The Dayton Jewish Observer, August 2024 by The Dayton Jewish Observer

Celebration of Jewish artists

Hadassah reaches for the stars

Dr. Jack M. Bernstein will share his astrophotography at Reach for the Stars with Hadassah, 2 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 4 at One Lincoln Park, 590 Isaac Prugh Way, Kettering.

The cost is $18 and includes refreshments. Payment via check must be received by July 26. For more information, email hadassahdayton@gmail.com.

Leonard Cohen's music at Beth Abraham Shabbat Under the Stars

Local musicians Rick Good and Sam King will perform songs by Leonard Cohen at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 23 on Beth Abraham Synagogue's patio for Shabbat Under the Stars. A dessert Oneg will follow the service. Beth Abraham is located at 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. RSVP to 937-293-9520.

Holocaust museum tour, lunch in Cincy Dayton's Jewish Community Center will host a 90-minute, docent-led tour of the Nancy and David Wolf Holocaust and Humanity Center in Cincinnati followed by lunch nearby on Tuesday, Aug. 20.

The tour of the Holocaust and Humanity Center, at Union Terminal, 1301 Western Ave., Cincinnati, begins at 11 a.m. Participants may travel on their own or join carpools to the museum. Carpools will leave at 9:30 a.m. from Beth Jacob Congregation and 10 a.m. from Temple Beth Or.

The cost of the tour is $10 and includes a parking pass. Lunch will be at a nearby restaurant at participants' expense. RSVP by Friday, Aug. 16. For more information and to register, contact Stacy Emoff at semoff@jfgd.net, 937-610-5513, or go to jewishdayton.org/ events.

Photos: Katie Lagasse

Look at Us celebrates our Jewish artists & artisans

Escape on Avenue B by Hannah Kasper Levinson is one of the works by local Jewish artists/

included in the Look at Us online exhibit at jewishdayton.org beginning Aug. 7. The Look at Us Committee will display art by Levinson and other local Jewish artists/artisans Aug. 21 at the Dayton Art Institute. She'll also talk about her work during the program.

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

In a talk at Temple Israel nearly 30 years ago, celebrated local artist Ray Must made a point that was important to him: "I am a Jew who is an artist, not a 'Jewish artist.' My work is directed to wider audiences and the Jewish themes I find just naturally emerge or are not always on a conscious level."

The works of the late Must and other Jews who are artists or creators of Jewish art — and artisans who fit in either category — will be the

focus of two ongoing online exhibits, and a oneafternoon display, collectively billed as Look at Us: Jewish Artists & Artisans in Dayton.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton has already opened the first online Look at Us exhibit on its website, jewishdayton.org, with works of Jewish artists from the Dayton Art Institute's collection, including Sol LeWitt, Roy Lichtenstein, and Alexander Liberman.

Beginning Aug. 7, the second Look at Us online

Continued on Page Four

‘Ain’t

Did you know that nearly 10,000 Ten Commandments plaques and monuments were placed in public and private spaces across the United States as part of a promotion for Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 Paramount production of The Ten Commandments? And those displays essentially used the same text adapted and used in the movie. AP reporters Holly Meyer and Peter Smith wrote about this in June. They interviewed Princeton University Prof. Kevin M. Kruse, author of One Nation Under God: How Corporate America

nothing like the real thing, baby.’

Invented Christian America. It was the Fraternal Order of Eagles, a North American service organization based here in Ohio, that distributed the Ten Commandments plaques in 1954, which Kruse says was done in partnership with Paramount. That same year, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a bill approved by Congress to add the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance. The National Constitution Center notes this was "at a time when the United States wanted to distinguish itself from godless communist countries" — likely a motivation for DeMille and the Order of Eagles, too. In his filmed curtain speech shown in theatres at the beginning of The Ten Commandments, DeMille states, “The theme of this picture is whether men are to be ruled by God’s law or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictator like Rameses. Are men the property of the state, or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today.”

artisans

Marshall

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DAYTON

Winter Memory by the late Ray Must will be among his works included with the Look at Us online exhibit featuring pieces by local Jewish artists and artisans that goes live Aug. 7 at jewishdayton.org.

Jewish artists

Continued from Page Three

exhibit at jewishdayton.org will go live, with works by local artists and artisans including Must and:

• Cathy Gardner, calligraphy

• Elyssa Wortzman, fine arts

• Gayle Moscowitz and Caryl Segalewitz, glass art

• Mike Jaffe, Stephen Goldberg, Bruce Soifer, and the late Sam Lauber, photography

• Marlene Pinsky, quilting

• Burt Saidel, Scott Segalewitz, and the late Steve Markman, woodworking

The culmination of Look at Us will be its committee's display of works by local Jewish artists and artisans to be held at the Dayton Art Institute from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 21.

Hannah Kasper Levinson — whose art will be on the Look at Us Committee's display that day and online — will lead a presentation about her work, with a reception to follow. Participants may also take self-guided tours of the museum.

Jewish Federation CEO Cathy Gardner said the idea for Look at Us came out of a Federa-

tion Innovation Grant proposal, submitted by Ruth Schumacher, chair of Temple Beth Or's adult education committee; and Wendy Gray, chair of Temple Israel's adult education committee.

"Beth Abraham Synagogue and Beth Jacob Congregation signed on and are participating as well," Gardner said, "and I am pleased to work with our layleaders from the four congregations, as well as Stacy Emoff, JCC Cultural Arts and Adult Programming director, on this exciting project."

Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss mweiss@jfgd.net 937-610-1555

Contributors

Candace R. Kwiatek, Rabbi Levi Simon

Advertising Sales Executive Patty Caruso, plhc69@gmail.com

Administrative Assistant Samantha Daniel, sdaniel@jfgd.net 937-610-1555

Billing Sheila Myers, smyers@jfgd.net 937-610-1555

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Each year, the Jewish Federation accepts proposals for innovation grants, with preference given to collaborative projects that bring multiple Jewish organizations and members of the Jewish community together.

"Our aim is to nurture oneof-a-kind, collaborative Jewish experiences across the Miami Valley," Gardner said. "We are fortunate to have so many wonderful local artists participating in this project."

Look at Us: Jewish Artists & Artisans in Dayton, presented by the JCC, Beth Abraham Synagogue, Beth Jacob Congregation, Temple Beth Or, and Temple Israel, comprises three components:

• Online exhibit of works by Jewish artists from the Dayton Art Institute's collection. On view now at jewishdayton.org.

• Online exhibit of local Jewish artists and artisans beginning Aug. 7 at jewishdayton.org.

• Look at Us Committee's display of works by local Jewish artists and artisans, held at the Dayton Art Institute, with a presentation by local Jewish artist Hannah Kasper Levinson, optional self-guided tour, and reception to follow, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 5:30 p.m., 456 Belmonte Park N. Free. Register online by Friday, Aug. 16 at jewishdayton.org/events or with Stacy Emoff at semoff@jfgd.net, 937-610-5513.

Published by the

The Dayton Jewish Observer, Vol. 28, 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 To support, strengthen and champion the Dayton Jewish community by providing a forum and resource for Jewish community interests.

Goals

• To encourage affiliation, involvement and communication.

• To provide announcements, news, opinions and analysis of local, national and international activities and issues affecting Jews and the Jewish community.

• To build community across institutional, organizational and denominational lines.

• To advance causes important to the strength of our Jewish community including support of Federation agencies, its annual campaign, synagogue affiliation, Jewish education and participation in Jewish and general community affairs.

• To provide an historic record of Dayton Jewish life.

High Holy Days Torah mantle for Beth Abraham Synagogue by Marlene Pinsky, with the Hebrew word teshuva, repentance.

Observer honored for best religion reporting in Ohio

Ohio’s Best Journalism Contest, sponsored by the Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus Society of Professional Journalists chapters statewide, announced July 3 that Dayton Jewish Observer Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss has received its 2024 first-place award for Best Religion Reporting in its small newspaper category (circulation below 60,000).

This is the eighth firstplace award Weiss has received from Ohio’s Best Journalism Contest: seven for religion reporting, one for feature reporting.

Weiss has been editor of The Observer since he established it as a publication of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton in 1996. This is The Observer’s 13th first-place award overall from Ohio’s Best Journalism Contest. He also received this year's second-place award for Best Feature Reporting from Ohio’s Best Journalism Contest.

In June, the American Jewish Press Association honored Weiss with its first-place Simon Rockower Award for Excellence in News Reporting in the category of magazines and monthly newspapers.

FBI offers $10K for info. on vandalism of Cincinnati Jewish cemeteries

By Sam Fisher, cincyjewfolk.com

After 176 gravestones were toppled in an act of antisemitic vandalism between June 25 and July 1 at two historic Jewish cemeteries, the FBI announced in a statement on X, on July 4, it is offering a $10,000 reward for information about the vandalizing of Tifereth Israel Cemetery and the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Cemetery.

“The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for damaging gravestones at Tifereth Israel Cemetery and Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Cemetery in Cincinnati. Contact the FBI at 513421-4310 or http://tips.fbi.gov with info.”

Gravestones at the cemeteries were toppled over, many face down, and some cracked in half, which has made contacting families difficult. The Jewish Federation and the Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati are working with local law enforcement and the FBI in their investigation.

176 gravestones were knocked over in two Jewish cemeteries in Cincinnati between June 25 and July 1.

According to the FBI, the number of investigations into anti-Jewish hate crimes has tripled since Oct. 7.

The JCGC is running a fundraiser to repair damaged headstones, some of which date back to the late 1800s.

In a statement on X, President Joe Biden condemned the vandalism of the Tifereth Israel Cemetery and the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Cemetery.

