The Dayton Jewish Observer, November 2022

Photo by Eszter Krauth, Budapest

Sukkot & Simchat Torah around town

Everyone makes

Artifex Financial Group is a fee-only independent

management firm

provide a comprehensive

in Oakwood

Calder Savir enjoys a pony ride courtesy of Dream Maker Farm as his parents, Guy and Tarryn Savir, look on, at Chabad's Soup & Salads in the Sukkah for the Family.

JCC Early Childhood student Darah Sherman, daughter of Marcie and Michael Sherman, gets ready to shake the lulav and etrog in the Boonshoft CJCE sukkah.

Despite a rainstorm, Beth Abraham Synagogue Sisterhood's Sunset in the Sukkah turned out bright — with wine, hors d'oeuvres, desserts, and plenty of friendship.

Children with Temple Israel's Religious School receive their collective Torah aliyah at the congrega tion's Simchat Torah celebration.

PBS' U.S. & Holocaust brings local survivor face-to-face with mother

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

into watching the first episode of Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein’s documentary The U.S. and the Holocaust, 91-yearold Holocaust survivor Eleanor Hambury Must saw film footage of a young woman in profile, sitting on a balcony in Germany with her em broidery. The young woman then turns, looks directly into the camera with a broad smile, and returns to her embroidery.

The young woman is Eleanor’s mother when she was pregnant with her.

“I was just blown away,” says El eanor, who watched the premiere of the episode on Sept. 18. “It kind of put me in turmoil. Just because you don’t expect to see your mother. She died in 1935. And that’s a long time ago.”

Eleanor and her family had no idea the footage would be incorpo rated into the new PBS documen tary.

“She’s very pregnant with me,” Eleanor says of her mother, Elisabeth Plaut Hamburger, who would die when Eleanor was 4. “Since I was born in mid-May 1931, it must have been April of 1931.”

The footage appears at the beginning of a segment showing Jews going about their lives in

Berlin before Hitler came to power.

At the seven minutes, four seconds mark, view ers see Eleanor’s mother sitting on an open bal cony with her embroidery. The next shot is from the balcony, in front of Elisabeth. Standing behind her in the doorway are her sister-in-law, Hannah, and Elisabeth’s husband, Eleanor’s father, Fritz.

Fritz caresses the back of his wife’s neck with his hand. She gives him a loving look, turns to talk with Hannah, and smiles to the camera again.

The voiceover to this footage contrasts with the scene: “When Nazi rule began in 1933, there were 9 million Jews in Europe. Twelve years later, when the Second World War ended, in 1945, at least two out of every three of them had been murdered.”

The person who took the home movies was Dr. Otto Plaut, Elisabeth’s brother, Eleanor’s uncle.

Otto’s son, Eleanor’s cousin Dr. Andrew Plaut, now in his 80s and living in the Boston area, donated the film to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, which partnered on the documentary The U.S. and the Holocaust Eleanor, who lives in Centerville, recalls first seeing the footage when Andrew restored and digitized it in 2014.

Continued on Page Four

the editor’s desk

Some stories leave you speech less. Like Eleanor Must's. As soon as I could, I got the story up at our website, daytonjewishobserver.org, and pushed it out via Facebook. A week later, I received an email from Lynn Novick. She, Ken Burns, and Sarah Botstein are the co-creators of the documentary The U.S. and the Holocaust, which included footage of Eleanor's mother. "What a stunning and unforgettable story," Lynn wrote. "All of us who worked on the film were deeply moved, to put it mildly." It was a special surprise for Eleanor when Lynn gave her a call. We hope you'll join us Dec. 5 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force for an evening dis cussion of The U.S. and the Holocaust with Eleanor Must and Renate Frydman, curator of Prejudice & Memory: A Holocaust Exhibit onsite at the museum. Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein will join the panel virtually. It's presented by ThinkTV and the Jewish Community Relations Council.

Marshall Weiss

Eleanor Hambury Must

Footage of Eleanor Hambury Must’s mother in 1931 used in the PBS documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust.

USHMM

Face-to-face with mother

Continued from Page Three

An only child, Eleanor was born to Elisabeth and Fritz in Hamburg. In 1933, the Nazis forced industries in Germany to fire Jews in managerial positions. Fritz lost his job with Elektrozeit, a company that made and installed time clocks and security alarms.

It was in 1934 when Elisabeth, Fritz, and their daughter, Eleanor, departed Germany — the first of their relatives to do so.

Eleanor says her father didn’t struggle with his decision to leave Germany. “For him, it was pretty clear.”

At first, Eleanor was sent to live in Switzerland while Fritz and Elisabeth moved to Rome, where Fritz had a contract with Elektrozeit to establish a branch office there.

“That’s what he was supposed to do when he moved to Italy,” Eleanor says. “But then my mother died, ac cidentally in Rome, in that apartment they set up. It was a faulty water heat er in the bathroom. Carbon monoxide is heavier than air. It lay low, and she was in the bathtub when she died.”

As a single father after the death of his wife, Eleanor says, Fritz was unable to fulfill his sales quota with Elektrozeit. He lost his job.

He then started his own company; he assembled large electric clocks on public buildings in Rome and Vatican City.

When Italy enacted its racial laws at the end of 1938, Fritz and Eleanor left the country. Because of steep im migration restrictions to the United States against German immigrants, the two departed for Havana, Cuba in February 1939. There, they were united with Elisabeth’s parents.

In August 1940, Fritz and Eleanor were allowed into the United States via Key West, Fla. From there, they traveled by bus to Mansfield, Ohio, where Elisabeth’s brother, Dr. Hans Plaut, and his wife, Erica — Elisa beth’s dearest friend — took Eleanor in while Fritz Hamburger found work.

Fritz also changed his name to Fred Hambury, which he hoped would sound less German to American ears. A few months later, Eleanor’s mater nal grandparents also arrived from Cuba and lived with Hans and Erica.

Elisabeth’s brother Otto, his wife, Hannah, and their children had also arrived in the United States, via Hol land, in 1938-39.

Although Fred’s sister escaped the Holocaust, their older brother and his wife and children perished at the hands of the Nazis.

Fred married a Holocaust survivor from Germany in 1945 and Eleanor

came to live with them in Cleveland Heights at age 14. Their social circle, Eleanor recalls, was with other Holo caust survivors from Germany who sought each other out.

When Eleanor was 82 in 2014, she began writing her autobiography. It includes her father’s autobiography, which he also wrote when he was 82.

“It’s just basically for my family, my children and grandchildren,” she says. What I Know Now is the title.

“As I began to work on it, I began to understand what happened,” she says. “As a kid, you don’t know. And that’s why I titled it What I Know Now.”

The book’s title page includes the words, “Without my husband, the love of my life, Ray Must, none of this work would have been possible.”

Celebrated artist and art teacher Ray Must died in July. He and Eleanor, a longtime early childhood teacher, were married for more than 68 years.

Eleanor says she shared her experi ences with her children when they were growing up.

“They knew. It’s part of their up bringing. And my faults and foibles as an adult are partially a reflection of my experiences in the Holocaust.”

“I hope that this story engenders in our descendants sympathy toward immigrants who come with less than we had,” Eleanor writes at the conclu sion of her book. “Their aspirations to live in a free society are as great as ours. We need to pay good fortune forward.”

Eleanor Must will join a panel discus sion about The U.S. and the Holo caust, at 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 5 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, 1100 Spaatz St., Fairborn. Join ing her on the panel will be Prejudice and Memory: A Holocaust Exhibit Curator Renate Frydman. Film produc ers/directors Sarah Botstein and Lynn Novick will join virtually. The panel is presented by ThinkTV and the Jewish Community Relations Council.

THE DAYTON

OBSERVER

Editor and Publisher

Marshall Weiss mweiss@jfgd.net 937-610-1555

Contributors

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer Candace R. Kwiatek

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

Proofreader

Rachel Haug Gilbert

Observer Advisor

Martin Gottlieb

Published by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton

Mary Rita Weissman President

Dan Sweeny President Elect

Marni Flagel Secretary Neil Friedman Treasurer

Ben Mazer VP Personnel

Teddy Goldenberg VP Resource Dev. Dr. Heath Gilbert Immediate Past Pres. Cathy Gardner CEO

The Dayton Jewish Observer, Vol. 27, No. 3. The Dayton Jewish Observer is published monthly by the Jewish Fed eration 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 advertis ing neither endorses advertisers nor guarantees kashrut.

The Dayton Jewish Observer Mission Statement

To support, strengthen and champion the Dayton Jewish community by provid ing 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 com munity.

• To build community across institution al, organizational and denominational lines.

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

• To provide an historic record of Dayton Jewish life.

The Dayton Jewish Observer

Film footage of Eleanor Hambury Must’s mother in the new PBS documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust.

'On angels' wings we made it'

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

The call came Wednesday, Sept. 21, four days before the beginning of Rosh Hashanah.

"Can you cross on Thursday?" Beth Abraham Synagogue President Scott Liberman asked Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer.

"We're packing up right now," the rabbi said.

He and his wife, Elyssa Wortzman, had sold their house in Montreal and were living with her parents in Toronto. Their furniture was in storage.

"We had to have what we called our evacuation pack ready as soon as the call came from the immigration lawyers that we could cross," Glazer said.

Because of the U.S. government's backlog on visa approvals, the couple had been in a holding pattern, unable to enter the United States by Aug. 1, the start date of the rabbi's five-year contract with the Dayton area's only Conservative synagogue.

"We landed here late Thursday night," said Glazer, who prefers to go by the Hebrew term for rabbi and religious men tor, rav. "On angels' wings we made it."

He and Beth Abraham's longtime cantor, Andrea Raizen, began leading services together on the bima (stage) that Friday, Sept. 23.

Since August, Glazer's been with his new congregation virtually and on the phone.

many people as possible and to be there for people in the ways a rabbi needs to be."

Now that he's on the ground here, Glazer said he's listening, learning, and witnessing.

"Like I would say as a filmmaker, I'm trying to get as much footage shot as possible so that we can start the process of editing together our current story and also envisioning the future story in that journey together."

Filmmaking and architecture have played key roles in Glazer's journey to the rabbinate, his scholarship, and his engagement with Judaism.

He describes himself as a "lifelong learner in Jewish mysticism."

Glazer was born and raised in Toron to, also where his wife grew up. He was raised in a Conservative household, but his personal journey led him to attend Conservative, Orthodox, and Reform Jewish day schools in Toronto.

"And by grade seven, I left them all behind be cause none of them spoke to me," he said. "If I had understood and had been able to call it what it was when I was looking for it, it probably would have been the Jew ish mystical experience and none of the educators or rabbis who I met were able to relate to me in that way or to speak that language to me."

He found the mystical experience through drawing and painting at schools for the arts. About a third of the way through an architecture program in college, he left the University of Wa terloo and eventually studied French language and literature, philosophy,

"I've been going to daily minyan (ser vice), I've been prerecording sermons to StreamSpot that were launched for Shabbat, I've been doing learning and pastoral counseling," he said. "I've spent time already trying to get to know as Continued on Page Six

describes himself as a 'lifelong learner in Jewish mysticism.'

in Dayton by

by Sally Gee

Beth Abraham's new rabbi, Aubrey L. Glazer, arrives in time for the new Jewish year

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer embraces the Neo-Chasidism of Rabbi Art Green.

