, she was happy to see representation of young people like herself who are non-binary or questioning their gender. “A lot of times, kids that are exploring their identity don’t really have a lot to back off of,” she says. “Like, maybe there’ll be one random TikToker who is 25 years old. It’s great, because finally, there’s someone who’s 13 years old on television, who is trying to figure out who they are as a person.”

She also loves the kind of parent Charlotte is to Rock. “She was so willing to learn. I think that’s really beautiful because that teaches a lot of people that are watching that it’s OK to try and learn and be there for your kid even if you’re not sure what’s really going on.”

An Eastern European delight

By Sonya Sanford The Nosher

Sour cherries are only available fresh for a few short weeks in early summer. When they’re in season, it’s a frenzy at the farmers’ market to snag a few pounds of these highly-coveted cherries. While their season is short, you can find them jarred or frozen.

They are aptly named, as they are very sour when eaten raw. When they are cooked with any kind of sweetener, sour cherries transform into something much more palatable and subtly tart.

Sour cherries are native to Europe and Southwest Asia. They are commonly grown in Eastern Europe. Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine features sour cherries in myriad recipes such as compotes, vareniki, with blintzes or even pickled.

Sour cherries are also popular in Persian, Turkish, and Greek Jewish cuisine, where the fruit is often used in

One-Bowl Sour Cherry Cake

syrups, preserves, and juice. It is also added to savory dishes like Persian saffron rice.

Sour cherries are especially delicious in baked goods, like this one-bowl sour cherry and sour cream snacking cake. This simple recipe can be prepared with either fresh, frozen or jarred sour cherries, and the sour cream can be substituted with Greek yogurt. The sour cream adds a rich tenderness to the cake that perfectly pairs with the bright acidity of the cherries.

If you’re looking for a pareve alternative, you can make this cake non-dairy by substituting the butter for vegan butter and the dairy for a non-dairy unsweetened yogurt.

2 large eggs

1 cup sugar

4 Tbsp. (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt

2 Tbsp. lemon juice (about

half a lemon)

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. baking soda

2 cups all purpose flour + 1

Tbsp., divided

2 cups pitted sour cherries, fresh, frozen or jarred

1 Tbsp. Turbinado sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line a 9-inch square or round cake pan with parchment.

In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the eggs, sugar, and melted butter.

Whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy, and increased in volume, about two to three minutes.

Add the sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, baking powder, kosher salt, and baking soda and whisk together until fully incorporated.

Add two cups of flour to the bowl, and using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix the batter until just combined and mostly smooth — be careful not to over mix.

Dust the pitted cherries in the remaining tablespoon of flour; this helps the cherries from sinking to the bottom of the cake.

Add the dusted cherries to the bowl and mix until just evenly incorporated.

Transfer to the lined and greased baking pan. Top with the Turbinado sugar and a few extra cherries if desired.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a small skewer or cake tester comes out clean.

Cool and serve topped with powdered sugar or whipped cream. Keeps for three to four days stored covered at room temperature.

Sonya Sanford

The Dayton Jewish Observer’s Marshall Weiss

The right and the good

The Power of Stories Series

A popular exhibit at one children’s museum is the recycling collection truck with its steering wheel, buzzers, and lever-induced sounds of a revving motor and compacting trash.

Once youngsters have claimed a seat there, it’s difficult to entice them to leave without bodily removal accompanied by kicking and wailing, much to the embarrassment of children and parents alike.

Candace R. Kwiatek

However, an unexpected scene played out recently when a grandmother reminded her grandson, “Other children would like a turn. It’s time to share.” His iron grip on the steering wheel, the youngster shook his head.

“That’s so unlike you,” the grandparent responded, with a deliberate puzzled lilt. “You’re a person who’s very good at sharing.” The child looked at the grandparent, then at the waiting children, and promptly got out of the truck.

The renowned psychiatrist and author Rabbi Abraham Twerski offers a similar story from his childhood. “When my father disapproved of something I did, he would say in Yiddish, ‘Es past nisht (That does not become you. It is beneath your dignity).’ I was not told that I was bad, but rather that what I did was inappropriate for someone as good as me.”

These stories suggest that when individuals err, a reminder of their better angels and aspirations preserves their dignity and identity as worthy beings in the image of God.

On the other hand, publicly highlighting another's deficiencies either by word or deed provokes embarrassment or humiliation. A related study by psychological science researchers found that simply remembering a socially painful

experience like public embarrassment triggers such an intense reliving of the event that complex thinking, perception, and language processing — core features of human identity — are stymied.

In Jewish thought, public embarrassment or humiliation of another person for any reason is considered a grievous transgression, described in rabbinic texts as akin to murder.

The prohibition itself is established in the Holiness Code of Leviticus, but illustrations can be found throughout the Bible.