“The vandalism of nearly 200 graves at two Jewish cemeteries near Cincinnati is despicable. This is

Harmonious Living At Bethany Village

Meet your neighbor Mary Arnett

Mary Arnett’s life at Bethany Village is a beautiful blend of music and friendship. With a background in the local philharmonic, her involvement in music has been a gateway to building meaningful friendships, which she holds dear. Mary’s story is a testament to the enriching power of music and community connection.

antisemitism and it is vile. I condemn these acts and commit my Administration to support investigators in holding those responsible accountable to the full extent of the law.”

U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH-1) visited the cemeteries July 3. “Know that the current explosion of antisemitism is real, and it has no boundaries," he said. "These headstones will stand again, and I hope those responsible will be caught and brought to justice.”

Bill protecting students, including from Jew-hatred, passes Ohio House

A bill protecting students on campus, including from Jew-hatred, passed the Ohio's House of Representatives June 26. The state legislature’s Jewish Caucus helped write the Campus Accountability and Modernization to Protect University Students (CAMPUS) Act, which Republican state representatives Justin Pizzulli and Dontavius Jarrells co-sponsored.

“The CAMPUS Act is essential for fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful educational environment,” Pizzulli said on the Statehouse floor. “This bill not only safeguards students but also promotes a campus culture grounded in respect and understanding, essential for the academic and personal growth of every student.”

Among the bill’s requirements is to mandate Mike Duffey, chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, “to establish a task force on combating antisemitism and other forms of racial, religious and ethnic bias, harassment

and intimidation at institutions of higher education.”

The legislation (HB 606), which became part of SB 94 and heads back to the state Senate for a vote, also requires colleges and universities to create and enforce policies combatting and “comprehensive” staff training on “racial, religious and ethnic harassment and intimidation” and to establish procedures for investigating complaints of alleged racial, religious, and ethnic harassment, per a state House release.

legislature’s Jewish Caucus — Casey Weinstein, Dani Isaacsohn and Beryl Brown Piccolantonio, all of whom are Democrats — played an important role in drafting the CAMPUS Act, per an Ohio House release.

Ky. judge dismisses Jewish mothers’ lawsuit against state abortion ban

By Jackie Hajdenberg, JTA

A Kentucky judge tossed out a lawsuit filed by three Jewish mothers who challenged the state’s abortion law on religious freedom grounds.

The Senate bill also calls on each college and university and each higher education nonprofit to “create a campus task force on combating antisemitism, Islamophobia, antiChristian discrimination, and hatred, harassment, bullying or violence toward others.”

The three state representatives who make up the Ohio

“We owe it to our students to do two things at once: protect the freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment while also making sure that all students live and learn in an environment free from harassment, discrimination, and hate,” the trio wrote in May. “We have seen unacceptable levels of antisemitism and other forms of ethnic or religious prejudice. This bill is about transparency and accountability on our campuses, and empowering students to foster trust and build bridges across differences. That is how we move forward as a community.”

On June 28, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Brian C. Edwards ruled that because none of the three women were currently pregnant — meaning that their case was based on “fears of hypothetical future harm” — the suit could not advance.

Plaintiffs Lisa Sobel, Jessica Kalb, and Sarah Baron argued in their lawsuit, filed in 2022, that Kentucky’s abortion law created obstacles to in-vitro fertilization, placing undue burdens on the process of conceiving a child and violating Jewish understandings of when life begins.

— JNS

Sobel, Kalb, and Baron are among a slate of Jewish plain-

tiffs across America fighting in court for reproductive rights on religious freedom grounds in the years following the Supreme Court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade, which granted federal protections for abortion. The Kentucky decision came two weeks after a Missouri judge rejected a suit filed by interfaith clergy, including rabbis, challenging that state’s abortion restrictions.

In the Kentucky case, Edwards ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing.

“In the case before this Court, the alleged injuries of the three Plaintiffs are hypothetical as none are currently pregnant or undergoing IVF at the present time. Accordingly, the Court simply cannot find that the Plaintiffs have shown ‘the existence of an actual controContinued on Page Eight

State Rep. Justin Pizzulli

THE NATION

A Jewish

couple was barred from adopting through a Christian agency. They’re now the faces of an anti-Project 2025 campaign.

By Jackie Hajdenberg, JTA

A Jewish couple barred from adopting a child due to their religion are the faces of a prominent new campaign to defend the separation of church and state.

Americans United for the Separation of Church and State have made Gabe and Liz Rutan-Ram’s case the centerpiece of their critique of Project 2025, a presidential transition blueprint drawn up by conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation that has garnered intense criticism in recent weeks.

One policy proposal supported by Project 2025 is the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, which would allow adoption and foster care agencies to make placement decisions based on the organizations’ “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions.”

Critics of these types of bills, which have been attempted in previous Congressional sessions, say they result in more children remaining in the foster care system while also discriminating against non-Christian and LGBTQ+ parents.

Americans United maintains the principle of religious freedom does not provide religious organizations that accept taxpayer funds the right to discriminate based on their beliefs.

They describe their case in a video shot and distributed by Americans United. “I can’t imagine a better life for us than as parents,” Liz Rutan-Ram says in the video.

The Rutan-Rams fostered a local teenage girl for a time after they were denied services by the Christian agency.

“It’s really disheartening to see that there’s entire political arms, at this point, hell-bent on trying to make us second-class citizens,” Gabe Rutan-Ram says in the video.

Though Project 2025 was published in April 2023, Democrats have been sounding the alarm in recent weeks about its goals and trying to tie it to former president and Republican presidential

“The Project 2025 architects want to expand the abuse of religious freedom as a license to discriminate to social service agencies, employers, schools, hospitals, and many other entities and turn it against countless religious and racial minorities, LGBTQ+ people, women, the nonreligious and other often-marginalized groups. We are all at risk,” Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United, said in a statement. “America doesn’t need Project 2025. It needs a national recommitment to the separation of church and state — the antidote that can stop Christian Nationalists.”

The Rutan-Rams had sued the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services in 2022 after a Christian foster care agency, which receives taxpayer dollars, refused to help them adopt a child because they were Jewish.

Their lawsuit was the first to challenge a 2020 state law that permits adoption agencies not to place children in settings that violate the agencies’ “religious or moral convictions or policies.”

Their case was dismissed by a judge six months after it was filed, and the Rutan-Rams are appealing the decision.

nominee Donald Trump. Some critics say it's a blueprint for ideas associated with Christian Nationalism, including reversing LGBTQ+ rights, banning abortion, restricting contraception and shifting resources from public schools to private, including religious schools. Trump recently wrote on his social media website that he knows “nothing” about the project and thinks it proposes “ridiculous” things.

Americans United has taken on the cause of multiple legal cases that involve Jewish families, including the Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments be displayed in public schools, the Missouri abortion ban, and working with the Rutan-Ram family when they were initially denied access to the fosterto-adopt program.

Laser, its first woman and Jewish leader, previously worked at the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, Planned Parenthood, and the National Women’s Law Center.

Americans United has created a starstudded video warning about Project 2025, featuring celebrities Sarah Paulson, Arian Moayed, Allison Janney, and Bradley Whitford.

Gabe and Liz Rutan-Ram in a campaign ad from Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.

Poll: Nearly half of Americans see antisemitism as a very serious problem

By Ron Kampeas, JTA

More than one in 10 American Jewish adults say they were frequently “treated poorly or harassed” due to their religion over the past year, according to a new Gallup poll.

An additional 25% said such treatment happened occasionally. A majority of American Jews, 60%, said they feel uncomfortable sharing their religious affiliation, far more than the 25% of Americans overall who said the same.

In addition, close to half of all Americans view antisemitism as a “very serious problem,” according to a separate Gallup poll, more than five times the proportion of respondents who said so the last time the polling firm asked the same question more than two decades ago.

The poll about harassment confirmed recent surveys by the American Jewish Committee and others of increased insecurity among American Jews. Gallup asked, “How often in the past year were you treated poorly or harassed because of your religion?”

The 11% of Jews who said they had faced frequent harassment was more than any other religious group asked, though Gallup said its survey sample did not include enough Muslim respondents to report their responses. It did not give a sample size or margin of error for the sample of Jewish respondents it asked.

In a survey taken last fall by the AJC, largely after Oct. 7, 25% of American Jews reported experiencing an antisemitic incident of some kind in 2023.

In the Gallup poll on antisemitism in the United States, American adults overall were asked the same question they were in 2003: “Do you think that antisemitism, or prejudice against Jewish people, is currently — a very serious problem, somewhat of a problem, not much of a problem or not a problem at all — in the United States?”

This year’s poll found that 49% of respondents say that it is a very serious problem, while 32% say it is somewhat of a problem — meaning a total of 81% who believe it is a problem. Ten percent say it is not much of a problem while 8% say it isn’t a problem at all.

The poll of 1,024 U.S. adults was conducted by phone in May. It had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

The poll about harassment confirmed recent surveys by the American Jewish Committee and others of increased insecurity among American Jews.

Those numbers align in part with a poll of Americans taken in February by the Pew Research Center. That poll found that 82% of Americans said there was either a lot or some discrimination against Jews in society, though only 40% said there was a lot of discrimination.

Among Americans overall, the survey found that 2% said they were frequently harassed and 8% said they were occasionally harassed. Asked whether harassment and poor treatment had increased over the last year, 46% of Jews said it had, as opposed to 10% of Americans overall.

The Jewish responses came from self-administered online surveys conducted in May by 1,588 Jewish adults in Gallup’s survey panel. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.

Following Hamas' Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, which launched the current war in Gaza, there have been widespread reports by law enforcement and communal watchdogs of a sharp spike in antisemitism.

Ky. judge

Continued from Page Six

versy respecting justiciable questions,’” he wrote in his opinion.

All three plaintiffs in the Kentucky case said they are religiously motivated to grow their families. All three have already had children and want to have at least one more, but will need to undergo IVF treatments in order to do so for health reasons.

The Kentucky law places restrictions on the disposal of surplus embryos, which is part of the process of IVF.