Marshall Weiss

Although he has spent most of his adult life outside of the Dayton area, Myron Stayman still has a strong, emotional connection to Beth Abraham Synagogue and the Jewish community in which he grew up.

“My family moved to Troy when I was 6 months old,” explained Myron. “And then to Dayton because of its larger Jewish community when I was 5. The synagogue was always important to us,” he said. “I can close my eyes and still visualize the yahrzeit plaques, social hall, and beautiful stained-glass windows. The rabbis and cantors all went out of their way to be nice to me.”

Those memories were a catalyst in deciding to purchase a burial plot in Beth Abraham’s cemetery. “It’s a gorgeous cemetery,” Myron commented. Knowing that his eternal home would be alongside multiple generations of family and friends, he also chose to support the Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton campaign.

“It’s an additional insurance policy,” Myron continued. “My future home will be cared for and so will the home of my extended family. I’ve had a blessed life. How could I not participate?”

Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton is an endowment organization created to maintain our three Jewish cemeteries in perpetuity.

Please join us as we strive to maintain the sanctity, care, and integrity of these sacred burial grounds.

Preserving our Past Ensuring Our Future

Beth Abraham's new rabbi

Continued from Page Five and film at the University of Toronto.

The shift came through an epiphany as part of his architecture co-op study when he worked as a drafts man on a project to renovate a synagogue.

"The people I was working with didn't really seem to understand what a synagogue was about and what sacred space was about," he said. "And I felt like I needed to also sort of do some archeology of myself."

Glazer said he was influenced by French thinker Michel Foucault, who wrote about an "archeology of the self."

"I was deeply immersed in my French-Canadian identity — but more French identity — in trying to understand where I was coming from and who I was," he said. "That part of me wanted to do an archeology of my own identity."

He decided to join an archeological excavation in Ashkelon, Israel.

"I also challenged myself that I had to start go ing back to synagogue," he said. But he drifted away because he felt clergy didn't understand what he was looking for.

"And I couldn't articulate it, but I knew I couldn't find it at the shuls (synagogues)."

While an undergrad, he melded his learning in phi losophy and filmmaking with the great ethical dilem ma in the Torah narrative of the Akedah, the binding of Isaac. Glazer made a film about Danish theologian and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard's book about the bind ing of Isaac, Fear and Trembling.

"And so, I spent three to four years making this film, which I eventually sold to television, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation."

Rather than become a filmmaker, Glazer decided to apply to the rabbinical program at Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

"I showed them my film for my entrance exam. I was very chutzpadik (gutsy). I said, 'If you want me to interview, I'm going to interview you. I want someone on the panel who can speak French and watch my movie, and we can interview.' They had never heard anything like this before."

Because Glazer's parents had insisted he continue his Hebrew language studies after he left Jewish day school, he not only achieved fluency in Hebrew, he came to love it. After he received his Conservative rabbinic ordination, he returned to the University of Toronto and earned his Ph.D. in religious studies.

His dissertation, which led to two published books,

2nd generation focus of UD Kristallnacht Remembrance

University of Dayton School of Engineering Associate Dean Scott Segalewitz will discuss Perspectives from a Second Generation Holocaust Survivor as part of the university's annual Kristallnacht Remembrance at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 9 at the Immaculate Conception Chapel.

Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass — Nov. 9 and 10, 1938 in Nazi Germany — is considered the start of the Holo caust.

focused on contemporary mystical Hebrew poetry written in Israel.

"The first book was mostly focused on female poets and the second was more expansive, including male voices as well," he said. "But it's all an extension of looking for an experiential way of connecting to these mystical experiences and my love of Hebrew."

He most recently served as senior rabbi of Con gregation Shaare Zion in Montreal and has served as senior rabbi of Congregation Beth Sholom in San Francisco and the JCC of Harrison, N.Y.

Glazer and his wife, artist and art teacher Elyssa Wortzman, have been married for 18 years. Their daughter, Tal, 16, is studying at Givat Haviva Interna tional School in Hadera, Israel, likely through her high school graduation.

Israel is where Tal has always felt most at home, the rabbi said.

"We tend to go to Israel at least twice a year, either as a family or I go there to teach at the Conservative yeshiva or on fellowships, conferences, synagogue missions, so she's come a lot with us."

Givat Haviva, Glazer said, is an experiment in shared society. Foreign students (Jewish and nonJewish), Israeli Jews, and Israeli Arabs live and study there together.

Over the past 15 years, Glazer has found much inspiration as part of an archeological research project in Tiberias, Israel to uncover a little-known Chasidic aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) there in 1777.

"What drew me to it," he said, "was they didn't re ally have, not just a rebbe (dynastic leader of a Chasidic sect), but there wasn't a tzadik (spiritual leader) figure that the Chasid would turn to. It was a community that was horizontal. Today, we would say it was egali tarian. They wouldn't have used those words. But they were deeply committed to what they called mystical experiences of bonding through friendship."

The rabbi said this relates directly to Dayton.

"I am committed to klal Yisrael (the Jewish people), so I resonate strongly with my Chabad colleagues and have collaborated with them in my Tiberian Chasidim project as well as community-building efforts for all Jews."

Glazer said his spiritual vision is inspired by the Neo-Chasidism of his teacher, Rabbi Art Green.

"I am honored that the shiddach (match) between myself and Beth Abraham came to fruition, and I value relational Judaism and hope to really develop mean ingful relationships with all my Beth Abraham chevre (friends) and beyond."

He said he chose the Midwest because he immedi ately felt at home on his visit here.

"We want to explore the traditional egalitarian edge of Conservative Judaism, but also to be very open to the evolution of Conservative Judaism, which is really in a process of evolving and trying to find its next chapter."

The rabbi said the first priority he and Beth Abra ham will work on is its strategic planning process.

"We're working with the movement, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, to understand better who we are, where we've come from, our very important history as a synagogue, and its place within the Dayton community — what the possibilities and the interests are of where leadership in the community is poised presently, and what the short-term and longterm vision can be for us to be able to grow."

For his new congregants, Glazer said he strives ev ery day to be the rabbi that wasn't there for him when he was searching.

Scott Segalewitz

Prof. Sharon Gratto will conduct UD’s World Music Choir in a musical remembrance.

For more information, contact UD Executive Direc tor of Campus Ministry Crystal Caruana Sullivan at csullivan1@udayton.edu.

"I try to be that rabbi that is open to the world and is open to mystical experiences and spirituality, which was something I wasn't trained in at the seminary — nor were the rabbis who served me trained in. But I've been searching and cultivating those experiences for a few decades now."

‘The past influences your decisions for the future.’

— Myron Stayman

Troy High School students learn about Judaism

Pioneering rabbi on Temple Israel series

Rabbi Sally Priesand, who in 1972 became the first woman ordained as a rabbi through a rabbinical seminary — Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati — will be the virtual speaker for Temple Israel's Ryterband Series, 9:45 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 13. She'll discuss Reflections on My Life as a Rabbi. Priesand is the second formally ordained female rabbi in history and the first female rabbi in North America. The cost for the brunch discussion is $7. Temple Israel is located at 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. For the full series schedule, go to tidayton.org.

Cali Glasener, a 10th grader in Troy High School's World Religions elective class, serves foods associated with Jewish culture that class members prepared for each other as part of their unit on Ju daism. World Religions is taught by Social Studies Teacher Bryan Gray. The high school has offered the elective each semester for more than a decade to promote diversity and inclusion.

As part of their Jewish food carry-in lunch, Troy High School students in the World Religions class learned to play dreidel from Math Intervention Assistant Karen Foster. Shown here in the middle of a game (L to R): 10th grader Hayden Frey, 12th grader Noah Davis, 12th grader Isaac Phillips, and 10th grader Hudson Furlong.

Rabbi Sally Priesand

Young vandals overturn Hillel's sukkah at Miami University in Ohio

By Marshall Weiss The Observer

an email to its constitu

Friday morning, Oct. 21,

Hillel at Miami University in Oxford released security

video of three young

overturning

before 2 a.m. on

Saturday, Oct. 15.

after MU Hillel distributed the security video, three young men came forward and admitted to perpetrating the act.

As of press time, the uni versity and Oxford City Police were conducting investigations into the incident and weren't ready to comment or release the identities of the men.

According to MU Hillel Executive Director Whitney Fisch, three young men jumped the Hillel building’s fence Oct. 15. She said in the email with the security video that the Ox ford Police Depart ment was reviewing the video to identify the perpetrators.

“What has shaken our students and staff to the core and left me with a pit at the bottom of my stomach is the complete viola tion of our property, and of our sacred space,” Fisch added in the Oct. 21 email.

The seven-day Jewish har vest festival of Sukkot com memorates the huts the ancient Israelites lived in during their 40 years in the desert before entering the Promised Land. Jewish households and institu tions erect sukkahs — tempo rary huts — and eat meals in them over the festival. Oct. 15,

also Shabbat, marked the sixth day of Sukkot.

“Watching these three young men circle the sukkah, enter the sukkah (where they encoun tered Hebrew prayers on the walls), and then intentionally decide to destroy the sukkah is simply devastating to watch,” Fisch wrote.

According to MU Hillel, approximately 1,000 Jewish students attend the university. Fisch sent the Oct. 21 email announcing the vandalism along with the security video as MU Hillel was getting ready for its Family Weekend Shabbat.

“I find comfort in knowing that the pride our Hillel at Miami community feels for its Jewish ness cannot and will not be broken.”

Minutes before the Fam ily Weekend Shabbat began Friday night with 50 students and their families, "three young men admitted to being the three individuals from our secu rity footage who desecrated our sukkah," Fisch wrote in a follow-up email to the MU Hil lel community on Oct. 24.

"We cannot offer any more information on the identities or motivation as there are two ongoing investigations taking place both at the university

Security camera video of young men overturning the sukkah at Miami University's Hillel at nearly 2 a.m. on Oct. 15 in Oxford, Ohio.

MU Hillel

After Hillel releases security video, three men confess to the act

MU Hillel Exec. Dir.

Whitney Fisch

level and with Oxford City Police," she continued.

Miami University President Gregory P. Crawford, Vice President for Institutional Di versity and Inclusion Cristina Alcalde, and Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Elizabeth Reitz Mullenix emailed a state ment to the Miami University community on the afternoon of Oct. 21 that the university “does not tolerate acts of van dalism, violence, or hate.”

“Many Miami community members, particularly Jewish community members, may be understandably distressed and feel unsafe after learning about this incident,” the statement continued. “We are committed to every Jewish student, fac ulty, and staff feeling welcome and included as part of the Miami community. As a uni versity, Miami is committed to a safe environment for all stu dents, faculty, and staff regard less of race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic background. We condemn the vandalism and desecration of the Sukkah, and all acts of vandalism and hate.”

The administrators also announced that Hillel and MU’s Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion would co-host a Shabbat of Love and Honor at Hillel at Miami on Friday, Oct. 28, 6-8 p.m. and invited the Miami community to attend.

Book wins national religion writing award

Stories of Jewish Dayton by Dayton Jewish Observer Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss has received Religion News Association's 2022 second-place award for Excellence in Nonfic tion Religion Books.