Before revealing his identity to his brothers in Egypt, Joseph asked everyone from outside the family to leave the room. Despite his brothers’ earlier actions, he didn’t want to embarrass them in front of others. A similar circumstance took place in the story of Tamar and Judah.

To spare a transgressor from embarrassment, both the sin offering and the voluntary burnt offering for the Holy Temple were slaughtered in the same manner in the same public location.

The Torah even commanded that the Kohanim (priests) use a ramp when ascending to the Temple altar, not stairs that might cause the immodesty of uplifted priestly tunics. If this caution applies for inanimate stone stairs, which aren’t actually embarrassed, Rashi concludes, how much more so when it comes to another person.

“Morality is not just a set of rules...,” writes Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. “It is also about the way we respond to people as individuals.”

The rooster prince. The king and queen were distraught. Deciding he was a rooster, their son had begun crowing and pecking at crumbs on the floor, fully naked! Although the king’s wise men had no suggestions, an old sage arrived at the palace one day claiming to have a cure.

Shortly thereafter, the prince and the sage pecked away under the table, clucking and crowing and talking together. “It’s good to live the life we like,

Literature to share

The Museum of Lost Teeth by Elyssa Friedland. When Toothy notices he’s loose, he panics. What will happen now? And what does a museum have to do with teeth? This imaginative and delightfully illustrated tale for primary ages (and adults) is hilarious all while creatively teaching good health.

Picture in the Sand by Peter Blauner. A grandfather who has kept secret the story of his own life in Egypt at the time of the State of Israel’s birth. A grandson who is about to make the same mistakes by fighting in a holy war. Masterfully using email letters between Grandpa Ali and his disaffected American grandson Alex, Blauner draws the reader into a thoroughly engaging story. On the surface it’s a historical fiction thriller, but this novel is also a glimpse into mid-20th century moviemaking, Middle East history, a powerful character study, and a warning about the seductive power of fanatics of any stripe.

isn't it?” the sage observed wisely. The rooster prince crowed happily.

After some time, the sage requested a pair of pants from the royal seamstress. As he began putting them on, the rooster prince protested, "Chickens don't wear pants!” The sage countered, "Why should humans have all the comfortable things?”

A few days later, the sage asked for a shirt. The rooster prince glared. “What?” asked the sage. “Why should I shiver just because I'm a chicken?” Soon the sage put on socks and shoes to protect his bruised feet. Not long after, the sage heard his stomach grum ble and asked for a plate of food. The very next day the rooster prince asked for some pants, a shirt, shoes, and socks, and a plate of food, and was soon behaving like a human again.

The wine barrel. There was great excitement in Chelm upon hearing that the honor able mayor of Lublin would visit, but the inhabitants soon discovered a prob lem. What gift could such a poor town give the mayor to thank him for coming? A barrel of wine would be ideal, but too expensive.

The townsfolk went to see the rabbi, who suggested putting a barrel in the

synagogue courtyard into which each family could pour just one jar of homemade wine. Delighted with the idea, Chelmers were soon observed adding to the barrel.

The mayor arrived to great fanfare and visited throughout the day. As he prepared to return home, the rabbi presented the town’s gift. Surprised and pleased, the mayor insisted on toasting l’chaim before setting off.

He took a big drink…and spit out plain, ordinary water. “You Chelmers have a wicked sense of humor,” he laughed amiably as he mounted his horse. “Wine indeed!”

When accusations began flying among the townsfolk, the rabbi held up his hands. “Let’s just make this right. Every family that wishes to do so will have another chance to add their wine to the empty barrel in the synagogue courtyard, and we’ll all deliver it to the

Even if not explicitly stated, the Torah demands more than merely fulfilling specific commandments. “Ve’asita hayashar ve’hatov — Do what is right and good in the eyes of the Lord,” Moses teaches in Deuteronomy. This is the standard to which we must aspire: the standard of a holy people, the standard of a mensch.

Helen Mirren plays Golda Meir in a new film. They're also (kind of) related.

By Philissa Cramer, JTA

JERUSALEM — Helen Mirren will soon become linked with Golda Meir in the minds of many viewers when she plays the late Israeli prime minister in a new film. But the award winning actress has another, real-life connection to Meir: the two are related, Israeli genealogical researchers revealed July 13.

Mirren was in Jerusalem for the Israeli premiere of Golda, the dramatic film she headlines about Meir’s handling of the Yom Kippur War — when Egypt, Syria, and a coalition of their allies invaded Israel and made significant headway before ultimately being rebuffed.

The movie headlined the Jerusalem Film Festival, with a red-carpet screening that evening.

During a press conference before the screening, researchers with MyHeritage presented Mirren with evidence linking her to Meir, who served as prime minister from 1969 to 1974 and remains the only woman to head Israel’s government.