Debates stemming from the reversal of Roe v. Wade have led to challenges to IVF elsewhere, most notably in Alabama, whose top court ruled earlier this year that frozen embryos are human beings and those who dispose of them can be held liable for wrongful death. The state subsequently enacted a law protecting IVF providers from such lawsuits.

According to the Kentucky lawsuit, Kalb is currently paying fees for the storage of nine embryos that were created during a previous IVF process, and she worries that she may be forced to carry a non-viable

In 2003, the last time Gallup asked the question, 9% said they believed antisemitism was a serious problem while 48% said it was somewhat of a problem, a total of 57%. At the time, a total of 39% believed it wasn’t or wasn’t much of a problem.

Gallup had asked the question in 2003, the firm said, to measure sentiment as Sen. Joe Lieberman mounted an ultimately unsuccessful presidential campaign.

For the first time, Gallup also asked the same question about discrimination against Muslims, and Americans seemed somewhat less concerned about Islamophobia.

One third of Americans say that prejudice against Muslims is a serious problem, according to the poll, while another 41% see it as somewhat of a problem, for a total of 74% seeing it as a problem.

fetus to term should she choose IVF again. She also worries about being charged with homicide if she chooses to discard the surplus embryos, the lawsuit said.

“We are deeply disappointed by Judge Edwards’ decision to dismiss our lawsuit on the grounds of standing. This ruling overlooks critical issues central to our case, which are of profound importance to countless individuals and families across our state,” Sobel wrote in a public post on the GoFundMe page that sought to raise funds for the plaintiffs’ legal fees.

“We should not have to go through the emotional process that is financially costly before we find out we may have to leave the state or face prosecution because we have non-viable pregnancies or embryos we cannot use.”

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman praised the ruling and denied that the abortion law hinders IVF in the state.

“We applaud the Court’s decision to uphold Kentucky law,” Coleman said in a statement on June 28.

“Most importantly, the Court eliminates any notion that access to IVF services in our Commonwealth is at risk. Today’s opinion is a welcome reassurance to the many Kentuckians seeking to become parents.”

Legal scholar Noah Feldman on The Ten Commandments, Christian nationalism, the Jewish future of church & state

By Andrew Silow-Carroll

One week after Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed legislation requiring that The Ten Commandments be displayed in every public classroom in the state, nine families — including three Jewish families — filed suit in federal court saying the law was unconstitutional.

The law and the challenge set up an important church-state test, especially now that the U.S. Supreme Court has shown it is much friendlier to the role of religion in public life than any court in recent years.

The law also invites a showdown between civil liberties groups and politicians they say are promoting “Christian nationalism,” or what Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, defines as “a political ideology rooted in the belief that America was created for European Christians, and that our laws must codify, reflect, and perpetuate this privilege.”

Jewish theology. The extreme emphasis on The Ten Commandments that you get in the Christian tradition might be a little more exaggerated than what you would find in Jewish tradition. But in Jewish tradition, they’re still very darn important. They’re emblematic of the covenant between God and Israel, which is why you’re seeing them in so many synagogues.

But in terms of United States law, these are distinctly religious declarations. There’s no pretending that they’re kind of, you know, global, ethical guidelines that everyone can buy into.

Landry and his supporters say that The Ten Commandments may be biblical but are also a historical document that has helped shape U.S. law. “If you want to respect the rule of law,” said Landry, “you’ve got to start from the original law giver, which was Moses.”

Similarly, Oklahoma’s schools superintendent on June 27 directed all public schools to teach the Bible, saying, “The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone.”

To understand these competing claims, I spoke to Noah Feldman, not only the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard University, where he teaches a class on the First Amendment, but the author of a new book, To Be a Jew Today, his “field guide” to the diverse beliefs and attitudes of contemporary Jews when it comes to God, Israel, and peoplehood. Feldman told me he got a “spectacular first-class Jewish education” at the Maimonides School, a private Orthodox Jewish day school in Brookline, Mass. He is the author of nine previous books. Our conversation was edited for length and clarity.

Let's talk about the religious significance of The Ten Commandments in Jewish religious life. I see the tablets in every synagogue. But are they the basis of Jewish belief the way the Louisiana governor thinks they are the basis of Western morality?

In Jewish tradition, The Ten Commandments have gotten special treatment as being an especially important expression of God’s desires for the Jewish people. But they have not been made into super law higher than the other 603 commandments in the way we’re familiar to hearing from people of other religious traditions. The Bible treats them as highly significant and according to both the Book of Exodus and the Book of Deuteronomy, they were spoken by God at Sinai in a way that the 600,000-plus assembled Israelites could actually understand what was being said, as God was speaking, as opposed to the rest of the Torah.

In synagogue, The Ten Commandments are read three times a year — twice when their passages come up in the annual cycle and one time on the festival of Shavuot. Traditionally, the whole congregation stands up. But they don’t have the same role that they’ve played in Christian theology, where there’s a whole complex distinction between the first table and the second table and those commandments which are divine and those which are more ethical. There’s a whole complex Christian theology which is different from the

So, what do you think?

The Ten Commandments are as religious as anything could be because they start with “I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” If that’s not a religious sentence, there is no such thing as a religious sentence. That said, it’s a complicated question in American law, and whether something that has religious origins might be transformed over time into a more secular formulation. My own view is that that has not happened to The Ten Commandments.

Louisiana’s governor wants to display The Ten Commandments in every public-school classroom. You’ve written about previous Ten Commandments challenges and how the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision, Kennedy v. Bremerton, “overturned all existing jurisprudence about the separation of church and state.” How so?

If this were any year between say 1970 and 2022, it would be a no-brainer that the display of The Ten Commandments is obviously unconstitutional. But in 2022, the Supreme Court threw out 50 years of precedent. Before then, under the so-called Lemon test, a law needed a primarily secular purpose so as not to violate the Establishment Clause. Now the Court has said it will rely on “history and tradition” to decide such cases.

Louisiana is going to argue that by history and tradition, there’s nothing wrong with The Ten Commandments being displayed in public places, and they will point to a handful of contexts in which The Ten Commandments are displayed in which it has not been ruled unconstitutional — including, for example, a statue on the grounds of the Texas Capitol building. The Supreme Court upheld that particular display on the grounds that it had been there for a long time and no one had really ever objected to it before.

Opponents of the law will say to the contrary: Number one, the Capitol building is not in a classroom where everyone is obligated to be. Number two, there’s a big difference between a statue erected, in that case, by something called the Fraternal Order of Eagles to promote The Ten Commandments movie at the impetus of its director, Cecil B. DeMille, and a brandnew law, intended to inculcate a religious message.

How might this court rule if the case makes it there?

There are three things they can do. They can deviate from “history and tradition” and go back to some version of the idea that there’s something wrong with a display that clearly sends a religious message. Option B, they could apply history and tradition. And under Option B, there’s subset one and subset two. B-1 would be they could say this violates history and tradition: “Louisiana never had these things in their classrooms. We haven’t had these kinds of religious displays in the United States.” B-2, they can

say this doesn’t violate history and tradition because at one time before the 1960s, the Bible verses were sometimes read in class and those Bible verses may sometimes have been The Ten Commandments. That would be a very surprising result. Or the court could potentially go some completely new route, and create some new tests that they’ve never used before. But that doesn’t seem all that likely.

How significant would it be if this goes to the Supreme Court?

Cases take a while to get to the Supreme Court. And maybe between now and the time it gets there, they would decide some other case that would become their first major Establishment Clause case after Kennedy v. Bremerton, where they trashed existing law. But if it does, it will become a very important case, because it’ll be the first time they’d be applying the very ill-formulated history and tradition test.

Part of being a Jew today is dealing with the rise of Christian politics, whether it is the strength of Evangelical Christianity or Christian nationalism, maybe the sharpest point of the spear. The Louisiana law can be seen as an effort to make the country more Christian. How is that shaping Jewish attitudes and their sense of security and belonging?

Twenty years ago, I published a book called Divided by God: America’s Church-State Problem — and What We Should Do About It. A chapter was about how Jews had played this crucial role in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s in shaping the constitutional rule that there had to be stricter separation between church and state. They had arrived a century before in large numbers, but it took the better part of a century for Jews to make it and feel competent and enter the legal elites in a full way. And once that had happened, it was a kind of wake-up call for those who thought the United States was a Christian nation.

As part of that process, the Supreme Court began striking down explicit religious symbols that previously had been considered nonsectarian. When I was writing this book 20 years ago, Evangelicals were trying to put up all kinds of symbols around the country that were nominally Judeo-Christian.

Today there’s a sense that Jews in the United States face new forms of antisemitism from both the left — which mostly takes the form of anti-Israel discourse that can veer into antisemitism — and from the right in the form of a Christian nationalism that is very different than it was 20 years ago.

Most Jews across the U.S. historically took the view that religious prayers in classrooms and religious symbols in classrooms were a way of effectively trying to establish Christianity as the national religion. Over the last 20 years, there has been some softening especially coming from Orthodox Jews, who have made common cause with Evangelicals and Catholics on a wide range of political issues, and feel less threatened by those faith traditions. The context is now different, and I think that’s a reason for Jews to be aware and concerned. I think more and more progressive Jews will have the immediate instinct that (Louisiana’s law) is bad for the Jews, and, more importantly, that it’s bad for having a culture in which lots of different religious traditions including Judaism are allowed to flourish.

Andrew Silow-Carroll is editor at large of the New York Jewish Week and managing editor for ideas for JTA.