An RNA Awards competi tion judge commented on the book, "In telling the stories of Jewish Dayton, Ohio, Marshall Weiss twists the old canard that 'all politics is local' by showing 'all religion is local.' Local reli gion reporters could learn from Weiss' reporting and do in their hometown what he has done with this book — show that the best religion stories are the local stories."

The History Press published Stories of Jewish Dayton last year.

REGION

Ohio GOP candidate defends ‘Jew you down’ comment by saying Jews have ‘solid money principles’

By Andrew Lapin, JTA

Facing criticism about her use in 2014 of the antisemitic phrase “Jew you down,” the Republican nominee for a competitive state Senate seat in Ohio said she was just trying to praise Jews’ frugality.

Michele Reynolds, a business owner and former public sector employee running as the GOP candidate in the state’s 3rd Senate district, self-published a book for business owners in 2014. In it, she wrote, “I learned from other cultures on how they spend their money. Have you ever heard the term ‘Jew you down’? This culture has a reputation for not wasting resources.”

The book, The Dreambiz Blueprint: 101 Business Tips on How to Develop and Oper ate Your Dream Business, is not easily available online. The passage was reported Oct. 19 by Cleveland.com reporter Jake Zuckerman and publicized by the Ohio Senate Dems caucus on social media.

The Reynolds campaign’s initial response, issued to the Columbus Dispatch, said the candidate had intended to spotlight “what she learned from the wisdom of the Jewish community and how they are reputable for building success ful businesses with a founda tion of solid money principles.”

But by late in the day Oct. 20, Reynolds had issued a more straightforward apology from her Twitter account, writing, “While it was never my intent to be hurtful or disrespectful when I wrote the book in 2014, I humbly apologize to the Jewish community and anyone offend ed by the expression. I won’t reference this phrase again, and if the book is ever republished, I’ll make sure it is removed.”

“I realize there are better ways to express my respect for my fellow brothers and sisters in the faith,” Reynolds added.

Reynolds, who has the endorsement of mainstream Re publicans and business leaders in her state, tweeted a Rosh Ha shanah message in September. An online biography identifies her as “first lady and execu

tive pastor” of Common Ground Des tiny Center Church, where her husband is the lead pas tor. She has previously directed Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s office of faithbased and community initia tives. Her other previous roles include commissioner of Ohio’s Commission on Fatherhood, and working in the Akron mayor’s economic develop ment office. Ohio’s 3rd state Senate district includes parts of Columbus. The seat is currently held by a Democrat. In a previ ous local race, for county com mission in 2018, Reynolds lost to the Democratic candidate by a wide margin.

Nov. 8, vote for

Paid for by the Steve Abshire for Judge Committee

Ohio Citizens for the Arts Foundation

Michele Reynolds

Coming-Of-Age exhibit's local premiere at Peace Museum

The photography and written narratives of 31 Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the United States, Hun gary, and Israel rang ing in ages from high school students to older adults are on exhibit at Dayton's International Peace Museum, Nov. 3 through Dec. 17.

Entitled Coming-ofAge: Photographs and Stories From Teens to Lifelong Learners, the international exhibit —which premiered last year in Tel Aviv — was curated by Marcy L. Paul, formerly senior director of Dayton’s Jewish Community Relations Council and now director of the U.S. Central Consor tium of Partnership2Gether.

Those whose works are on exhibit hail from locales linked through Partnership2Gether, a program of the

Coming-of-Age: Photographs and Stories from Teens to Lifelong Learners is on exhibit at the Inter national Peace Museum, 10 N. Ludlow St., Dayton, Nov. 3-Dec. 17, with an opening reception at 7 p.m., Thurs., Nov. 3. For details, go to peace.museum.

Jewish Agency for Israel.

Dayton is in Partnership with Israel’s Western Gali lee along with Budapest, Hungary, and more than a dozen cities across the central United States.

Using the PhotoVoice technique — a social justice methodology to create community change that incor porates photography and written narratives — Paul asked participants to answer the question, “What was your coming-of-age experience?”

The JCRC received a grant from the World Religion Foundation in Dayton for the project, as a way for

teenagers and young adults to find similarities in their lives and to learn about and discuss their differences.

High school-age students met virtually for sessions with other high school students around the world. So did young adults. Along the way, Paul found that older adults in Dayton wanted to participate too.

ACADEMICALLY DRIVEN, CULTURALLY INSPIRED.

305 Sugar Camp Circle Oakwood, Ohio 45409

daytonhillel.org

— Marshall Weiss

PhotoVoice is the same technique Paul used to facilitate Partnership2Gether’s SlidingDors: Voices of the Second Generation project, which brings adult children of Holocaust survivors together to help them share their stories.

SHEKET BEVAKASHA!

Hey, did you or your kids go to Hillel Academy?

Well, we’re still here, educating the next generation of Jews in Dayton, and we want to share some of the inspiring, creative things we’re doing with you. Follow us on Instagram at @hilleldayton, and email your info to svanhorn@daytonhillel.org to stay in the loop.

Love, Sandy Sloane-Brenner

Coming-of-Age photo by Eszter Krauth, Budapest, Hungary.

Coming-of-Age photo by Ben Biton, Western Galilee College, Israel.

Retired Dayton JFS Exec. Dir. dies at 85

Rabbi Sheldon Switkin, executive director of Dayton’s Jewish Family Services from 1982 to 2002, died Oct. 4 at the age of 85. Over his 20-year tenure with JFS, he oversaw the re settlement of approximately 250 Soviet Jews to Dayton between 1989 and 1996, with nearly 200 arriving in 1992 alone as part of United Jewish Appeal’s Operation Exodus.

He rallied volunteers and JFS staff to set up apartments, provide English language training, and job search as sistance and training.

“We had a very successful operation, and it was because of Shelly,” said Irvin Moscowitz, who served as JFS chair when resettlement was at its peak. “He would do anything for anyone. The things he loved, he just devoted every thing to it.”

Born in Chicago, Switkin received his rabbinic ordination from Jewish Theo

logical Seminary, was a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, and served as a pulpit rabbi with congregations in Columbus; Long Island, N.Y.; and St. Louis. He re ceived his master’s degree in social work from Ohio State.

“I remember all the won derful counseling he pro vided, directly and through his staff,” recalled Peter Wells, retired Jewish Federation ex ecutive vice president. “There was the case of a man who lost everything and was living in his car and was contemplat ing suicide, and they spent all night helping him to survive and get on with his life. Shelly provided not only the counseling but resources to continue life.”

“His whole life was Judaism,” Mos cowitz said. “He had that extra-special something that people who knew him got to witness. I feel very fortunate that I was able to, and to continue it for all these years.”

— Marshall Weiss

Rabbi Sheldon Switkin

OPINION

American Jews must give up the illusion that they have no enemies to the left or the right

By Benjamin Kerstein

One of the worst aspects of Kanye West’s recent antiSemitic meltdown has been that many figures on the right have chosen to not quite endorse but to whitewash and obfuscate it. Particularly shameful is that some Jewish conservatives have joined in the whitewash. Oth ers, however, have expressed deep pain and anguish at seeing those they considered allies and friends rush to West’s defense.

One example of this was a cri de coeur by Ian Haworth, who has worked in conservative me dia. He wrote, “As we witness supposedly anti-antisemitism conservatives brush the open and unapologetic antisemitism of cultural figures like Kanye West under the rug in exchange for the second-hand cultural attention his presence might provide — as well as cash and clicks — a familiar and brutal reality has resurfaced for Jews: No one cares about us.”

“Until our movement is will ing to look in the mirror and stick to their supposed prin

ciples, the Jewish people cast out from this tent will wonder whether any of this is worth fighting for,” he asserted.

I was moved by Haworth’s anger, because he felt betrayed, and I know what that’s like. For me, the betrayal came from the other side. I grew up in an extremely left-wing Boston suburb and was not immune to the relentless indoctrination. In my teens and early 20s, I was a half-inch from being a commu nist. I considered all leftists my brothers and sisters in solidar ity, and never questioned this conviction.

That changed with the out break of the Second Intifada. At first, I went along with the general loathing of Israel that surrounded me, even when people began asking me why I, personally, was oppressing the Palestinians so horribly. It took me a while to finally wake up, but when I did, it was lifechanging.

The final straw came in 2000, when Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader held a massive campaign rally in

Boston. From the stage, I was told, his running mate, Wi nona LaDuke, shrieked, “We’re going to stop the slaughter in Palestine!” This would have been bad enough, given that it erased Israel’s name from the map and, with it, the numer ous Jews then being murdered by Palestinian terrorists in the name of “Palestine.”

But what made my blood run cold was the description of what followed: The crowd howled its approval and rose to its feet in a standing ovation. At that moment, what I saw in my mind’s eye was Hitler and the great crowd rising as one to hail him. These people, I real ized, wanted to kill me.

What followed was not merely anger, but a horrific sense of betrayal. I believed in the catechisms of the left. I felt that I was one of them. But now, I suddenly realized, they did not think I was one of them. And this was because, despite everything, I did believe that the Jews have a right, at the very least, to defend them selves. I now knew that my for

Does Trump hate Jews, or just 'bad Jews'?

By Andrew Silow-Carroll

In her new book Bad Jews, Emily Tamkin frames recent American Jewish communal politics as a series of clashes between antagonists who insist there are right ways and wrong ways to be Jewish — that is, “good Jews” and “bad Jews.” It’s a useful and revealing way to look at how Jews fight among themselves.

It’s also incredibly timely (or timeless). Donald Trump had his own version of “bad Jews” in mind when he tweeted in October that American Jews were insufficiently grateful to him for his support of Israel, and warned that “U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel — before it is too late!”

Some Jewish groups heard that as an antisemitic threat. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt — I thought he meant that Israel itself would be in danger if Jews didn’t vote for a pro-Israel president like him the next time — it does fit

into a pattern in which Trump treats “the Jews” as a monolith, and distinguishes between the good Jews who vote for him and the bad Jews who don’t recognize their own self-inter est. That sort of ethnic pigeon holing never ends well. And as I have written before, I don’t know if Trump is antisemitic, but he has certainly been good for antisemitism.

Trump was also echoing the kinds of internal Jewish conversations that Tamkin describes. It may be presump tuous for a gentile politician to explain how “good Jews” vote, but Jewish individuals and organizations have been doing it for years. Liberal Jews use the “good Jew/bad Jew” framing, on everything from immigra tion to LGBTQ rights. But it has over the years become a con servative specialty, especially when it comes to Israel:

• In 2002, New York Times columnist William Safire urged Jewish Democrats to put their domestic agenda aside to vote

for Republicans he felt had a better record on Israel.

• In 2008, neoconservative icon Norman Podhoretz la mented that liberalism had “su perseded Judaism and become a religion in its own right.”

• In 2011, Jewish conserva tive firebrand Ben Shapiro tweeted, “The Jewish people has always been plagued by Bad Jews, who undermine it from within. In America, those Bad Jews largely vote Demo crat.”

• In 2018, Jonathan Neu mann turned that idea into a book-length attack on Jews involved in social justice move ments, subtitled, How the Jewish Left Corrupts and Endangers Israel

In each case, the writers implied that good Jews put the fate of Israel ahead of other values — which, to the degree that they are liberal, seem to the writers barely Jewish in the first place.