The connection is distant, stretching nine generations back through Mirren’s paternal Russian ancestry, and through marriage only. The genealogy also connects Mirren to two Israeli presidents, Chaim and Ezer Weizman, and to the British royal family.

Still, Mirren — who is not Jewish — said the revelation offered an important lesson.

“It’s miraculous, isn’t it, really? It just goes to show that we are all one family actually,” she said. “In times of divisiveness and strife as I know Israel is in right now…It would be a very good thing to remember that fact.”

Israel’s political turmoil was a central topic of conversation during the press conference. Mirren and her Israeli collaborators — including director Guy Nattiv and co-star Lior Ashkenazi — reflected on the widespread protests against the right-wing government’s efforts to sap the power of the country’s Supreme Court.

“I am not Israeli...I’ve watched it

from afar these past weeks,” said Mirren, who said at the Berlin premiere of Golda in February that she thought Meir would be “utterly horrified” by the current government’s efforts.

“I’m personally moved and excited when I see those huge demonstrations,” she added. “I think maybe it’s a pivotal moment in Israeli history.”

Nattiv said that he had been attending the demonstrations with his father “to stop this crazy thing from happening” and that he had encountered a veteran of the Yom Kippur War who compared the current moment to the existential threat that Israel faced — and overcame — then.

“In a way we are fighting to shape the future of our country,” he said.

The film portrays Meir being caught flat-footed by aggression from neighboring Arab countries, then overseeing a military response that transformed from fumbling to triumphant — and eventually led to Israeli-Egyptian peace in 1979, years after Meir left office.

It shows her deeply struggling over the deaths of Israeli soldiers who might have lived had she heeded warnings of war.

In 1974, Meir resigned amid divisions within her party over where to assign blame.

“She understood that as the leader of the country she had to take responsibility, and she did — unlike many other leaders who, when things go pearshaped, start pointing fingers at other people,” Mirren said. “I think that must have been incredibly painful.”

Helen Mirren attends a press conference ahead of the Israeli premiere of the movie Golda in Jerusalem, July 13.

'I'm a horribly greedy actress. All I want to do is play great women.'

Mirren’s connection to Israel dates back to 1967, when she traveled with a Jewish boyfriend to work for a month on a kibbutz in the country’s north. “I’m amazed every time I come,” she said.

Her casting drew criticism for the decision to have a non-Jewish actress play one of history’s most prominent Jewish women.

About the debate over whether roles should be filled by actors whose identities overlap with the characters’, Mirren said, “I adhere to both camps.” She noted that she collaborated closely with the British theatre director Peter Cook, who pioneered color-blind casting in the 1970s and died last year at 97.

Nattiv said one of his Israeli colleagues had initially suggested Mirren because of her resemblance to his own grandmother.

He said, “I saw the Jewish soul in Helen immediately. We feel like it was the right move.”

Mirren said her motivations for taking the role were simple.

“I’m a horribly greedy actress. All I want to do is play great women,” said Mirren, who won an Oscar for portraying Queen Elizabeth II and has also played Queen Elizabeth I, among other historical figures. “And Golda was one of the greatest.”

Before Golda hits U.S. screens Aug. 25, Mirren has another major role — as the narrator in Barbie

She said both movies offered portrayals of strong women, and suggested a possible addition to the mounting list of promotional tie-ins for the hotly anticipated live-action film about the iconic doll.

She said, “I think we need a Golda Meir Barbie, don’t you think?”

Richard "Ric" Blum, age 69 of Clayton, passed away on July 3 after a courageous battle against cancer. Ric was vice president of Ohio Loan Company, a longstanding family-owned business. He served in many capacities at the state and national level of pawnbroker associations, including being named the National Pawnbrokers Association Pawnbroker of the Year in 2014, named the Ohio Pawnbrokers Association 2015 Ohio Pawnbroker of the Year, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Midwest Pawnbrokers Association in 2017. Ric was passionate about the industry and building relationships with others, exemplified by his many articles published in Today's Pawnbroker Magazine. He was a longtime member of Beth Jacob Congregation, Beth Abraham Synagogue, and Temple Israel. Those who knew him know that he was willing to help anyone with anything they needed, and his quick wit and sense of humor would put a smile on anyone's face. Ric was preceded in death by his father, Hyman F. Blum, in 2020. He is survived by his beloved wife of 45 years, Linda Blum; mother, Sylvia Blum; his four children, Stephanie Henning (fiancé James Back Jr.), Michael (Kristin) Blum, Amy (Noam) Siegel, Emily Blum (fiancé Justin Clouser); grandchildren, Joel Henning, Gabriella and Charles Blum, Isla and Henry Siegel, Alex (Mackenzie) Henning, Brandon (Skyler) Henning; brother, Kenneth (Lisa) Blum; nephew, Philip (Rabbi Cantor Lily) Blum; great-grandchildren, Scott Henning, Dominic Henning; great-niece, Sunny Blum, other relatives and many friends. Interment was at Beth Jacob Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Northmont Education Foundation or Beth Jacob Congregation in Ric's memory.