Noah Feldman

STUDIO EXECUTIVE

($2,500+)

Sam Levin Foundation

Bernard Rabinowitz

DIRECTOR ($1,000+)

Douglas Hauer and Jack Gilad

Irvin and Gayle Moscowitz

SCREEN WRITER ($500+)

Renate Frydman

Michael and Rochelle (z”l) Goldstein

Susan and Joe Gruenberg

Lisa Hanauer and Sue Spiegel

Robert and Vicky Heuman

Gary M. Holstine – Stifel Investments

Susan and David Jo e

Barbara Mendelson

Andrea Raizen

Stephen Renas

The Rubi Girls

ACTOR (250+)

A Friend

Ruth and Enrique Ellenbogen

Gary and Irene Fishbein

Marni Flagel

David and Lynn Goldenberg

Debby and Bob Goldenberg

Linda and Steve Horenstein

Marsha and Joseph Johnston

Mark and Helen Jones

Marc Katz and Julie Liss-Katz

Ed and Marcia Kress

Judy Lipton

Carole and Donald Marger

Jim Nathanson

Marlene and Terry Pinsky

Alice and Burt Saidel

Ann Schenking and Michael Herrlein

Judy Schwartzman and Michael Ja e

Norman and Mary Rita Weissman

Peter and Joan Wells

SUPPORTING ACTOR (100+)

Joan R. Ackerman

Beth Adelman

Matt and Elaine Arnovitz

Ann and Skip Becker

Jack and Maryann Bernstein

Ken and Lisa Blum

Stanley and Connie Blum

Buck Run Doors & Hardware, Inc.

Libby and Ken Elbaum

Adam and Tara Feiner

Lynn Foster

Bella Freeman

Neil D. Friedman

Felix Garfunkel

Shelley and Kim Goldenberg

Arlene Graham

Judi and George Grampp

Garry and Mindy Greene

Jane and Gary Hochstein

Meredith Moss Levinson

Cheryl and Franklin Lewis

The Levy Family

Beverly A. Louis

Judy D. McCormick

Linda Novak and Jerry Kuhr

Elliot Ratzman

Robert and Suzanne Thum

Mack VanAllen and Patricia Drake

Joni and Ralph Watson

Donald and Caryl Weckstein

Barbara and Jim Weprin

CREW (18+)

Barbara Blauman

Frieda Blum

Dena Briskin

Eva Clair

Judy and Alan Chesen

Phil and Louisa Dreety

Judith B. Fergus

Paula Gessiness

Helene Gordon

Fannie Groveman

Hindy Gruber

Henry Guggenheimer

Helen Ostreicher Halcomb

Neil Katz and Karin Hirschkatz

Jon Holt

Kim and Candy Kwiatek

Teri Clark Linden

Edie Pequignot

Cherie Rosenstein

Nick Schmall and Bobbie Weaver

Celia and Je Shulman

Laura K. Smith

Elliot Ratzman (Chair) • Judy Schwartzman (Past Chair)

Jack Bernstein • Connie Blum • Mike Caruso • Alan Chesen

Enrique Ellenbogen • Ruth Ellenbogen • Renate Frydman

Felix Garfunkel • Michael Goldstein • Michael Herrlein

Gary Hochstein • Susan Jo e • Marc Katz • Ryan Levin

Meredith Levinson • Gayle Moscowitz • Bernie Rabinowitz

Andrea Raizen • Steve Renas • Marci Vandersluis

Marc Jacob (JCC Executive Director)

Laura Smith (JCC Administrative Assistant)

August 2024

UPCOMING EVENTS

WEDNESDAYS, 12:30 - 3:30PM Open Canasta

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 5:30 - 7:30PM Shabbat in the Park

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 11AM - 3PM Museum Field Trip to the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 5:30 - 7PM Look at Us: Jewish Artists & Artisans in Dayton

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 6:30 - 9PM JCC Boomers Blast at the Levitt Pavilion

SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 11:30AM - 1PM Jewish Federation and its Agencies Annual Meeting

Connect with us! Check out our events. For more information, check out our calendar at jewishdayton.org

August 2024

Shabbat in the Park

Friday, August 2

5:30 – 7:30PM Iron Horse Park 6161 Millshire Drive, Centerville, 45459

Join PJ Library, PJ Our Way, and Hillel Academy as we celebrate the end of summer break and a new school year during Shabbat in the Park. Enjoy a Kosher cookout, kickball, giant bubbles, and the playground.

No cost. RSVP by July 31.

August 2024

Museum Field Trips

Tuesday, August 20

11AM – 3PM • Lunch & Tour

JCC Adults in partnership with the Beth Abraham Synagogue Program Committee, Beth Jacob Programming Committee, Temple Beth Or Adult Education Committee, and Temple Israel Adult Education Committee invite you and your friends to explore museums in our area! (age 16 and over are welcome)

at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center

Union Terminal • 1301 Western Avenue, Cincinnati, 45203

• Meet at Temple Beth Or at 10 AM or Beth Jacob Synagogue at 9:30 AM, or at the Holocaust & Humanity Center in Cincinnati at 11 AM.

• 90-minute docent-led tour at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center

• Cost for the tour is $10 per person upon registration (includes a parking pass). Carpools will be arranged. More event details to follow.

• Lunch after the tour at a nearby restaurant (TBD – cost on your own).

RSVP by Friday, August 16th on jewishdayton.org/events or to Stacy Emo at semo @jfgd.net or call 937-610-5513.

Tuesday, September 10

10:30AM – 1:30PM • Lunch & Tour at the National Museum of the United States Air Force

1100 Spaatz Street, Fairborn, 45433

• Meet at The National Museum of the United States Air Force at 10:30 AM for a docent-led tour of Prejudice And Memory: A Holocaust Exhibit.

• Tour to be led by Exhibit Founder Dr. Renate Frydman, PhD.

• No cost for the exhibit tour, museum admission, or parking.

• Lunch after the tour at a nearby restaurant (TBD – cost on your own).

RSVP by September 5th on jewishdayton.org/events or to Stacy Emo at semo @jfgd.net or call 937-610-5513.

BLAST

Thursday, August 22, 6:30 – 9PM Levitt Pavilion

134 South Main Street, Dayton, 45402

Enjoy a hot summer night at the Levitt Pavilion with Cool Cool Cool. The music is Funk, House, and R & B.

Concert starts at 7:00PM. Look for the Boomers signs or balloons! Bring your own chairs, blankets, food, and drinks (NO GLASS).

No cost. Some food and drinks available for purchase at the venue. Or carryout to support nearby restaurants!

RSVPs recommended to jewishdayton/events.

August 2024

JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

2024 SUMMER SERIES VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS

Legacies, Tributes, & Memorials

FEDERATION

ISRAEL EMERGENCY FUND

In honor of Dr. Robert and Mrs. Bloom’s daughter’s marriage

In honor of Lisa Hanauer, thank you for your generosity

Marla and Stephen Harlan

Politicization of LGBTQIA Youth & Providers in Ohio

PAST PRESIDENTS FUND

In memory of Leonard Rabe

Sylvia and Ralph Heyman

*Meets Ethics Requirement*

CAROL J. PAVLOFSKY LEADERSHIP FUND

In memory of Lillian Winnegrad

Marlene and David Miller

School boards, city gov’ts, and the state legislature have enacted policies that impact gender diverse and queer youth—often by attacking the practice of health and human services providers. We’ll review current status of these policies, what the future may hold, and how to take advocacy, legal, & practice actions to preserve the right of social workers and other health and human service providers to provide care. We’ll also review how behavioral health professionals working with youth must adapt their practice in light of these laws.

JOE BETTMAN MEMORIAL TZADIK AWARD

In memory of Robert Eilerman

Elaine Bettman

PJ LIBRARY

In honor of Nina and Judah Segal’s special anniversary

Marcia and Ed Kress

Presenter: Danielle Smith is a social worker and the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers-Ohio Chapter.

Trauma. Everyone has it. Everyone reacts differently to it. From big "T" trauma to little "t" trauma, understanding the effects of trauma helps us to be better therapists, caseworkers, parents, & humans. In our time together we will discuss how to define trauma and, more importantly, how to address trauma within our own bodies and the bodies of those around us.

Family Services Approved Provider #RCS032101

Supporting Teens with Mental Health

HOLOCAUST PROGRAMMING FUND

In memory of Lillian Winnegrad

Supporting

In memory of Steven Markman

Cherie Rosenstein

Teens

with Mental Health Issues & School-Related Challenges

In memory of Lillian Winnegrad

In memory of Morris Heider

July 12, 2024 8:45am-12pm 3.0 CEUs

Kathy and Mark Gordon

This training will explore the mental health crises among teenagers within the school setting. We will discuss common mental health diagnoses for this population, tips for addressing behavioral challenges, and how we as professionals can help support these youth when resources may be limited.

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES ENDOWMENT FUND

In memory of Lillian Winnegrad

Wishing Ellen Le ak a speedy recovery

Wendy Lipp

Presenter: Rachelle Kistner, M.Ed, PCC-S, LSW is the Program Manager for the ESC program with South Community Behavioral Health. She has 20+ years of experience working with youth and families in various settings such as foster care, juvenile corrections and school-based programming.

Betty Atler, congratulations on becoming a Great Grandmother

Susan and Jonas Gruenberg JFS

Mental Health Considerations for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

2024 SUMMER SERIES VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS

explore the mental health crises among the school setting. We

discuss health diagnoses for this population,

Presenter: Aaron Earlywine, LPC, is the CarePortal Regional Manager for the Greater Miami Valley Region. He is Social Resilience Model (SRM) certified, a Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) facilitator, and a trauma-informed practitioner and trainer.

10, 2024

challenges, and how

support these youth when

Rachelle Kistner, M.Ed, PCC-S, LSW is the Program ESC program with South Community She has 20+ years of experience working families in various settings such as foster care, corrections and school-based programming.

Politicization of LGBTQIA Youth & Providers in Ohio

Topics include understanding common mental health diagnoses among the population and providing strate for assessment, intervention and support. Prevalenc common challenges faced by dually diagnosed clients escalation techniques, and ethical and cultural considerations will also be addressed.

Presenter: Carol Kimbrough, MSW, LISW-S Health Services Mgr. at Mont. Co. Board of Developm Disabilities Services (MCBDDS). Her undergraduate d in Rehabilitation Svcs., and she has worked as a th

m itzvah m ission

m itzvah m ission m itzvah m ission

Presenter: Mark Cummings, BSW, LSW, is a mental health therapist with experience providing support to pers developmental disabilities and mental health needs, worked with vulnerable populations in settings such as Dayton State Hospital and group homes.