Some of those objecting to Trump’s tweet said it fed the

mer comrades did not believe in that right. But I did, and I would fight for it.

I will not go into the long journey that followed, which led me to Zionism, aliyah (immigration to Israel), and everything that came after. Suf fice it to say, I rejected the left in its entirety, and became very right-wing for a very long time.

I can no longer count myself an ideological right-winger. I believe I have learned a great deal from both the left and the right, from the likes of Orwell and Camus along with Burke and C.S. Lewis. These days, I prefer to keep my own counsel. But that sense of betrayal has never left me, and I am still angry about it.

That many Jews on the right now feel the same way is painful but also, I regret to say, not particularly surprising. All non-Jewish movements contain people who believe very ugly things about the Jews. The left has Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, the right has its “alt” con tingent and now Kanye West.

But I must say that I do not

“dual loyalty” accusation — that is, Jews pledge their true allegiance to Israel. But again, Trump is turning an internal Jewish discourse back on itself.

Let’s be honest: Caring about the well-being of Israel — po litical, social, military — is a normative value in the vast majority of American Jewish settings: synagogues, schools, summer camps, community councils. That’s not dual loyal ty, but solidarity with millions of co-religionists and extended family members. Such solidar ity is the right of any ethnic group, and Jews have rightly owned it, even as polls show that it is the minority of Jews who make Israel their numberone issue at the polls. Trump’s tweet is a fun house version of that tendency — demanding Jews stand in solidarity with Israel but on his terms, and exclusive of other priorities.

Trump’s tweet is of a piece with what Maggie Haberman, in her new book about Trump, describes as the “racial tribal ism” the real estate mogul absorbed in the New York City of the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. In

Send letters (350 words max.) to The Dayton Jewish Observer, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459 • MWeiss@jfgd.net

agree with Haworth’s despair ing conclusion that “no one cares about us.” There are nonJews on the right and the left who care very deeply about the Jews, whether they be Ritchie Torres on the left or Meghan McCain on the right. Some times they are forced to fight a rear-guard action against the haters, but they are there, they are not to be underestimated, and we must work to embrace them all.

Indeed, for Jews to believe that we have “no enemies to the left” is as absurd as believ ing we have “no enemies to the right.” There is no single politi cal movement — except Zion ism — that is monolithically philo-semitic. Jews, in the end, have no right or left. We have only ourselves and our friends or enemies, wherever they may be on the political spectrum. To wholly commit ourselves to one side or the other only sets us up for a rude awakening followed by a terrible disillusionment.

Benjamin Kerstein is a writer and editor living in Tel Aviv.

that Archie Bunker-ish New York, individuals were pegged and defined, for good and ill, by their ethnicity. In Trump’s view, Jews are good business people, savvy negotiators and of one mind when it comes to Israel — and are confounding and even ungrateful when they are not. That’s the Trump heard in a recent video clip, asking if the filmmaker was “a good Jewish character.” Good Jew or bad Jew?

Tamkin calls her book an attempt to “wrestle with what I believe to be the one truth of American Jewish identity: it can never be pinned down.” Still, a lot of people have tried — sometimes out of the best of intentions, and sometimes to push people out of the fold. When we presume to tell our selves who is and isn’t a “good Jew,” however, we shouldn’t be shocked when others — especially a politician who has made racial tribalism his brand — do the same.

Andrew Silow-Carroll is editor in chief of the New York Jewish Week and senior editor of JTA.

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.

UPCOMING EVENTS

at jewishdayton.org

Monday, November 7, 2022, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. — CABS: Ellen Frankel

Wednesday, November 9, 2022, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. — CABS: Andrew Lawler

Sunday, November 13, 2022, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. — CABS: Debby Applegate

Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. — CABS: Cathy Barrow

Tuesday, November 29, 2022, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. — CABS: Liz Scheier

937-435-3400

rabbichessin@templebethor.com

Samantha

Monday, November 7, 7:00 p.m.

Via Zoom

Ellen Frankel, “The Deadly Scrolls: Book One in the Jerusalem Mysteries”

Wednesday, November 9, 7:00 p.m.

Livestream at The Torch Lounge, University of Dayton Kennedy Union 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469

Archeology talk with Dr. Dorian Borbonus, Associate Professor of History at University of Dayton

Cost: $6.00 person; free with student ID

Andrew Lawler, “Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City”

Sunday, November 13, 7:00 p.m.

The Dayton Woman’s Club, 225 N Ludlow St, Dayton, OH 45402

Live jazz concert

Cost: $12 person

Debby Applegate, “Madame: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age”

Wednesday, November 16, 6:00 p.m.

The Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education 525 Versailles Drive, Centerville, OH 45459

Enjoy an appetizing bagel nosh during this food-based presentation.

Cost: $18 person, includes a bagel supper Cathy Barrow, “Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish”

Tuesday, November 29, 7:00 p.m.

Via Zoom

Liz Scheier, “Never Simple”

Thursday, December 1, 7:00 p.m.

Livestream at the Wright Library, Oakwood 1776 Far HIlls Ave, Dayton, OH 45419

Jen Maxfield, “More After the Break; A Reporter Returns to Ten Unforgettable News Stories”

Sunday, December 4, 7:00 p.m.

Dayton Playhouse 1301 E Siebenthaler Ave, Dayton, OH 45414

Cost: $10 adults, $5 students

Tom Dugan, “Wiesenthal”

Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 7:00 p.m.

Livestream at the Woodbourne Library 6060 Far Hills Ave, Centerville, OH 45459

Ronald Balson, “An Affair of Spies”

Sunday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. Carillon Brewery

1000 Carillon Blvd, Dayton, OH 45409

Cost: $10 person

Dan Grunfeld, “By the Grace of the Game”

Go to jewishdayton.org/events to purchase tickets for in-person events or to register for Zoom events. Contact Helen Jones at 937-610-5513 or hjones@jfgd.net for more information.

P.M. - 8:30 P.M.

South Metro Sports

(an indoor facility) 10561 Success Lane Centerville, OH 45458

Come celebrate the first night of Chanukah with the community! We will light the menorah together and enjoy that special Chanukah treat - sufganiyot (donuts). There will be plenty of exciting activities including ice skating, basketball, volleyball, ping-pong, pickleball and cornhole.

Come dressed to skate and play! The snack bar at South Metro Sports will be open for additional food and drink sales.

$12 adult / $8 child ages 4-12 Free 3 and under

RSVP by Thursday, December 15 at jewishdayton.org/events

Calling all our crafty community members… Let’s do a KNITZVAH! The KNITZVAH is already underway! Monday, October 3 – Friday, December 2, 2022, JFS will welcome your hand-knitted, crocheted, or sewn donations of hats, scarves, lap blankets, socks, or gloves to help make our Chanukah outreach extra special (and fuzzy).

For questions or to schedule a drop off, please contact Jacquelyn Archie at jarchie@jfgd.net or 937-610-1555.

, learn

Must be

Call Jewish Family Services at 937-610-1555

more

JOE BETTMAN MEMORIAL TZADIK FUND

IN MEMORY OF

› Steve Cohen

› Terry Mitzman

Elaine Bettman

IN MEMORY OF

› Marilyn Serbin Todd and Jean Bettman Elaine Bettman

JFGD GENERAL ENDOWMENT FUND

BEST WISHES AND A SPEEDY RECOVERY TO

› Bruce Feldman

Nathaniel and Susan Ritter

DOROTHY B. MOYER YOUNG

LEADERSHIP FUND

IN MEMORY OF

› Richard A. “Dick” Moyer

Wendy Stone and Donald Blum

Legacies, Tributes, & Memorials

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES DISCRETIONARY FUND

IN MEMORY OF

› Nicole Monique Frilot

Cathy Gardner Jody Sobol

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

IN HONOR OF

› Mathew Goldman for his wedding Joan and Peter Wells

EARLY CHILDHOOD FUND

WELL WISHES FOR A SPEEDY RECOVERY

› Evie Polk Cathy Gardner

Join us over the holiday break for camp fun including indoor and outdoor games, field trips, cooking

talent

GRADES K-10

9:00

OPTIONAL

8:00 a.m.

4:00 p.m. -

December

Session

Temple Beth Or, 5275 Marshall Rd. 45429

For more information contact Meryl Hattenbach at mhattenbach@jfgd.net or 937-401-1550

JEREMY BETTMAN B’NAI TZEDEK YOUTH PHILANTHROPY FOUNDATION

IN MEMORY OF

› Nicole Monique Frilot Todd and Jean Bettman

SammyCahn

ALLIANCE PROGRAMS

Come discover the songs & stories of Sammy Cahn, best known for his romantic lyrics to songs of Hollywood and Broadway. His songs were recorded by virtually every major singer including Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Doris Day and many more. He wrote some of the most popular songs including “Come Fly With Me,” “Love and Marriage,” “My Kind of Town."

Wednesday, November 9, 2022 via Zoom

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Tickets

$12.50 until November 7 $15.00 November 8-9

Contact

Helen Jones at 937-610-5513 or hjones@jfgd.net for more information.

Classes

Synagogue Forum of Greater Dayton's Intro. to Judaism: 14 Tuesdays, 7 p.m. beginning Nov. 1. $36 single or couple. Register at jewishdayton.org.

Beth Jacob Classes: Sundays, 2 p.m.: Conversion Class in per son w. Rabbi Agar. Tuesdays, 7 p.m.: Weekly Parsha on Zoom w. Rabbi Agar. Thursdays, 7 p.m.: Jewish Law on Zoom w. Rabbi Agar. Call to be added. 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp., 937-274-2149.

Chabad Classes: Mondays, Nov. 7-Dec. 5, 7 p.m.: My G-d. $72. In person & online. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. Register at chabaddayton.com. 937-6430770.

Temple Beth Or Adult Classes: Sundays, 12:30 p.m.: Adult Hebrew. Tues., Nov. 1, 8, 22, 29, 6:30 p.m.: A Jewish Approach to Personal Self Defense led by Rabbi Cary Kozberg. Free. RSVP. Thurs., Nov. 3, 10 a.m.: Apocryphal Study on Zoom w. Rabbi Chessin. Thurs., Nov. 3, 7 p.m.: Chai Mitzvah Zoom &

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

Temple Israel Classes: Tuesdays, noon: Hybrid Talmud Study. 130 Riverside Dr., Day ton. Wed., Nov. 9, 16, 23, 30, 10 a.m.: Social Justice Torah Commentary w. Rabbi BodneyHalasz. Dorothy Lane Market, Washington Sq., 6177 Far Hills Ave., Wash. Twp. Sat., Nov. 5, 19, 26, 9:15 a.m.: Online Torah Study. Sat., Nov. 12, 9:15 a.m.: Hybrid Torah Study. tidayton. org, 937-496-0050.

Children & Teens

Jewish Youth Group Outdoor Movie Night: Sat., Nov. 19, 7 p.m. Grades 6-8. $10. 525 Ver sailles Dr., Centerville. Register at jewishdayton.org/events.

Family

Chabad Kids Make Shabbat: Thurs., Nov. 10, 5 p.m. Free. Children 3-13 prepare Shabbat Dinner. Children receive apron & chef’s hat. RSVP rabbilevi@ chabaddayton.com. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood.