OBITUARIES

Melvin Saul Caplan passed away peacefully in his sleep on June 23. He was born Feb. 14, 1937 in Norfolk, Va. He attended Yeshiva University from 1955 to 1961 and graduated with a master's in social work. He was an Army veteran. He was a varsity wrestler in college and had two nationally published papers on social work. He taught at the University of Dayton for five years. He was the executive director of the Dayton Jewish Community Center for nearly 30 years and subsequently served as the chief operating officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton for several years. He enjoyed puzzles, fishing, reading, playing games, and finding the cheapest gasoline in the city. He is predeceased by his loving wife of 53 years, Carolyn Caplan; his sister Rae Stern; and his parents, Arthur and Rosa Caplan. He is survived by his children, Jay (Rachel), Robert (Kathy), and Richard (Jessica); and his grandchildren, Andrew, Anna, Corbin, and Joshua. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton.

Anthony B. “Tony” Char, age 85 of Sarasota, Fla., formerly of the Dayton area, passed away on May 18. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helaine (Moltz) Char, and his parents, Isaac and Beebe Char. He is survived by his children, Debbie of Sarasota, DeeDee and David (Deb) of Dayton; grandchildren, Brandon (Candi), Brittany (Dustin), Jonathan (Ashley) and Benjamin; great-grandchildren, Carter, Wyatt, Mayson and Liliana; his brothers, Sherman (Joan) Char and Jerry

(Judy) Char, sister-in-law Ruth Moltz and numerous nieces and nephews throughout the country. Tony was a lifelong golfer and a founding member of the Michigan State University Chapter of Evans Scholars Golf Fraternity. His professional life was spent serving the local governments of Dayton, Troy, and Piqua, Ohio; and Louisville, Ky. Tony was instrumental in the growth and development of each of the communities he served, most notably the City of Dayton. Many of his initiatives are still evident today in each of those locations. He was very active in community association management in Sarasota and the greater area and served as president of each of the communities in which he resided. He was a force and is already missed by those who knew him. Interment at Riverview Cemetery.

Jonah Jordan Chesen was born in Buynaksk, Russia on Nov. 16, 1992 and passed away at the age of 30 in Miami Township. He leaves behind his loving mother and father, Judy and Alan Chesen, and his grandmother, Ethel Chesen. He was predeceased by his grandmother, Elsie Mintz; by his grandfathers, Harold Mintz and David Chesen; and by his uncle Jeffrey Chesen. He is survived by his aunts, cousins, and too many wonderful friends to mention. Jonah attended the University of Toledo, Sinclair College, and Franklin University. He loved movies, travel, soccer, hiking, and weightlifting and bodybuilding. He also loved to write and recently completed his first book. Interment was at Beth Abraham Cemetery. Donations in Jonah’s memory may be made to Beth Abraham Synagogue, House of Bread, or to the charity of your choice.

Monique Margolis, age 89, passed away peacefully at home on July 10 in Houston, Texas surrounded by members of her family. She will be

remembered as a dedicated, strong, selfless, and loving mother, wife and daughter who devoted her entirety to her family and was loved dearly by them. Monique was born in Paris, France on June 20, 1934 to Estelle and Simon Knoploch. Her early life was disrupted by World War II, however, hidden as a young child, she was among the survivors in her family. After completing school, she embarked upon a career translating foreign films between French and Italian. She visited the United States later in life where she met her beloved husband, David Sterling Margolis, with whom she was married for 41 wonderful years. Monique and Sterling had two children and raised their family in Dayton, in what Monique treasured as among the happiest times of her life. Monique was known as a beautiful and elegant lady. She enjoyed piano, ballet, classical music, literature, and tennis. After Sterling’s passing, Monique spent time in Houston, Palm Beach, and New York City with her children and grandchildren. She gave more to her family than she ever asked for in return and will be dearly missed. She loved life and saw the beauty in life to the very end. She is survived by her son Michael and Mitra Margolis, her son Gregory and Lori Margolis, and her two grandsons, Blake and Jesse Margolis. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery. The family kindly requests that donations be made in Monique’s memory to Temple Israel or to support the research of breast cancer and its cure, to the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. Gifts may be sent to Cleveland Clinic Foundation, P.O. Box 931517, Cleveland, OH 44193-1655 or made online at clevelandclinic.org/giving.

A Miami Valley Tradition

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