Supporting Teens with Mental Health Issues & School-Related Challenges

Sunday, September 8, 10AM – 12PM

*Meets Ethics Requirement*

The 2024 workshop series offers a total of 15 CEUs, approved for licensed social workers and counselors. Registrants must log in by the official starting time and complete the entire course to receive a CEU certificate. No exceptions.

*Meets Ethics Requirement* School boards, city gov’ts, and the state legislature have enacted policies that impact gender diverse and queer youth—often by attacking the practice of health and human services providers. We’ll review current status of these policies, what the future may hold, and how to take advocacy, legal, & practice actions to preserve the right of social workers and other health and human service providers to provide care. We’ll also review how behavioral health professionals working with youth must adapt their practice in light of these laws.

Questions about the workshop topics?

Contact Sabrina Chupp at schupp@fsadayton.org. Please note that Sabrina can NOT assist you with registration.

Clinical Supervision Challenges in the Modern World

Calling all social workers and counselors! Join Jewish Family Services and its partners for a morning of online learning for 3 CEUs. Sessions will be held on the second Friday of every month through September.

The Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville, 45459

No cost

Supporting Teens with Mental Health Issues & School-Related Challenges

*Meets Supervision Requirement*

Back by popular demand, JFS is hosting another Drive-Thru Mitzvah Mission! Help us feed guests at St. Vincent de Paul’s shelters with frozen casseroles and provide high-need items for Crayons to Classrooms. JFS will take your donations and provide you with a sweet treat in return. If you have questions, please contact Jacquelyn Archie, JFS administrative assistant, at jarchie@jfgd.net or at 937-610-1555.

Presenter: Danielle Smith is a social worker and the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers-Ohio Chapter.

understanding common mental health among the population and providing strategies intervention and support. Prevalence rates, challenges faced by dually diagnosed clients, detechniques, and ethical and cultural will also be addressed.

NO REFUNDS. Fees prepaid for a missed workshop can be applied to another workshop in the same year by calling Jefferson Alcott at 937.223.7217 x1146.

Mental Health Considerations for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

August 9 • 8:45AM – NOON • 3.0 CEUs

Kimbrough, MSW, LISW-S, is the Mental Mgr. at Mont. Co. Board of Developmental Services (MCBDDS). Her undergraduate degree is Svcs., and she has worked as a therapist.

Registration and payment are required prior to the training, in order to receive your link to the Zoom session. The Monday prior to the training, you will receive an email with the Zoom link and details about accessing the training.

Clinical supervision has always been a challenging and complex dynamic within the mental health field. Modern times and events (post-COVID, advancement of technology, explosion of severe mental health issues among the populace, etc.) have further complicated the supervisory relationship and significantly increased ethical and legal risks and liabilities. This training will break down the etiology of these issues to help you better understand the challenges, as well as suggest a variety of supervisory interventions and tools to meet the demand competently and professionally.

High-Need Items for Crayons to Classrooms

Mental Health Considerations for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

pencils, crayons, markers, highlighters, colored pencils, glue sticks, kid scissors, pencil sharpeners, dry erase markers, one subject notebooks

Frozen Macaroni & Cheese Casserole Recipe

• 1-1/2 lbs (24 oz) elbow macaroni

• 2 lbs cheese, melted

Clinical Supervision Challenges in the Modern World

Cummings, BSW, LSW, is a mental health experience providing support to persons with disabilities and mental health needs, having vulnerable populations in settings such as

Presenter: Danielle Smith is a social worker and the Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers-Ohio

and group homes.

September 13 • 8:45AM – NOON • 3.0 CEUs

Topics include understanding common mental health diagnoses among the population and providing strategies for assessment, intervention and support. Prevalence rates, common challenges faced by dually diagnosed clients, deescalation techniques, and ethical and cultural considerations will also be addressed.

• 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of celery soup

• 2-1/2 cups milk

Cook macaroni and drain. Melt cheese separately and add to macaroni. Add milk and soup. Mix well. Pour into sprayed pan. Cover loosely and place in refrigerator until completely cooled. Then cover tightly with sturdy foil lid and freeze. Casserole should be frozen for 36 hours.

Presenter: Joshua D. Francis, Ph.D., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, is an Associate Professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program as well as Director of the Addictions Counseling Program in the College of Education and Human Services at Wright State University.

Presenter: Aaron Earlywine, LPC is the CarePortal Regional Manager for the Greater Miami Valley Region. He is Social Resilience Model (SRM) certified, a Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) facilitator, and a trauma-informed practitioner and trainer.

Presenter: Carol Kimbrough, MSW, LISW-S is the Mental Health Services Mgr. at Mont. Co. Board of Developmental Disabilities Services (MCBDDS). Her undergraduate degree is in Rehabilitation Svcs., and she has worked as a therapist.

Mental Health Considerations for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

Presenter: Mark Cummings, BSW, LSW, is a mental health therapist with experience providing support to persons with developmental disabilities and mental health needs, having worked with vulnerable populations in settings such as Dayton State Hospital and group homes.

Family Services Association Graceworks Lutheran Services

Services of the Miami Valley

Classes

Beth Jacob Classes: w. Rabbi Agar. Tuesdays, 7 p.m.: Torah Tuesdays on Zoom. Thursdays, 7 p.m.: Thursdays of Thought on Zoom. Call to register, 937274-2149. 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp.

Temple Beth Or Classes: Sundays, 12:30 p.m.: Adult Hebrew on Zoom. Sat., Aug. 3 & 17, 10 a.m.: Apocryphal Study in person & Zoom. templebethor.com/events. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 937-435-3400.

Temple Israel Classes: Tues., Aug. 6, 13, 20, noon: Talmud Study in person & Zoom. Wednesdays, 10 a.m.: Torah Queeries w. Rabbi Bodney-Halasz, call for location. Thurs., Aug. 15, 3:30 p.m.: Living w. Ambiguous Loss w. Rabbi Bodney-Halasz. Fri., Aug. 9, 11 a.m.: Living w. Loss w. Rabbi Bodney-Halasz. Saturdays, 9:15 a.m.: Virtual Torah Study on Zoom. Sat., Aug. 17, 9:15: Torah Study

in person. For Torah Study Zoom info., email Fran Rickenbach at franwr@gmail.com. tidayton.org/calendar. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. RSVP to office, 937-496-0050.

Children

Chabad Camp Gan Israel: Through Fri., Aug. 9. Register at cgidayton.com. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. 937-6430770.

Adults

Reach for the Stars w. Hadassah: Sun., Aug. 4, 2 p.m. Dr. Jack M. Bernstein's astrophotography. $18 via check by July 26. For info., email hadassahdayton@gmail.com. One Lincoln Park, 590 Isaac Prugh Way, Kettering.

Tour of Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Ctr., Cincinnati: Tues., Aug. 20, 11 a.m. $10 includes parking. Pay your way for lunch after. Info. & registration by Aug. 16 at jewishdayton.org/events. For more info., contact Stacy Emoff, semoff@jfgd.net., 937-

CALENDAR

610-1555. 1301 Western Ave., Cincinnati.

Temple Israel’s So a Rabbi Walks into a Bar: Wed., Aug. 21, 5:30 p.m. First round on Rabbi Bodney-Halasz. Eudora Brewing Company, 3022 Wilmington Pike, Kettering. 937-496-0050.

JCC Boomers at Levitt Pavilion: Thurs., Aug 22, 6:30 p.m. Free. Concert at 7 p.m. RSVP at jewishdayton.org/ events. For info. contact Stacy Emoff, semoff@jfgd.net. Levitt Pavilion, 134 S. Main St., Dayton.

Family

PJ Library & PJ Our Way w. Hillel Academy Shabbat in the Park: Fri, Aug. 2, 5:30 p.m. Free. Register at jewishdayton.org/events by July 31. For info., email Kate Elder, kelder@jfgd.net. Iron Horse Park, 6161 Millshire Dr., Centerville.

Beth Abraham Rhythm ‘N’ Ruach: Fri., Aug. 9, 5:30

p.m.- 6:15 p.m. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. 937293-9520.

Hillel Academy & PJ Library Night at Dayton Dragons: Thurs., Aug. 22, 7 p.m. $20, $72 family of four. RSVP at jewishdayton.org/events. For info., contact Meryl Hattenbach, 937-277-8966. Day Air Ballpark, 220 N. Patterson Blvd.

Tisha B'Av

Beth Abraham & Beth Jacob

Tisha B’Av Services: Mon. Aug. 12, 8:30 p.m. & Tues., Aug. 13, 8:30 a.m. At Beth Abraham, 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. 937-293-9520.

Community

Look at Us: Jewish Artists & Artisans in Dayton: Wed., Aug. 21, 5:30 p.m. Free. In partnership w. JCC, Beth Abraham, Beth Jacob, Temple Beth Or & Temple Israel. Presentation by Hannah Kasper Levinson. RSVP by Aug. 16 at jewishdayton.org/events. For info. contact Stacy Emoff,

semoff@jfgd.net. Dayton Art Institute, 456 Belmonte Park N.

Beth Abraham Shabbat Under the Stars: Fri., Aug. 23, 7:30 p.m. Rick Good & Sam King perform songs by Leonard Cohen. RSVP to 937293-9520 by July 23. Oneg to follow. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood.

Jewish Federation & Agencies Annual Meeting: Sun., Aug. 25, 11:30 a.m. Free. Register at jewishdayton.org/ events. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. 937610-1555.

WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL & PICKLE BALL PICNIC

SUNDAY, AUGUST 11 AT 11 AM REGISTRATION DUE AUGUST 8

PRE-K THROUGH 10TH GRADE

School begins August 11 with our Welcome Back Pickle Ball Picnic as kick-off to our school-year programming, where you will have the chance to connect after summer break, meet new friends, and learn to play pickle ball!