CALENDAR

Chabad Family Shabbat Dinner: Fri., Nov. 11, 5 p.m. Children free, Adults $20. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. RSVP chabaddayton.com/rsvp. 937643-0770.

Temple Israel Prayer & Play: Sat., Nov. 12, 10 a.m. 130 River side Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050.

Women

Chabad Women’s Circle

Ladies Shabbat Dinner: Fri., Nov. 4, 6 p.m. $36. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. RSVP to dlmdayton@gmail.com. 937643-0770.

JFGD Women’s Philanthropy Event: Sun., Nov. 13, 5:30 p.m. Dayton’s Woman’s Club. 225 N. Ludlow St., Dayton. Free. RSVP to Melanie Gomez, mgomez@ jfgd.net.

JCC Cultural Arts & Book Series

See Page 14 for schedule.

Exhibit

Partnership2Gether's Com ing-of-Age: Photographs & Stories from Teens to Life -

long Learners: Nov. 3-Dec. 17. International Peace Museum, 10 N. Ludlow St., Dayton. Thurs., Nov. 3, 7 p.m.: Opening recep tion. peace.museum.

Community

Beth Abraham Men's Club

Sunday Brunch Speaker Se ries: Sundays, 10 a.m. Oct. 30: Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer, Why would a wise child walk on the wild side? Lou Reed's Abject American-Jewish Songbook. Nov. 13: Brig. Gen. Ret. Paul Cooper, Tactical Airlift in Desert Storm-My Personal Story of 7 Months Flying in the Desert. Nov. 20: (In conjunction w. Temple Israel's Ryterband Se ries) Bob Thum, Jewish Life in 19th-Century America. $7 each. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. RSVP to 937-293-9520.

Temple Israel Ryterband Brunch & Lecture Series: Sundays, 9:45 a.m. Nov. 6: Rabbi Emeritus David Sofian, Jewish Identity-How Many Legs Does Your Table Have? Nov. 13: Rabbi Sally Priesand, Reflec tions on My Life as a Rabbi. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-

0050. Nov. 20: (At Beth Abra ham Synagogue, 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood, 937-2939520) Bob Thum, Jewish Life in 19th-Century America. $7 each.

UD Kristallnacht Remem brance: Wed., Nov. 9, 5 p.m. Immaculate Conception Chapel. Scott Segalewitz, speaker. For info., contact Crystal Caruana Sullivan, csullivan1@udayton. edu.

Beth Jacob Jewelry Making Extravaganza: Sun., Nov. 13, 11 a.m. Paper bead jewelry w. Laura Payne. 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp. bethjacobcong. org. 937-274-2149.

Temple Beth Or Interfaith Thanksgiving Service: Mon., Nov. 21, 7 p.m. Partnering w. Dayton Mercy Society, David’s United Church of Christ, St. Charles Borromeo & Christ Church United Methodist. At Christ Church UM, 3440 Shroyer Rd., Kettering.

Beth Abraham Synagogue

Conservative

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer

Cantor/Dir. of Ed. & Programming

Andrea Raizen Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.

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

Beth Jacob Congregation Traditional

Rabbi Leibel Agar

Sundays & Wednesdays, 7:15 p.m. Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.

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

Temple Anshe Emeth Reform

Fri., Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m.

w. Rabbinic Intern Anna Burke

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

Temple Beth Or Reform

Fridays, 6:30 p.m.

Rabbi Judy Chessin

Asst. Rabbi/Educator Ben Azriel

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., Nov. 4, 6 p.m.

Fridays, Nov. 11, 18, 25, 6:30 p.m. Sat., Nov. 12, 10:30 a.m. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050. tidayton.org

Temple Sholom Reform

Rabbi Cary Kozberg

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

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

Chabad of Greater Dayton

Rabbi Nochum Mangel

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

Yellow Springs Havurah Independent

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

Riding life's roller coaster of Magic and Loss

By Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer Beth Abraham Synagogue

“You can't depend on your family you can't depend on your friends You can't depend on a beginning you can't depend on an end”

— Lou Reed, Busload of Faith (New York, 1989)

Life can become very routin ized and yet feel random — so upon whom and what can you really count on? How can we be continually surprised in our

Perspectives

spiritual lives, even as skeptics?

Is a “busload of faith” enough?

Let's explore what it means to ride life’s roller coaster through moments of magic and loss and why it can even in the midst of it remain surprising.

I recall my surprise when I attended the Passover caba ret known as the Downtown Seder at City Winery in New York when Lou Reed was cast as the wise child (chacham) as he read an excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven! Beneath my amazement resonated the words of the remarkable late, great music critic, Ellen Willis, who encapsulated the genius of Lou Reed as early as 1978, that he had “made a fateful connec tion between two seemingly disparate ideas — the rock-androller as self-conscious aesthete and the rock-and-roller as selfconscious punk.” How could this rock-and-roller as selfconscious aesthete punk who sang about “walking on the wild side” be anything but the wicked child (rasha)? It is noth ing short of surprising. Through the years of my own spiritual searching and growth while listening to Lou Reed, I realized

he too was searching and grow ing, always ready to surprise and be surprised. Many do not realize that Lou Reed grew up as Lewis Allan Reed, (19422013). Reed became a somewhat renowned singer-songwriter and sometimes outrageous per former whose songbook over flows with the lyrical landscape meant to shock and surprise. Reed's songbook is woven from the midst of living in a horrific world after Auschwitz, Hiro shima, Chernobyl. The sober ing punch of reality feels interwoven and integrated into our very fabric of being, especially on the mean streets of New York from the 1970s onwards.

But what contin ues to surprise me is how Lou Reed’s songbook grew and matured with surprising spiri tual advice, even as a skeptic who cannot depend on anyone or anything.

Growing up in large part by fleeing from his Long Island suburban upbringing quickly brought Lou to the bowels of New York and his foray into the bohemian world of The Factory, where he encountered countless legends including Andy Warhol that birthed his first musical venture known as the Velvet Underground.

That short period became the stuff of New York arts and culture legends and many of his fellow seekers from then never survived to later chapters in life as did Lou. So one hears the challenges amid the struggles swirling around him through that era in the crucible of sur viving beyond it when he sings of needing a Busload of Faith

November • Cheshvan/Kislev

Torah Portions

(New York, 1989):

“You can't depend on intelli gence ooohhh, you can't depend on God

You can only depend on one thing you need a busload of faith to get by, watch, baby”

Everyone — even a skeptic — experiences roller coaster highs and lows in life, what the Jewish mystics call ratzo v’shov, and that oscillation really hit Lou, who confessed, “Between two Aprils I lost two friends/Between two Aprils magic and loss...” That is the brief poetic inscrip tion that marks the liner notes of an underappreciated album called Magic and Loss (1992). Lou also man aged to sneak into the credits more heartfelt words of mourn ing: “This album is dedicated to Doc and especially to Rita." While Rita remained a mystery, Lou was more explicit about his befriending legendary song writer Doc Pomus, who died a year prior to this recording. Some of Reed’s most heartfelt lyrics emerged as bittersweet laments forged from the pain he experienced as he witnessed his friends (like Andy Warhol and Doc Pomus) dying, in Power and Glory (Magic and Loss, 1992):

“I saw a great man turn into a little child

The cancer reduced him to dust His voice growing weak as he fought for his life With a bravery few men know I saw isotopes introduced into his lungs

Trying to stop the cancerous spread

And it made me think of Leda and The Swan

clubs and never let polio deter his love for music and from beginning his career as a blues singer in the 1940s.

As it happens, in New York, Lou Reed lived a couple of blocks away from Doc Pomus and their friendship revolved around listening to old blues records together and sharing reflections on songs and the art of songwriting. Despite the “isotopes introduced into his lungs," Pomus passed away after a valiant battle.

While Lou Reed attended Po mus’ funeral, he heard Jimmy Scott singing Someone to Watch Over Me, as per Pomus’ last wishes. Hearing Scott sing that brokenhearted song at Doc’s fu neral was one of the most pow erful experiences that touched Lou and inspired the lyrics for Power and Glory, on which Scott sings a single refrain, “I wanted all of it,” in this context:

“And I was struck by the power and the glory I was visited by a majestic hymn

Great bolts of lightning, light ing up the sky As the radiation flowed through him He wanted all of it Not some of it”

To want all of it (hakol) and not settle for some of it is the paradox of being human — as Ecclesiastes quips, “all of life is merest of breaths.”

Shabbat Candle Lightings

November

November

November

November

November 5: Lech Lecha (Gen.

November

Vayera (Gen.

November

November

And gold being made from lead The same power that burned Hiroshima Causing three-legged babies and death Shrunk to the size of a nickel To help him regain his breath”

Chaye

Toledot

As Lou listened deeply to life's roller coaster of one of the most prolific songwriters of the 1950s and 1960s, Doc Pomus, he also witnessed how this White Jewish singer on crutches had the courage to sing in blues

Many encounters with remarkable people turned into friendships that came and went, but something about each encounter would always inspire Lou’s journey and the memo ries left a lasting impression. Despite the brevity of these encounters, Lou learned much from them, and from fellow seekers, especially how to get perspective, as he sang in Perfect Day (Transformer, 1972):

“Just a perfect day

You made me forget myself I thought I was someone else

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer

Surprising spiritual advice from Lou Reed's American-Jewish songbook

Someone good”

No matter how skeptical one may become, Lou’s roller coaster lyrics remind us that deep within any darkness there is still goodness, there is always a moment that shines on. Despite his apparent skepti cism that “You can't depend on your family/you can't depend on your friends," nonetheless he felt “struck by the power and the glory/I was visited by a majestic hymn” while watching his friend pass on.

Lou’s friendships teach us still how the enduring im portance of such encounters, without beginnings or endings, really remain in the timeless flow of the song.

And if I’ve surprised you by sharing this spiritual advice from the mean streets of New York, if you want to discover why a wise child would walk on the wild side, join us at Beth Abraham Men’s Club brunch Sunday, Oct. 30 to explore another side of this fascinating American-Jewish songbook of Lou Reed: Why would a wise child walk on the wild side?

Who else could be this mys terious chronicler of the misbe gotten of New York’s infernal underworld afterhours, reveal ing the hidden lyrical light of his misfit characters, infusing them with dignity and devotion to authenticity except the lyrical rocker Lou Reed? Come to be surprised.

Jonah Sandler, founder and CEO of Scene75 Entertain ment, has received Wright State University's Honorary Alumni Award. Jonah has served on the Dean’s Corporate Advisory Board of the Raj Soin College of Business. He also serves as chair of the Student Experience Committee, and has helped the college develop several programs, including Business 1000, the Professional Business Institute, and Wright Venture.

Jewish Federation Development Director Lidia Zambilovici has been named to the first cohort of Jewish Federations of North America and Repair the World's Catalyst Jewish profes sional development initiative for Federation professionals focused on next-gen engage ment. She is one of 14 profes sionals from 12 Federations across North America who will create programming grounded in volunteerism and Jewish learning for local community members in their 20s and 30s.

The nine-month virtual pro gram includes training from Repair the World educators, with in-person service learning at Jewish Federations’ General Assembly Oct. 30-Nov. 1, and micro-grant funding to pilot a new volunteer/service initiative or grow an existing one.

Send your Mazel Tov announce ments to mweiss@jfgd.net.