Questions? Contact Rabbi Sobo at 937.496.0050

Bar&Bat Mitzvahs

Bob Marley's grandson Abraham celebrated bar mitzvah in June

Abraham Marley, grandson of Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley, became a bar mitzvah recently. “I share this photo of Abraham and I from his celebration of becoming a man,” the young man’s father, Ziggy Marley, posted on Instagram June 18. “According to the ancient tradition, he has reached that age of responsibility and change.”

The bar mitzvah boy’s mother, Orly Agai Marley, is Israeli and has Iranian Jewish ancestry, per Israeli media. She was “formerly a vice president at William Morris Agency, now the head of Ziggy’s record label,” Vogue reported.

One of Bob Marley’s most celebrated songs is Exodus, which includes the lyrics, “Send us another brother Moses.”

On a tour of Israel in 2018, the family celebrated the bat mitzvah of Judah — Abraham’s sister — Ziggy Marley told Caribbean Heritage Magazine. “When asked about Judah’s reaction to being in the ceremony as well as growing up in an interfaith household, Marley, who is Rastafarian and his wife, Jewish, says, ‘My life, how I live, can’t be defined,’" the magazine reported. “I don’t want to be defined by what people’s idea of what things are supposed to be. Yes, I am Rasta, but I define myself. When she sees my life, she doesn’t see a Rastafarian, or a Jewish life or whatever stereotypical thing that means. We don’t connect to people’s ideas of what things are supposed to be. We just live how we live. We live with love and this is what she sees.”

Ziggy Marley (R) posted this image at Instagram with his son Abraham at Abraham's bar mitzvah celebration.

Bar&Bat Mitzvahs

Untraditional bat mitzvah tallit holds key to tradition

Morris Lum

The tallit, with an image printed on silk, shows Noa’s face at the center of a map of Montreal.

By Mira Fox, The Forward

As a parent, artist Mindy Stricke found herself grappling with how to support Noa, her oldest child, as she prepared for her bat mitzvah. As a mother, she wanted to guide her daughter, but also knew the importance of letting the ceremony truly be Noa’s.

“My daughter becoming bat mitzvah meant sitting in that uncomfortable uncertainty of watching her grow,” Stricke said. “What happens when we let go and trust our teens to be

who they are?”

The process of helping her daughter prepare for her bat mitzvah led Stricke to create the art piece Fringes, which has been installed at Fentster, a Jewish art gallery in Toronto.

When it comes down, Noa — who advised her mother throughout the process of creating the piece — will wear it.

Jewish teens are traditionally given a tallit (prayer shawl) during their b’nai mitzvah. Often, they're the traditional blue and white, though sometimes

they're tailored to the teen’s preferences — rainbow striped or embroidered with plants, animals, or Hebrew script.

Stricke’s tallit is customized far beyond that: All the people and things that have, up to this point, formed Noa into who she is are referenced in the tallit.

Fringes depicts Noa’s face within a topographical map of Montreal, where she became a bat mitzvah, surrounded by symbolic details: the blessing her parents recite over her each Friday night, her ancestors — themselves built out of topographical lines — and the initials of all who attended her ceremony, placing Noa in the middle of a complicated web of ancestry and community.

Family members at their own b’nai mitzvah chant and dance from within the topography all around Noa’s face: Her father gazes from the top left, her mother on the top right, with more family all around.

The figures are abstract, their outlines hard to make out within the wavering lines of the topographical map. Yet they’re ever-present, an inalienable part of Noa’s unique self.

There’s something fundamentally awkward about b’nai mitzvah. We take children in their most gawky, transitional state, when they’re just beginning to think about who they are and what they like, and have them stand and speak in public. Stricke said that's the point: At this vulnerable moment of becoming, the community is there to support and

guide them.

“You carve your own path within that map, and that holds you when you go off the map,” she said. “You give the framework, but you don’t tell them what to do. It’s like a garden — you’re watering and each seed is going to come up totally differently and that’s OK. We don’t want a monoculture.”

Stricke’s philosophy of parenting and her Judaism mirror each other, both grappling with the tension between giving guidance and allowing freedom.

In Fringes, Stricke comes down on the side of independence. Compasses adorn each corner of the tallit, a testament

to Stricke’s belief that through exploring and getting lost, we can find home.

It was through accepting herself as neurodivergent and queer that Stricke found she could create and accept her own Judaism. The tallit is a gift of that same acceptance to Noa.

“There’s no edge of the world. The fringe of one ecosystem leads into another one. It really hit me on the High Holidays, this incredible framework and birthright I’ve been given that’s survived for thousands of years. To me, it has to be about that balance of rigidity and flexibility and willingness to be outside and stand on the fringes.”

Make Your Celebration a Masterpiece

Timeless event spaces that accommodate everything from an intimate luncheon for 30, to a seated dinner for 300 or a cocktail reception for 600.

Beth Abraham Synagogue

Conservative

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer

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

Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. Evening minyans upon request. 7020 N. Main St., Dayton. 937-274-2149. bethjacobcong.org

Temple Anshe Emeth Reform

Fri., Aug. 9, 7:30 p.m. led by Mary Rogers & Steve Wyke 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. 2, 6 p.m. Fridays, Aug. 23, 30, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 17, 10:30 a.m. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050. tidayton.org

Temple Sholom Reform

Rabbi Cary Kozberg Fridays, 6 p.m. 2424 N. Limestone St., Springfield. 937-399-1231. templesholomoh.com

Rabbi Hillel's strong call to action

By Rabbi Levi Simon Chabad of Greater Dayton

There is a captivating story in the Talmud that illuminates the extent to which Judaism values, loves, and is tolerant of all people — and teaches us to do the same.

There was once a gentile who wished to convert to Judaism but did not want to expend much effort in doing so, saying: “I would like to convert on the condition that you teach me the entire Torah while I am standing on one foot.” The potential

(Lev. 19:18)?" And most importantly, is the command to love one’s fellow as much as one loves oneself really possible?

Chasidic teaching tells us that when we look through a spiritual lens, we become conscious of the unity of all souls and how each particular soul is a component of the single whole.

When we view our fellow human beings through this lens, we don’t see separate beings, but that we are from one source.

convert, after being turned away from Rabbi Shammai, made his way to Rabbi Hillel.

Hillel answered him, saying, “That which is hateful to you, do not do to another; that is the entire Torah — the rest is its interpretation. Now, go and study (Talmud Tractate Shabbat 31a)."

Hillel’s answer and teaching must be studied carefully. Numerous questions come to mind. How can the entire Torah be encapsulated by this one mitzvah (commandment)? Aren’t there more fundamental ideas that could have been taught? Why did Hillel teach it in the negative form, when the Torah source is phrased positively: “Love your fellow as yourself

Chasidic teaching tells us that when we look through a spiritual lens, we become conscious of the unity of all souls

Self-love is so powerful it covers all of one’s shortcomings. The individual is well aware of his deficiencies but intellectual awareness does not evoke an emotion of distress, due to his intense self-love. However, when another person perceives his fault, he becomes angry because his friend has revealed the flaw and now it becomes significant and no longer hidden.

That is what Hillel is warning us: Do not perceive another's faults and imperfections to make them substantial. Instead, let your love for him be so great that it covers his flaw, not permitting it to move from awareness into an emotional feeling.

The purpose of the Torah

August

Tammuz/Av

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. 1st & 3rd Saturday each month. Contact Len Kramer, 937-5724840 or len2654@gmail.com.

August 2: 8:30 p.m.

August 9: 8:22 p.m.

August 16: 8:13 p.m.

August 23: 8:03 p.m.

August 30: 7:52 p.m.

Torah Portions

August 3: Matot-Masei (Num. 30:2-36:13)

August 10: Devarim (Deut. 1:1-3:22)

August 17: Vaetchanan (Deut. 3:23-7:11)

August 24: Ekev (Deut. 7:12-11:25)

August 31: Re'eh (Deut. 11:26-16:17)

Tisha B’Av

Ninth Day of Av • August 13

The day of fasting to mark the destruction of the First and Second Temples, the loss of Jewish sovereignty, and numerous other tragedies said to have fallen on this day. The Book of Eicha (Lamentations) is read.

being given to the Jewish people is to elevate the soul over the body and to facilitate the connection of the finite human with God who is transcendent. And each of the 613 mitzvot is a specific tool to achieve this unity with God. However, the mitzvah to love your fellow as yourself is fundamental, for it is this mitzvah that actually unifies the Jewish people together and God. We can and must live up to this principle. The Rebbe (whose 30th yahrzeit was on July 9) included this concept in his mission statement and taught by example how one loves his fellow as oneself. That is the mission that I try to live up to and why there are thousands of Chabad centers

Beavercreek's library has a new name: on June 21 it was renamed the Carol Graff Beavercreek Library in honor of the city's former mayor and current Greene County Public Library president. Carol has served for 19 years on the board of the county's public library system, seven of them as president. She played key roles in the building of the Beavercreek facility in 1978, its expansion, and renovation. Carol was also involved with the expansion of the county's six other library branches.

University of Dayton Prof. Scott Segalewitz received the Frederick J. Berger Award at this year's American Society of Engineering Education Conference. It honors excellence in growing a university's engineering technology education. Scott served for 12 years as chair of UD's Department of Engineering Technology. He recently completed his service as UD's associate dean for academics and success.

UD Music Prof. Sam Dorf has been named Alumni Chair in the Humanities.

Bill Rabinowitz, son of Bernie and the late Carole Rabinowitz, has been named Ohio Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. A sportswriter with The

throughout the world.

We are now in the Three Weeks period of the year when we recall the destruction of the Holy Temples and bring to mind the spiritual cause for that destruction. The sages of the Talmud taught that the Second Temple was destroyed because of the prevalence of sinat chinam, hatred of one’s fellow for no reason. It is our duty to rectify the mistakes of the past, for in every era that the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) has not been rebuilt, it is as if it has been destroyed in that time.

This is a strong call to action that we need to reject calls of hate and redouble our efforts as a community to look at the true essence of each other with true love.

In this merit we will transform the world and reveal its true goodness with the coming of Moshiach, of Messiah.

Columbus Dispatch since 1999, Bill has covered Ohio State football for the paper since 2011.

The Jewish Federation has announced the honorees for its annual meeting, to be held at 11:30 a.m., Sunday, Aug. 25 at the Boonshoft CJCE in Centerville:

• The Alan L. Wasserman Young Leadership Award, Jese Shell

• The Dorothy B. Moyer Young Leadership Award, Meryl Goldman

• The Past Presidents Award, Helen Halcomb

• The Robert A. Shapiro Award, Ira Segalewitz

• JCRC Volunteer of the Year Award, Elliot Ratzman

• JCC Volunteer of the Year Award, Wendy Lipp

• JFS Volunteer of the Year Award, Dr. Michele Dritz

• The Joe and Elaine Bettman Tzadik Award, Peter and Joan Wells

• The Jack Moss Creativity Award, All The Best Deli

Dr. Michele Dritz has also received the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies' 2024 PowerNET Lay Leadership Award for her work with Jewish Family Services of Greater Dayton's advisory board.

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

Rabbi Levi Simon

How Crisco became a symbol of the Jewish American dream

By Ilena Moses, The Nosher

Crisco is a vegan cooking fat and an icon of the AshkenaziJewish American Dream.

For over a century, the strange, oily gloop has graced kosher restaurants, holiday cookbooks, and hand-scribbled recipe cards in Jewish homes across the nation, becoming a symbol of Jewish American identity and culinary tradition.

But how did this happen? The answer lies at the intersection of early 20thcentury consumerism and Jewish American culture.

Crisco debuted in 1911 as a product of Cincinnati’s Procter & Gamble Co. It started as a strange solution to a strange problem.

the help of some clever if somewhat dishonest marketing. But sales still weren’t remarkable among established Americans.

Given the product’s versatile non-dairy, non-meat status, Procter & Gamble’s PR team decided to give a hard sell to the nation’s newly minted community of Eastern European Jewish immigrants.

Crisco started as a strange solution to a strange problem.

Textile production skyrocketed during the Industrial Revolution, leaving America with a surplus of leftover cotton seeds.

No one could figure out what to do with them — until chemists learned to extract the oil and combine it with hydrogen, which created a cheap alternative to animal-based fats like lard and tallow.

Initially, Procter & Gamble intended to use the new substance to make candles. But they ended up selling it as a food product instead.

The public wasn’t totally sold on the idea. Aside from sneaky CEOs cutting costs by substituting it for pricier olive oil, cottonseed oil wasn’t typically used in the food business. It was primarily intended for soap, artificial dyes, and explosives. There was even some debate over whether cottonseed oil is really a food. Eventually it caught on with

One 1913 newspaper advertisement printed in English and Yiddish and distributed throughout the United States, made the lofty claim that “The Hebrew Race has been waiting 4,000 years for Crisco.” It worked. American Jews went wild for Crisco — and haven’t looked back since.

There are evident perks: It’s kosher and pareve, too. That means that when the good Jewish housewife has Crisco on hand, she doesn't need to buy both schmaltz — for meat — and butter — for dairy — thus saving money and resources. And, a hundred or so years ago, Crisco was considered

(or at least, marketed as) a healthy alternative to traditional animal-based cooking fats.

But more important was Crisco’s cultural significance. For new immigrants, the feeling of belonging was vital. There was a constant struggle between old and new, religion and nation, and tradition and assimilation.

Here was a practical solution that didn’t require compromise. Kosher and stylish enough for the all-American woman, and economical to boot, Crisco was a tasty, practical reminder that you could be both Jewish and American — and be so with class and tact.

Procter and Gamble’s 1933 cookbook, Crisco Recipes for the Jewish Housewife, cemented the product’s popularity with the Jewish community. Each recipe was printed in both English and Yiddish.

Offerings ranged from traditional favorites, like kugel to American icons such as southern fried chicken and macaroni salad — all, of course, with a generous helping of Crisco.

Despite the economic hardships of the Great Depression, sales continued to soar. Over the course

of a century, Crisco grew from its resourceful beginnings to the heart of American Jewish cooking.

In recent years, though, Crisco has amassed slews of controversy. For one thing, it’s been condemned for ruining the magic of traditional (i.e., schmaltzy) Jewish cooking with its pareve flavor.

Perhaps more shocking is the revelation that Crisco, marketed as an “all-vegetable shortening” doesn’t actually include any vegetables — at all.

It’s no longer made from cottonseed oil. Crisco’s modern key ingredients, soybean and palm oil, aren’t derived from vegetables or even fruits, but from grains. They’re not particularly healthy or environmentally friendly, either. So, while definitely a little more edible, modern Crisco is not exactly a huge improvement on its cottonseed predecessor. Why do we continue to use Crisco? I think that, like with many Ashkenazi Jewish cultural rites, the answer can be most accurately summed up by Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof: "Tradition!"

So next time you bite into a Crisco-coated latke, hamantash, or even fried chicken, remember that you follow in the flavorful footsteps of Jewish American history.

JBLCA, Special Collections Library

Crisco Recipes for the Jewish Housewife, Proctor & Gamble Co., 1933.

JEWISH FAMILY EDUCATION

Create or destroy?

Judaism's Worldview Series

Twenty-five miles southwest of Jerusalem, Tel Lachish towers over the Judean landscape, a multi-layered mound of destroyed and rebuilt settlements and major cities from

Candace R. Kwiatek

5,500 B.C.E. through the eras of Joshua, Kings, and Maccabees. There, archaeologists recently discovered a rare gate-shrine housing a pair of four-horned altars from the First Temple period, the horns deliberately chopped short and the shrine

desecrated by the incongruous presence of a stone-carved toilet.

Such destruction, according to the dig’s director Sa’ar Ganor, is likely evidence of the religious reforms of King Hezekiah, who sought to undo local cultic shrines and return worship to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Lachish was subsequently destroyed by the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, and eventually abandoned during the Hellenistic era. Today it lives again, rebuilt as an Israeli national park.

Creation and destruction are intrinsic to the world’s design. The extreme pressure and temperature that create rocks

from organic matter or minerals also destroy them. Fungi foster plant growth and reproduction by breaking down dead organic matter. In the human body, cells develop and deteriorate at a replacement rate of about 330 billion cells daily.

Even human creativity, neuroscience informs us, first requires destruction of old preconceptions, judgments, and ways of doing things before it can embrace divergent thinking and innovation.

The Jewish worldview embraces these dual forces of creation and destruction, seeking their significance in Jewish history and literature and applying their lessons in Jewish law and tradition.

Consider: Joseph’s brothers fractured their sibling relationship and crushed their father’s heart by getting rid of the dreamer. On the other hand, Joseph emerged from imprisonment to become Egypt’s viceroy and ultimately reunite his family.

vive and flourish in exile.

When the Romans destroyed Jerusalem, the loss of incalculable numbers of rabbinic scholars and students spurred Rabbi Judah haNasi to create the Mishnah, preserving 1,500 years of oral tradition in writing.

This became the foundation of two Talmuds (in Israel and Babylonia), generational archives of discussions, disputes, and diverging interpretations of theology, laws, and customs that still inform Jewish life today.

Creation and destruction also guide Jewish daily life. Six days are for work, the Torah teaches, for building and dismantling, followed by a day to rest and “re-soul.”

The Jewish worldview embraces these dual forces of creation and destruction

God decreed that the generation of the Exodus — which yearned for Egypt, accepted the spies’ skewed report of Canaan, and lacked faith — would wander for 40 years and die in the wilderness.

In that same wilderness, their children would begin to cherish freedom, act with fortitude, and trust in God.

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the First Temple and deported Judea's Jews to Babylon. There, they created a new Jewish worldview that emphasized Torah study and teaching, ennobled rabbis and synagogues, and encouraged new worship practices and customs that would allow Judaism to sur-

Kantika

When facing an enemy, terms of peace must first be offered. But the Talmud declares, “If someone comes to kill you, rise up (first) and slay him.”

Words are used to tell stories, communicate ideas, and create relationships, but they can also destroy in at least a dozen ways, according to the Yom Kippur confessional prayer, Al Chet

Just as God is the Author of Creation, a masterpiece of creativity and destruction, humans are designed to both create and destroy. But a basic ethical principal in Jewish law cautions, “Do not engage in wanton, senseless, or unnecessary destruction of useful things.”

“A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven,” Ecclesiastes observes, “…a time for tearing down and a time for building up…”

Carolyn's beauty. Very much

Literature to share

by Elizabeth Graver. With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, its flourishing Sephardic Jewish community of nearly 500 years was forced to find refuge elsewhere. From Constantinople to Barcelona, Havana, and eventually New York City, this fictionalized version of the author’s family story follows three generations, a rich cast of characters whose successes only come to those who believe in fully living their one and only life.

Baseball and Belonging by Ryan Lavarnway. In this picture book for youngsters of all ages, Ryan Lavarnway shares his story of playing baseball as a youngster and eventually becoming a career catcher for Major League Baseball teams. When he joined the all-Jewish Israeli National team in 2016, he toured Israel to learn about the country he would represent on the world stage. There, he discovered his own personal connection to Judaism and the Jewish community — and wrote a book to share what he learned.

in demand by Hollywood stars Katharine Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman among others, Carolyn Gomberg was an unlikely beautician and makeup artist. Her face was pocked and stippled by noticeable scars and craters.

Although famous, she never hid the blotches on her own skin. When Carolyn was a baby in Ukraine, she was told, she had a bad case of the chickenpox, so the doctor bandaged her up like a mummy.