Wallman-Guggenheimer

Joel and Judi Guggenheimer are pleased to announce the engagement of their son Samuel to Frances Wallman, daugh ter of Jon and Sally Wallman. Frances has a master's degree in international security studies from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and is currently employed with the State Department in Washing ton, D.C. Sam graduated from Georgetown Law School in 2021 and was admitted to the New York bar in June 2022. He is working at the firm of Shear man & Sterling in Washington, D.C. Frances is the granddaugh ter of the late Mary Barker Warren, the late Robert Milton Warren, the late Jerold Morris Wallman, and the late Bernice Roth Wallman. Sam is the grandson of Paul and Margaret Maranka and Henry and the late Barbara Guggenheimer. A June 2023 wedding is planned.

Contact Patty Caruso at plhc69@gmail.com to advertise in The Observer.

At this year’s Rosh Hashanah party, soldiers at one Israeli army base were excited to learn there would be a raffle.

As hundreds of soldiers each contributed 50 shekels and put their names into the raffle box, the buzz in the room grew. The winning ticket would

Candace R. Kwiatek

on a ticket. Puzzled, he picked out another — and again, there was the name of the wounded soldier. One after the other, every ticket was inscribed with the wounded soldier’s name.

What is goodness? In Jewish thought, goodness is human action, virtuous behaviors mod eled after Divine goodness. Kindness. Generosity. Benevo lence. Honesty. Altruism.

in daily life today, what does goodness look like? Unusual circumstances and spur-of-themoment decisions could benefit from a straightforward, easyto-remember guiding principle, especially when no familiar mitzvah (commandment) seems to apply.

These stories highlight tra ditional guiding principles to consider.

ly and proactively put people first in your decision making.”

receive the entire sum of 15,000 shekels. One of the soldiers debated what name to put on his ticket. He could really use the money. But a fellow soldier had recently been wounded on a military mission and was having a rough time. He chose to write that soldier’s name instead of his own.

The moment of truth ar rived. The commander shuffled through the box, selected a ticket and, miraculously, an nounced the wounded soldier’s name. Later while cleaning up the room, the compassion ate soldier emptied the box of unused raffle tickets into the trash. He noticed the name of the wounded soldier written

At its best, it’s about being focused on others: acknowl edging we are all equal in our humanity, recognizing the Divine image in every person, and acting accordingly.

Goodness is also about being benevolent moral caretakers of God’s Creation for the benefit of humankind. In the words of Aristotle, “Human good turns out to be activity of the soul in accordance with virtue.”

However, goodness itself isn’t an action—How do you "do" goodness? It’s a category that encompasses a broad range of acts: providing for the needy, teaching someone a skill, wel coming guests, judging others favorably, bringing about peace between people.

From the Bible to rabbinic works to prayer and beyond, acts of goodness abound in Jewish literature and law. But

People first. Known as The Meat Maker, a stretch of the Trans-Canada highway through Banff National Park was once perilous to motorists and wildlife alike. A highway expansion project in the 1980s decided to address the prob lem. One wildlife research scientist acknowledged that the project’s primary focus was on protecting motorists, not ani mals, but eventually the needs of both were met.

Within 30 years, the park had the most wildlife crossing structures—tunnels and bridg es—of any park in the world. Meanwhile, Parks Canada created techniques to research and monitor animal movement, scientifically demonstrated proof of immensely improved motorist safety alongside increased genetic diversity among the animal populations, and continues to influence and assist similar development worldwide.

Entrepreneur and author Tony Tjan concludes, “Purpose

Greater needs. Businessman Samuel Abraham was rushing to catch a train when he passed a young boy walking barefoot. He stopped and asked the youngster why he wasn’t wear ing any shoes. When he learned the boy had none, Abraham took him to a nearby shoe store and bought him a pair, and then went to catch the next train. In the words of Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, "Consider the needs of others before your own, and acknowledge when theirs are greater."

Right and good. The familyowned E. Leitz Inc., famous for Germany’s Leica camera, had a tradition of enlightened poli cies toward its workers, many of whom were Jewish. When Hitler became Germany’s chan cellor in 1933, the company’s patriarch, Ernst Leitz II, began receiving frantic calls from Jew ish employees asking for help.

He quietly began assigning Jewish employees, their fami lies, and even friends to Leica sales offices in France, Britain, Hong Kong, and the United States. There, Leica executives paid them a small stipend until they found jobs in the industry. Known as the Leica Freedom Train, this little-known opera tion saved hundreds of Jews. As written in Deuteronomy, “Do what is right and good in God’s eyes.”

God's ways. During the Depression, Sam Fishman’s parents had a little candy store in Brooklyn where they worked 18-hour days year-round to provide for their family. One scorching summer morning, a thin middle-aged man in a well-worn suit sat down at the soda fountain, exhausted.

In a quavering voice, he told Sam’s father how he had begun walking long before dawn from the Bronx, 20 miles away, hop ing to land the advertised tailor position nearby. But when he got there, the job had already been taken. He sobbed, won dering when he would find work and how to tell his family.

Sam recounts, “I’ll never for get Pa’s face as he cried silently with his fellow man. He went to the register, took out $2 and change — the whole morn ing’s receipts — and gave it all away.”

Comforter. Provider. Res cuer. Deuteronomy challenges us to “Walk in God’s ways always.”

It has been said, “The good of any thing is found in its abil ity to accomplish what it was created for…to realize its pur pose for existence as intended by its maker.”

Our task as Jews, as humans, is to be partners with God in the ongoing experiment of Creation, to bring the blessings of goodness into the lives of others.

Literature to share

Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age by Debby Applegate. She was dubbed “the Queen of Tarts” and “the Female Al Capone,” and she hosted the biggest names of the era from glitterati to gangsters in her Manhat tan brothels. Madam is a brilliant biography that reads like a novel and brings the Jazz Age to life, from high society to underworld.

Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish by Cathy Barrow. If you love eating New York bagels fresh from the kitchen, this book is for you. With only five ingredients, you can make your own bagels, and the possibilities for accompani ments are endless. This book is a delight.

Never Simple by Liz Scheier. You can love someone who has caused you a lot of harm. At the age of 18, the author learned her long-dead dad wasn’t really her father, her social security number was a fake, and her birth had never been recorded. Compelling and daunting in turn, Never Sim ple is a memoir of both the author and her mother: a single parent plagued by escalating mental illness and a daughter trying to survive and learn who she really is.

Try It!: How Frieda Caplan Changed the Way We Eat by Mara Rockliff. Nobody eats those! In the 1950s, grocery stores sold only about five dozen different kinds of vegetables and fruits. Today that number is between 700 to 800. What prompted Americans to try something new, like kiwi fruit, mushrooms, or purple potatoes? Discover the answer and much more in this fascinating tale about a Jewish immigrant who changed the way we eat. Perfect for preschool and primary grades.

Arts&Culture

Dig into Jerusalem’s subterranean history

By Howard Freedman, j.

Jerusalem has a particularly fraught archaeological heritage, with the battle over the city’s present and future re flected in disagreements surrounding its past. In Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City, Andrew Lawler shows how, just as the city reveals layers of history, so does the story of its excavation, with generations of archaeologists breaking earth in pur suit of radically different agendas.

Lawler begins with the fledgling archaeological efforts of the mid-19th century, which expressed the colonial aspirations of Great Britain and France in Ottoman-governed Palestine. The earliest explorers were motivated both by expectations of treasures to loot and by the enduring Christian connection to the city.

At the 1865 meeting that saw the cre ation of the Palestine Exploration Fund, the Archbishop of York summoned memories of the Crusades in declaring that “Palestine belongs to you and to me, it is essentially ours” and calling for a “new crusade to rescue from darkness and oblivion much of the history of that country in which we all take so dear an interest.”

The excavations that followed often provoked the suspicion and opposition of local Muslims and their leaders, with particular concern about violating the sanctity of the Noble Sanctu ary or, to Jews, the Temple Mount.

Although they already constituted a majority of the city’s population, Jews were uninvolved in these efforts. It wasn't until 1912 that Ray mond Weill, a Frenchman, would become the first Jew to break ground, in an effort funded by Baron Edmond de Rothschild. While the competition between France and England continued, the division between Jew and non-Jew would now become more pronounced.

The subterranean ventures assumed a different tone following the estab lishment of the State of Israel, as the agendas of competing colonial powers were replaced by those of residents of the contested region, with archaeology assuming a politicized nature.

With Jews and Arabs each minimiz ing each other's historical connection to the land, the uncovering of material evidence offered significant implications

The JCC Cultural Arts & Book Series pres ents Andrew Lawler virtually, at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 9 in a program at The Torch Lounge, Kennedy Union, University of Dayton. The cost is $6, free with student ID. UD Assoc. Prof. of History Dorian Borbonus will also talk about archeology. Register at jewishdayton.org/events.

for claims of belonging.

But tensions weren't limited to Jews and Arabs. Among Jews, there devel oped persistent rifts between the largely secular academics and the rabbis.

With political leaders needing the support of religious parties, one of the concessions frequently made was to uphold the opinions of the religious establishment concerning what could and couldn't be dug up. As a result, aca demic archaeologists sometimes worked clandestinely.

The author goes into fascinat ing detail about numerous digs. He notes that, as a consequence of most Israeli archaeologists’ singular interest in uncovering remnants of Jewish existence in ancient Jerusalem, remains from the Roman, Byzantine, Crusader and Ottoman periods were some times sacrificed in order to reach what lay beneath.

As archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov stated bluntly, “The brutal fact is that if you want to know what lies under a certain stratum, you have no choice but to destroy it.”

He also chronicles the increasing tendency of excavations to trigger po litical tensions between Arabs and Jews. In particular, the extensive tunneling along the entire western perimeter of the Temple Mount led to destabilizing buildings in the Muslim Quarter and to accusations about trespassing into holy territory. And in 1999, Muslims dug beneath the Temple Mount in order to create the vast al-Marwani Mosque, offending archaeologists and religious Jews alike.

Lawler effectively conveys how digging up Jerusalem, while continu ing to provide stunning new insights, has often provided more kindling to a frequently flammable environment.

Andrew Lawler

Arts&Culture

How Polly Adler ended up running Prohibition’s hottest bordello

By Renee Ghert-Zand The Times of Israel

Like many early 20th cen tury Eastern European Jew ish immigrants to the United States, Polly Adler wanted to make something of herself. Although largely forgotten today, she did make it big in her time — as the leading madam of the Jazz Age.

Anyone who was anyone in the 1920s and 1930s made their way to Adler’s place in Manhattan. Beyond a highpriced house of ill repute, it was an opulent gathering place to mix and mingle while drinking bootleg liquor during Prohibition. It was a salon where entertain ers, writers, businessmen, politicians, professional ath letes, and mobsters rubbed shoulders, exchanged ideas, and cut deals.

Robert Benchley, Desi Arnaz, Joe DiMaggio, Milton Berle, Lucky Luciano and Walter Winchell were but a few of the household names who frequented the bordello, dropping lots of cash for illicit alcohol, gorgeous girls, or both. Women, including the writer Dorothy Parker, also showed up. Duke Ellington would drop

The JCC Cultural Arts & Book Series presents Debby Applegate, 7 p.m., Sun., Nov. 13 at The Dayton Woman's Club, 225 N. Ludlow St., Dayton, with a jazz concert before her talk. The cost is $12. Register at jewishdayton. org/events.

by with members of his band to play a set or two.

Adler also sent women out to service clients. There is cir cumstantial evidence that one of them was politician Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who later be came the president who shep herded the country through the Depression and World War II.

Pulitzer Prize-winning au thor Debby Applegate brings us back in time to this “speakeasy with a harem” in her biography of Adler.

Published ast November, Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age, is the story of both Adler and the era in which she operated. In captivating prose, Applegate

provides a vivid and detailed account of how the under world worked, and how it intersected with the oftcorrupt politicians and law enforcement that enabled it to continue to flourish.

As the cost of doing business, Adler herself paid members of the vice squad thousands of dollars in bribes every month.

“She was a window, a lens, that could open up a much bigger history of the period,” Applegate said of Adler from her home in New Haven, Conn.

“Prohibition was an odd period because we have made this everyday activ ity illegal, and that changes the morality of things…If you want to have a glass of beer you have to get it from a criminal...You start getting this bleeding between what is acceptable and what is unac ceptable. It turns the world of vice, the underworld, into chic and glamor instead of scummy and dangerous. It’s where the action is, where all the interest ing people are. Polly was riding that cultural shift. Suddenly women of the night are like bootleggers, and she slides in,” Applegate said.

Adler was born around 1900 and grew up in the Russian Empire’s Pale of Settlement in the village of Yanow, lo cated in modern-day Belarus. Education-minded, she had hoped to attend high school in the nearby city of Pinsk, but her parents decided that the family would immigrate to the United States, and that Polly (then known as Pearl) would go first. She arrived in America alone at age 13, living first with a family from Yanow that had settled in Massachusetts, and later with relatives in Browns ville, Brooklyn. Plans for the rest of the Adler’s family to join her were stymied by the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Although her parents and younger brothers would all eventually make it over, Adler was stranded and forced to be independent from the moment she left home.

The ambitious and intelligent Adler quickly realized that her sweatshop jobs would get her nowhere. And she learned quickly about life’s harshness after being raped by a factory foreman, undergoing an illegal

Rav

abortion, and being thrown out by her relatives.

With nowhere to go, Adler fell into a bohemian circle, and eventually into the regular com pany of hustlers and gangsters.

“Polly and her pals didn’t even want to be good…When you feel as Polly did, rejected by your family and isolated from them, when you feel like no one cares whether you live or die, you start to find your friends among the pariahs, where you are welcomed. That’s where people say to hell with the rest of the world,” Applegate said.

According to the author, there is no evidence that Adler ever admitted to turning tricks herself. However, Applegate does insinuate in her book that Adler most likely did so in 1919, when she was first out on her own and hungry.

“Madams almost never like to admit that they worked as prostitutes before they were madams, but it’s unlikely that they skip right to manage ment,” Apple gate said.

A histo rian as well as a biographer, Applegate had been unaware of Adler until she came across her blockbuster 1953 memoir titled A House Is Not A Home in the Yale library stacks. The thin volume, which sold 2 million copies when it was first published, intrigued Applegate.

“With this book, it felt like I was unearthing stuff that was hidden, and if I didn’t share it, it would not be shared,” she said.

Applegate was in touch with Adler’s relatives in Israel and the United States while con ducting many years of research, and discovered that members of the older generations had not been eager to speak about Adler and her memoir.

“By the early 1950s, Polly was an author and felt quite respectable…She goes on a tour to Europe and goes to Israel to see her family, whom she had also been sending money to, and she thinks she’s going to arrive like a conquering hero, and they refused to even talk to her about the book. They are too embarrassed and ashamed. She apparently left in quite a huff,” Applegate said.

Adler supported her parents and younger brothers after they arrived in the United States — but it’s not known if they understood where the money came from.

Adler kept her professional and personal lives private when visiting her parents. But according to Applegate, Adler’s father would have known something, especially since his daughter bought stocks and properties under his name and had him sign for them. It was only later, when Adler appeared in newspaper articles related to the Seabury investigations into municipal corruption in the 1930s, that her mother and other relatives started to get wise to her professional activities.

“Her family followed her to California after her retirement and was happy to take her money. But her mother refused to have her at the Passover Seder. It bothered Polly very deeply right to the very end,” Applegate said.

As glamor ous as it was for Adler to host Alist friends and parade through the hottest nightclubs with her prettiest girls (some of whom went on to be come famous Hollywood and Broadway actresses and sing ers), her life as a madam was extremely stressful. Her success was due to her discretion and natural business acumen, but also to her ability to stay one step ahead of the law. Packing

up and moving her bordello to a new location at a moment’s notice, paying off law enforce ment to avoid arrest and jail time, and getting caught in the middle of feuds between gang sters took its emotional and physical toll.

So why did she keep doing it? Why didn’t she quit after she had enough to buy nice clothes, jewelry, fur coats, a car and an apartment?

“I do think that she gets addicted to the money…She says at one point, ‘As the retired madam I am going to be a pa riah, but as Madam Polly who runs the most opulent bordello in New York, society will come to me,'” Applegate said.

“It is hard for us to put our selves in that mindset now, but when you, from all corners, see how money and sex and male prerogative interact, you say to yourself, if I could just cut a corner and take the advan tage that others are constantly taking, just for a little while, it starts to seem more accept able,” she said.

By the end of World War II, Adler, who remained single, decided to get out of the busi ness and retire to a quiet life in Los Angeles. She went back to finish high school and earn an associate degree. That, and writing her memoir with the help of a ghostwriter, were the proudest moments for Adler, whose opportunity for an edu cation had been snatched away from her as a young teenager.

A heavy smoker, Adler died of cancer in 1962 at age 62. To her last day, she never openly questioned the morality of her activities as a madam.

“But she did say that she could never really be happy, because she knew too much about human nature,” Apple

Her mother refused to have her at the Passover Seder

Debby Applegate

Contact Patty Caruso

in

Dayton's geek/pop culture whiz adds two more books to his expansive list

An interview with Mathew Klickstein

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

If you're working on your Chanukah gift-giv ing list, all-around pop culture vulture Mathew Klickstein might suggest adding two books: See You at San Diego: An Oral History of Comic-Con, Fandom, and The Triumph of Geek Culture, pub lished by Fantagraphics in September; and The Little Encyclopedia of Jewish Culture, to be pub lished by Rockridge Press Nov. 22. Klickstein is the author of SLIMED! An Oral History of Nickel odeon’s Golden Age, and co-author of Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons. Here, he shares why he plunged into Comic-Con and Jewish culture for his latest projects.

What should our readers know about See You at San Diego?

I wanted the ultimate end-all and be-all his tory on all this. I realized the best way of doing that would be through the narrative of the prehistory, history, and expansion of the largest pop culture gathering worldwide. It’s not just ComicCon, it’s about a whole kind of community.

People will be very surprised what’s in there. For example, one of the interviewees, John Pound, is the first artist to have worked on the Garbage Pail Kids drawings. It was created by well-known Jewish comic artist and graphic novelist Art Spiegelman. Art Spiegelman created Garbage Pail Kids, but he got John Pound, his friend, to work on Wacky Packs, which is another one. Spiegelman was very smart. He was making money on the side doing Wacky Packs and Garbage Pail Kids and kooky things, and mean while that gave him the op portunity and the many years

of time he had to spend on Maus.

A graphic novel was not something that was really considered a viable option and there are people who talk about this in the book: how graphic novels came about and how something like Maus could happen, and why it was so impor tant not only for telling the story of his father in the Holocaust, but what he did aside from that was the format (of the graphic novel genre).

Another great Jew, Will Eisner, was the ultimate progenitor of the graphic novel. Even the biggest award in com ics, it’s called the Eisners and they are given every year through Comic-Con. It was originally called the Kirby Awards, another great Jewish guy (Jack Kirby), and he's there on the cover.

Another Jewish guy, Forrest J. Ackerman, who is considered the father or the godfather of modern fandom, he published a very important magazine that’s still kind of around in its own way (Famous Monsters). The last picture in the entire book is this great picture of Forrest at the Ackermansion. So Jews are all over the place in the story of all this.

What intrigues you about Comic-Con?

You can see the people who really made it happen, who brought it together. They did so because there was this intersection like the cantina in Star Wars, the

Debbie

Bobbie

In

Neonatal,

Sharyn Reger

Helen Ross

Dr. & Mrs. Gerald Rubin

Sumner Saeks

Diane Lieberman Slovin

Jeff & Cathy Startzman

Maggie Stein

Marc & Maureen Sternberg

Col. Jeffrey Thau, USAF, (Ret.) & Rina Thau

Bob & Suzanne Thum

Louis & Doris Ullman

The Waldman family

Judith Weber

Donald & Caryl Weckstein

Peter & Joan Wells

Michael & Karen Weprin

Ronald Bernard & Judy Woll

Froelich

Susan & Nathaniel Ritter

Mathew Klickstein

bar in Treasure Island. All these different people who are there. People would go there to get work. Because people knew they’d see, even early on, Bradbury and others. And as early as the mid-'70s, you start to have Hollywood come down with Star Wars and Star Trek and others.

And it became a known thing that you go there and not only maybe have a good time, not only maybe sell some things, but you might meet some editors or producers and end up working for them. A lot of people did.

One of the ways I was able to do this project — talk to all these people — the main nexus of folks who created ComicCon are all still very much friends with each other. Comic-Con for them has become almost more like a high school reunion and they all grew up together. They all worked on projects together.

And you throw in anything — Han na-Barbera, Marvel, DC, Looney Tunes, Warner Brothers, Disney — all these people went on, everyone who didn’t become a creative did become some kind of professor, got very involved in the sci ence world.

Do you identify as inside that community looking out, or outside looking in?

I aspire to be an outsider looking at it without being objective. I’m not necessarily too involved in the comic scene, and I’m not a part of the group that comes and makes a lot of this happen. ComicCon has been around for over 50 years now. There’s never been anything like this book. There was a documentary, there was a Rolling Stone article that came out in 2017 that attempted to tell the origins of Comic-Con. And there were errors.

This is an oral history. The raw stories that are in there, this reminds me of talking to my grandparents and other people’s grandparents. A lot of these people are not going to be around much longer. We have some who are already gone.

What can we expect from The Little Encyclopedia of Jewish Culture?

I’ve done theatre here with children’s groups. It was called Dare2Defy and now, very smartly, TheatreLab Dayton. We had kids from all over town. We were a group of people writing a play together. I would make references to

things sometimes and they would say, "What’s that?" So I would say, "Let’s talk about that."

They didn’t know who the Marx Brothers were. Or the Three Stooges. They struggled with the idea of slap stick. No Borsht Belt. No vaudeville. No George Burns or Henny Youngman. And I realized that, especially right now, we’re supposed to be going through this transition (in education) where they’re shedding a spotlight on history that hasn’t ever been illuminated before.

We know there have been explicit issues, in California, in the Academy Museum, somehow all the Jewish contributors (were excluded). That was upsetting.

And (California Gov.) Gavin New som’s plan to teach ethnic studies that left out Judaism as well. It’s explicitly happening that we are being left out of this push to bring some stories back into the curriculum.

These people are very important: they helped create Broadway, American com edy, radio, storytelling, and I think it’s really important to give them to the younger genera tion.