One day, a mob of local peasants brandishing pitchforks, axes, and knives began gathering at the edges of her shtetl, clearly readying for a pogrom.

Her clever mother tore off Carolyn’s bandages, exposing her scabs, and held her aloft in front of the crowd outside. “Smallpox,” she cried out.

Not recognizing chickenpox lesions, the mob scattered in terror. Carolyn’s scars saved a village — hundreds of people.

Huberman's violin. At the end of the 19th century, the Polish Jewish violin prodigy Bronislaw Huberman toured Europe and America to great acclaim, impressing even Johannes Brahms.

When Huberman visited Palestine in 1929, he was moved by the locals’ passion for music and determined to create a world-class symphony orchestra there. It was a timely venture, for in 1933, Europe’s Jewish musicians began to lose their positions, and Huberman’s cultural project became an emergency rescue mission.

He traveled across the continent conducting auditions, and eventually chose 70 outstanding musicians from Germany, Austria, Poland, and Hungary.

In late December 1936, the first performance of the Palestine Symphony Orchestra, now the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, took place in Tel Aviv, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.

Along with the lives of the musicians and their families — nearly 1,000 people — Huberman preserved the legacy of a European Jewish musical tradition that would certainly have disappeared.

“(God) foresaw the beauty of a tel, a city that has experienced endless destruction and rebuilding but never lost anything along the way,” writes Sara Hecht.

When we destroy to allow the new and good to emerge, when we reconstruct or build anew that which has been destroyed, we too are building a tel.

Rick Good

Sam King

Hundreds of lectures from famous Jewish thinkers now available at 92NY website

By Julia Gergely, New York Jewish Week

As Isaac Bashevis Singer takes the microphone, he greets roaring applause in his Polish accent, then talks about his personal relationship with religion, philosophy, and mysticism.

After he speaks, he reads a short story, , about two demons who encounter humans for the first time, and answers questions from the audience about his life and research.

Though the famed Yiddish writer died in 1991, new glimpses into his personality, thoughts, and work revive him in the 21st century through audio recordings now released by 92NY.

Delivered at the 92nd Street Y on Nov. 19, 1975, Bashevis Singer’s talk, On Mysticism and the Modern Man, is one of more than 400 historical lectures given at 92NY that are now available through this archive of audio recordings.

Made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, 92NY has digitized conversations from the last 75 years, which the public can access for free through its website.

“Throughout its 150-year history, 92NY has been a home for the intellectually curious, providing a platform for many of the great artists, scholars and thought leaders of the past centuryand-a-half,” Seth Pinsky, 92NY’s chief executive officer, said in a press release. “We hope that the

collection will be an invaluable contribution to humanities research and scholarship, foster public appreciation, and create greater understanding of the humanities.”

Along with Bashevis Singer, the recordings include lectures from major historical thinkers such as the feminist writer Betty Friedan on Transcending the War Between Sexes, and Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, on Judaism in the World Today (1951) and What Religion Can Learn from Psychology (1952).

More recent lectures are also available, including talks from the composer and director of the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene, Zalmen Mlotek, and writers Jonathan Safran Foer and Gary Shteyngart.

The lectures span topics from Jewish life and philosophy to politics, psychology, science, art, dance, film, history, music, and women’s perspectives. The Jewish cultural institution has digitized more than 800 lectures in total.

92NY’s lecture series, now called 92NY Talks, was established in 1930. The 92NY was founded in 1874 at the Young Men’s Hebrew Association by a group of German Jews hoping to serve the social, intellectual, and spiritual needs of the American Jewish community in New York.

Long known as the 92nd Street Y, it adopted the 92NY moniker in 2022 in a rebranding.

Isaac Bashevis Singer in the green room at the 92nd Street Y in 1971.

92NY

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

— Helen Ostreicher Halcomb

As a child of a Holocaust survivor, Helen Ostreicher Halcomb always thought about the millions of European Jews who weren’t a orded 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.

“ e 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 nd 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.

Donald L. Gable, age 93 formerly of Dayton, passed away on June 7. Donald is survived by his beloved wife, Patricia. He was the loving father of Lorie Rosen (Edward) and Shelley Keimach (Gary); cherished grandfather of Eli Keimach (Priscilla), Anabelle Keimach, Rachel DiPietro (Louis) and Stephanie Rosen; adored uncle of Ellen Kelly and Rachel Kelly. Interment was at the South Florida VA National Cemetery, Lake Worth. Those wishing to honor Donald with a memorial contribution are kindly encouraged to consider the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation or Trustbridge Hospice.

Joyce Abromowitz Margolis, age 70, of Columbus, passed away on July 4 after a prolonged struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Joyce was born and raised in Dayton. She graduated from Meadowdale High School in 1972. She went to The Ohio State University,

graduating in 1976 with a degree in business administration. Joyce met the love of her life, Robert Margolis, at Ohio State, whom she married on Jan. 1, 1977. Joyce worked briefly in the early years of their marriage. She elected to be a stay-at-home mom to raise her three children. She was the ultimate mom. She was very personable and never met a stranger. Joyce was preceded in death by her parents, Martin Abromowitz and Shirley Davidson Abromowitz (both of blessed memory). She is survived by her husband of 47 years, Robert Margolis; daughters, Michelle Margolis (Ilya Kruglov) and Susan Margolis-Merson (Konstantin Merson); and son, Steven Margolis (Sara Dobkin). She was a beloved grandmother to Sasha Glushkin, Henry and Jacob Merson, and Miriam and Theodore Margolis. She is survived by her brother, Howard Abromowitz (Judy) and her sister, Annie Roth (David). She was a beloved niece, aunt, and cousin to many. Interment was at Beth Jacob Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Beth Jacob Synagogue in Dayton, the Alzheimer’s Association, or the charity of your choice in her name.

Eleanor Hambury Must, a longtime resident of Dayton, died July 2 at the age of 93. She was born in Germany to Fred and Elisabeth (Plaut) Hambury. The young family moved to Italy to escape Nazi race laws. Unfortunately, soon after arriving in Rome, Eleanor’s mother died. When fascism swept through Italy, Fred and Eleanor boarded a ship to immigrate to the United States. Shortly before they were due to arrive, however, quotas were imposed on the number of Jews allowed to enter the

country. They spent more than a year in Cuba before gaining entry to the U.S. in 1940. Eleanor lived with her loving aunt and uncle, Erica and Hans Plaut, and cousins, Ruth, Tom, and Frank in Mansfield. She later moved to Cleveland Heights to rejoin her father and stepmother, Lilly (Michael). Eleanor earned her undergraduate degree in occupational therapy at The Ohio State University, where she met her beloved husband, Ray Must. Early in her career she started the O.T. department for United Cerebral Palsy of Kentucky. As a young mother, she began teaching in a cooperative nursery school. She taught early childhood education in Dayton Public Schools and went on to earn a Master of Education Degree from Wright State University. She was active in both the local and National Association for the Education of Young Children and taught early childhood language at WSU. In retirement, Eleanor studied finance and started an investment club for women. She hosted a play-reading group, and also was active in a chavurah and the local arts community. Eleanor had a keen sense of justice and civic duty. She registered hundreds of voters in Dayton over the years and kept current on political news until her final days. Her experience of escaping the Holocaust inspired her to write in her memoir: “I hope that this story engenders in our descendants sympathy toward immigrants who come with less than we had. Their aspirations to live in a free society are as great as ours. We need to pay good fortune forward.” We will miss our mother dearly. We will miss her sharp wit, the sound of her laughter, her great cooking and opinions. Her life force was strong. Eleanor taught, loved, and continued to worry and care for us all of our lives. She and our father had a 68-year-long marriage that was admirable; each of them encouraging the other’s abilities, energy, and humor. Toward the end of her life she said, “My home is wherever Ray is.” She was predeceased by her husband, artist Ray Must. She is survived by Rachel Must-Ettinger (Joel Ettinger), Miriam Must (Gary Johnson), David Must (Meredith Halpern); and grandchildren Gabriella, Griffin, Jae and Sam; along with beloved cousins, niece and nephews and many dear friends. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery. Please consider donating to the ACLU or a charity of your choice.

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On view now at jewishdayton.org:

Starting August 7th at jewishdayton.org:

Jewish Artists & Artisans in Dayton

Works by Jewish artists from the collection of the Dayton Art Institute including Sol LeWitt, Roy Lichtenstein, and Alexander Liberman.

View works by local artists and artisans including Cathy Gardner, calligraphy; Elyssa Wortzman and Ray Must (of blessed memory), ﬁne arts; Gayle Moscowitz and Caryl Segalewitz, glass art; Mike Ja e, Stephen Goldberg, Bruce Soifer, and Sam Lauber (of blessed memory), photography; Marlene Pinsky, quilting; and Burt Saidel, Scott Segalewitz and Steve Markman (of blessed memory), woodworking.

Look at Us shares works of artists and artisans with a Dayton connection.

Wednesday, August 21, 5:30 – 7 PM

Special Event at the Dayton Art Institute 456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton, 45405

Featuring a display of local artists and artisans presented by the Look at Us Committee and a program by Dayton Jewish artist Hannah Kasper Levinson.

No cost. RSVP online by Friday, August 16th at jewishdayton.org/events or to Stacy Emo at semo @jfgd.net or 937-610-5513.

[RIGHT, TOP] Hannah Kasper Levinson

[RIGHT, BOTTOM] "The Search Continues" by Hannah Kasper Levinson

In partnership with the Jewish Community Center of Greater Dayton, Beth Abraham Synagogue, Beth Jacob Congregation, Temple Beth Or, and Temple Israel

LOOK AT US COMMITTEE

Funding provided by an Innovation Grant of the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton.

Ruth Schumacher & Wendy Gray (Co-Chairs), Stacy Emo (JCC Program Coordinator), Mark Gruenberg, Noah Gruenberg, Helen Halcomb, Scott Liberman, and Linda Novak