I wanted to do a series of children’s books, each that would focus on a different impor tant Jewish cultural icon. I started pitching it around. In the three years I’ve been here (in Dayton), I’ve come out with five books. I had a lot of trouble selling this book. I had spoken with one company. They, a few months later, actual ly came back to me. They said they were developing a Jewish culture encyclope dia. Their idea was, why don’t we put it all together in one thing? Marx Brothers and Three Stooges and Fanny Brice and new people and old people and food.

It’s lighthearted, it’s fun, there are entire sections: Jewish critics, Jews and comics. We wanted it to be eclectic and expansive. And there’s fictional and his torical. So you will see Dr. Fleischman from Northern Exposure, but you’ll also see Freud and Einstein in there.

Adults will appreciate it, but I hope they read it to their children. I try to keep it sophisticated but fun. It doesn’t read exactly like an encyclopedia. I can see a 10 or 11-year-old enjoying this, cer tainly ones I worked with in my theatre classes would be able to read this and enjoy it.

RYTERBAND SERIES BEGINS

Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.,

at UD, 300 College Park Dr., Dayton.

• Sat., Nov. 5, 6-8 p.m., Teen Fan Fest at Yellow Springs Library, 415 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs.

Book &

Weds., Nov. 2, 5-8 p.m.,

458 Patterson Rd., Dayton.

Thurs., Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m., Fairborn Community Library, 1 E. Main St., Fairborn.

• Fri., Nov. 4, 6:30-8:30 p.m., in terview with Libby Ballengee, Omega Music, 318 E. Fifth St., Dayton.

• Wed., Nov. 9, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Monocle Comics & Coffee, 22 S. Main St., Miam isburg.

• Thurs., Nov. 17, 7-8 p.m., interview with Leroy Bean, Dayton Metro LibraryKettering-Moraine Branch, 3496 Far Hills Ave., Kettering.

Thum

Mathew Klickstein's See You at San Diego book events

(Dick)

17,

businessman,

all

was a

High School PTA. He was also involved in Rotary, both in Dayton and after retiring to Florida. In Florida, he remained active with various boards and charities.

OBITUARIES

Beth Abraham Cemetery. Memo rial contributions may be made to Beth Abraham Synagogue in Rick's memory.

Dick was known for his kindness, fairness, humil ity, and clarity of

family

and was still active and involved until the end. Dick lived most of his life in

was a graduate of Fairview

School and Miami University, and moved to Florida

his retirement. He grew up during the Depression, from which he learned the importance of community support and involve ment from his parents who were instrumental in the Dayton Jewish community before him. He also was very involved in the Dayton Jewish community. He cofounded the Dorothy B. Moyer Leadership Award in memory of his mother in order to recognize outstanding young Jewish women in Dayton; he served for many years and in many capacities on the boards of Temple Israel and the Jewish Federation, including making donations of land for building the original Jewish Community Center. In business, Dick grew Moyer Mortgage Company from a one-person operation into the largest mortgage business in southwestern Ohio. He also was involved in the construction busi ness, Terminal Cold Storage, and other ventures. His community involvement was extensive. He was active in the Dayton Jay cees, including serving as their president; he also served as the first president of Big Brothers in Dayton. In 1961, Dick received the award of Dayton’s Young Man of the Year. He was one of three Jewish members on the original Dayton board of the National Con ference of Christians and Jews, and served on many other boards, including Camp Fire Girls, Ohio Mortgage Bankers, North River dale Little League, and Fairview

He took up golf, and one of his personal highlights was making a hole in one. Even in his last year, while treasurer of the board at his retirement community, he identi fied a major fiscal error, resulting in significant savings for members of the community. Dick was also a family man who never missed one of his children's activities. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Sheila, after 45 years of marriage, and is survived by their children Diane Moyer (Colorado), Janis and Bill Dodson (Colorado), Rick and Carol Moyer (Dayton), Jim and Robin Moyer (Arizona), and Scott Moyer (Arizona); also eight grandchildren: Andrew, Ross, Jenna, Sara, Abbi, Aaron, Rachel, and Jillian. Dick is also survived by his wife, Marcia (Florida), and their very special nurse caregiver of many years, Michelle Philippe. Donations in Dick's memory may be made to the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton or the charity of your choice.

Richard Alan "Rick" Pinsky, age 51, of Washington Town ship, passed away Oct. 12 at The University of Cincinnati Medi cal Center. Rick was employed at Kettering Medical Center, formerly employed at his familyowned Mendelson Electronics Co. He was a dedicated member of the Star Trek USS Bismarck Club, loved working with Legos, was a devoted lifelong member of Beth Abraham Synagogue, and recording secretary of Beth Abraham Men's Club. He attended Ball State University, Wright State University, and earned an associ ate degree in pharmacy tech from Sinclair College. Rick is survived by his beloved parents, Terry and Marlene Pinsky of Dayton; brother and sister-in-law, Howard and Michelle Pinsky of Mason; nieces, Dayna and Samantha Pinsky; and many other relatives and many friends. Interment was at

Maxine G. Rubin (nee Polasky), 92 years old, died peacefully on Oct. 12. Born Oct. 4, 1930, in Piqua to the late Harry and Rebecca Colp Polasky. Preceded in death by her beloved husband, Dr. Frank Rubin, her brothersin-law, Dr. Gerald Rubin and Edward Rubin, and her sister, Helen Beatrice Lisman. Maxine is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Renee Rubin Handel and Dr. Franklin Handel of Dayton; son Harlan Jamie Rubin of Fla.; four adored grandchil dren, Jonathan Handel (Tova Jacobs), of Vienna, Va.; Dori Handel Herald (Jeffrey Herald) of Atlanta; Joshua Handel (Arielle) of Cincinnati; and Elyse Handel of Indianapolis; great-nephew Jeremy Darhansoff of New York; two great-granddaughters, Estelle Ray Handel and Marlowe Reese Handel; and devoted friend and companion, Mary E. Mitchell. A lifelong member of Temple Anshe Emeth in Piqua and Hadassah, Maxine moved to Dayton in 1952 after meeting and marrying Frank Rubin. She devoted her life to her family and was an active volunteer in "everything" PTA, the Dayton Dental Society Auxiliary, Girl Scouts, TWIGS, Temple Israel Sisterhood, and in later years, the Dayton Art Institute. She worked for many years as the office man ager of Frank's dental practice, a role she cherished. The practice was a true partnership, with Max ine as the scheduler-in-chief and the first smile most patients saw as they walked in the door. She filled her life with love, family, positiv ity, gratitude and a multitude of friends. Not to mention a fondness for

in Longboat Key, Fla., mah jongg, canasta, and any and all four-legged friends, including her own little goldendoodle, Max. The family would like to thank the staff at

of Ohio for the extraordinary,

which Maxine received, as well

as devoted friends and caregiv ers, Sherry Smith and Tammy Siva. Interment was at Riverview Cemetery, with a memorial service planned for spring 2023. Dona tions in Maxine's memory may be made to Temple Anshe Emeth, Piqua; Temple Israel, Dayton; Hospice of Ohio, or the charity of your choice.

Marilyn Doris Serbin, Feb. 25, 1930 - Sept. 13, 2022. Marilyn Doris Serbin, nee Klarin, passed away peace fully in her adopted town of Clover dale, Calif. surrounded by loved ones on Sept. 13.

Marilyn was 92 years old. Marilyn grew up in Dayton, the oldest daughter of Max and Esther Klarin and big sister to Joyce Maggied. Marilyn went to Roosevelt High School, where she was described in her high school newspaper as “the girl to help you out whenever you feel blue because with her happy smile she will soon have you smiling too.” Marilyn attended Miami Univer sity for two years but dropped out to marry Richard Alon Serbin, an aspiring physician, and her beloved husband of 53 years. They had three children and lived in their dream home on Sunnyview Avenue for 35 years. Their wel coming home became a refuge for many teenagers, far-flung family members, and many four-legged friends. There was always an open door, a full refrigerator, and most days a pot of homemade soup on the stove waiting to be shared. Marilyn and Dick loved to travel and took trips to Israel, India, Cuba, Russia, and Paris. However, once their grandchildren were born, their favorite trips were to Alabama to visit Pat’s children, Scott and Ben Boyer, and to New Jersey to visit Nancy and her husband Bill Silverman’s children, Zak, Emmy, and Katie Silverman. Marilyn was an extremely devoted grandmother and didn’t miss a tennis match, dance recital, soccer game, or band concert even if she had to travel great distances to get there. There are people that can travel the world but see nothing, and then there are people like Marilyn who can travel around the block and see the world. She had a “child-like” sense of wonder and joy that could turn any outing into an adventure. This love for adventure served her well when she moved across the country to California at age 85 to be closer to her son Ricky and his partner Mitchel Benjamin who treated her like a queen. Marilyn lived in California for seven years and during that time she lived in four different assisted living facilities, had to be evacuated three separate

times because of fire danger, and lived through the isolation of the pandemic. She also had many health issues and the last couple years lost most of her mobility but none of those things stopped her from enjoying her life. From her recliner she “saw the world” and loved talking about the different birds that were landing on her bird-feeders, which of the many orchids that lined her window were blooming, or what her latest Sandra Brown mystery was about. She delighted in getting to know every new resident and every aide that worked in the home and could tell you where they were from, if they had children, and what their previous jobs had been. She loved social media and became some what of a “Facebook celebrity” as Ricky would post weekly pictures of her with his dogs or in a funny hat (“Serbins in turbans” she said) and she would get 300 comments about her beautiful smile each time. A couple months before she died, she was interviewed for the monthly newspaper her assisted living facility published. At the end of the interview, they asked Marilyn “what is the one thing that she would like everyone to know about her” and Marilyn responded “I want everyone to know that I am just so happy.” If happiness is a choice, and she believed it was, she made that choice every day of her life. Marilyn is survived by her sister Joyce Maggied, her children Nancy and Ricky Serbin, her sons-in-law Bill Silverman and Mitchell Benjamin, her grandchil dren Scott Boyer, Ben and Dasha Boyer, Zak Silverman, Katie Silverman and Emmy Silverman, and her great-grandchildren Grace and Aleksey Boyer. The family will hold a memorial in Dayton to celebrate Marilyn in the Spring of 2023 when the flowers are in bloom. Friends are encouraged to make donations in her memory to St Jude Children’s Hospital or the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation to help find a cure for the disease that took Marilyn’s daughter Patri cia Boyer.

Rabbi Sheldon Switkin, 85, passed away peacefully after a brief illness on Oct. 4, sur rounded by his loved ones. He was preceded in death by his parents, Esther and Max Switkin, and sister Judyth Talmi. He is survived by his beloved wife of 55 years, Linda Switkin, cherished daughters: Marni (Dan) Nagel, Lisa Switkin (Elijah Saintonge), and Abby (Sarah) Riskin, precious grandchildren: Elia Nagel; Ari, Nava, and Miriam Riskin; Jarah and Zev Saintonge, as well as spe cial extended family and treasured lifelong friends. Interment was at Jewish Oakridge Cemetery, Hill side, Ill. Donations may be made in his memory to Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, Shaaray Torah Syna gogue in Canton, or the Ohio State Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital.

Chanukah Greetings

Observer

Mitzvah

out of the adventure ahead.