The Dayton Jewish Observer, October 2023

Beth Abraham Synagogue's Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer introduces niggun circles

Beef and Quince Tagine

Candace R. Kwiatek

Focus On What Matters Most.

Temple Israel among U.S. synagogues targeted with Rosh Hashanah swatting threat

Police responded in minutes, services continued without disruption.

By Marshall Weiss The Observer

With more than 300 people praying in Temple Israel’s Great Hall on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, seven Dayton police cruisers and a MetroParks cruiser converged to block the congregation’s main entrance minutes after receiving word of a swatting threat.

Temple Israel

Jewish new year services continued uninterrupted with no incidents through their scheduled 1 p.m. conclusion.

“Someone called the national suicide hotline at 988 and reported that they were going to commit suicide, and they were going to take as many Jews at Temple Israel in Dayton with them,” Suzanne Shaw, Temple Israel’s executive director, told The Observer about the Sept. 16 threat.

Swatting calls aim to cause disruption and trigger a largescale police response.

Dayton’s police, Shaw said, “ended up coming here in force.”

Dayton Police Information Specialist James Rider said the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline alerted Montgomery County

Regional Dispatch when the threat came in. The dispatch informed Dayton Police a few minutes before 11:30 a.m. Seven cruisers were on the scene a few minutes after 11:30 a.m., joining the police cruiser already stationed there for the services.

Shaw said law enforcement told her they traced the swatting call to Washington, D.C.

Swatting

“We had all the cruisers blocking the entrance for a while and they ended up leaving two or three cruisers here for the rest of the day,” she said.

Before the Jewish new year, the Anti-Defamation League had already reported 49 bomb threats against synagogues in 13 states over the prior two months.

Security organizations across the United States warned

Jewish congregations going into the Rosh Hashanah holiday to be on alert for bomb and swatting threats, and that although no previous case was credible, all threats should be taken seriously.

JTA reported bomb threats at “a number of synagogues across the United States” over the two days of Rosh Hashanah. All the cases were deemed not credible, and no incidents of violence were reported during the holiday weekend. Even so, at a handful of congregations, Rosh Hashanah services were evacuated or delayed because of the threats.

During Rosh Hashanah, the swatting calls broke into public view in at least half a dozen cases. In many cases, the threats have targeted synagogues that livestream their services so the perpetrators can watch the response in real time.

“We generally have a police cruiser at the entranceway,” Shaw said of Dayton’s Temple Israel. “The police go through here, they go through the perimeter and everything else before services, and everything’s locked down at that point. And then we have hired security around the building. And once services start, we just have one door to come in. Everything’s armed. We’re pretty locked down for the High Holidays.”

After Temple Israel’s Sept. 16 services, participants joined in a tashlich ceremony at the bank of the Miami River behind the temple, with security and the increased police presence.

“Police responded the way they should, everything was locked down tight, security was out back, and you didn’t know anything about it, and you could continue to worship and not worry about that,” Shaw said.

calls aim to cause disruption and trigger a largescale police response.

JTA’s Philissa Cramer contributed to this report.

Tipp City board of education member regrets Nazi gesture, outburst at Sept. 5 meeting

By

Tipp City Board of Education Member Anne Zakkour told The Observer Sept. 7 that she is sorry for giving the Nazi salute and saying, “Sieg Heil" to then board President Simon Patry during a work session Sept. 5.

“In hindsight, I regret having done this,” Zakkour said via email. “As I explained to you, after four years of attacks by a board member that I believe has been acting as a dictator spreading lies and division, my action was spur-of-the-moment and I’m very sorry for that. My heart is open to all religions, and it was never my intent to offend anyone of the Jewish community.”

In an unexpected move, Patry announced at the end of the Sept. 5 meeting that he was resigning from the board, effective that night, because of business and family obligations.

Zakkour had already announced she was not running for reelection. Her term expires in December.

Her apology followed denouncements from two of the remaining three board of education

Mr.

have in the Sukkah? Something plastic, so it doesn’t break.

members, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, Ohio’s regional Anti-Defamation League office, and Ohio Jewish Communities, the umbrella organization of Ohio’s eight Jewish Federations.

As seen in video of the Sept. 5 Tipp City Board of Education working meeting, Zakkour attempted to cut in while Patry was speaking.

“I’m talking, do not interrupt me, do not make any noises or else I will…I will not tolerate that. Stop talking,” Patry told Zakkour. She then raised her hand in the Nazi salute and said, “Sieg Heil.”

“Invoking Nazism with a ‘Sieg Heil’ salute during a school board meeting, a place meant to support and guide our youth, is outrageous, offensive, and potentially dangerous,” Kelly Fishman, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League based in Cleveland, told The Observer “Hateful gestures and words cannot be normalized by local officials who are tasked with representing everyone in their communities. The ADL denounces hate in all its forms and is available

Continued on Page Four

It was not a matter of if but when we'd see Jew hatred expand in our region. And expressions of dumbfounding ignorance that deploy Holocaust terminology for political purposes or in ways that trivialize it. Anne Zakkour, (story above), told me she had difficulty understanding why anyone would be offended that she, as a board of education member, would give the board president a Nazi salute and say, "Sieg Heil." If it's missing from her understanding that vicious Jew hatred did not end with the Holocaust, I believe what she said. Yes, her gesture cut deep to those victimized by the Nazis. But here and now, Jew hatred in the United States is at an all-time high. That's physical assaults, vandalism, swatting, hate flyer drops, bullying, and slinging filth on electronic platforms. It's Pittsburgh, Poway, Jersey City, Monsey, N.Y., and Colleyville. Our Jewish facilities — where our youngest to our frail elderly and all in between come together — have, out of necessity, become armed fortresses. Actively engaging in Jewish life has become an act of bravery. It should not be this way. We are at times vulnerable and afraid. But we will not live as victims.

Tipp City Board of Education Member Anne Zakkour gives then President Simon Patry a Nazi salute as she says 'Sieg Heil' during the board's working meeting, Sept. 5.

Tipp City BOE screenshot

Marshall Weiss, The Observer

Etrog, what’s the best dish to

Tipp

City

Continued from Page Three

to provide resources to support the school community.”

In March, ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents reported that Ohio experienced a 37-percent increase in reported antisemitic incidents in 2022, 107 compared to 78 in 2021. And 2021’s numbers were a 22-percent increase from the previous year.

With a population of just above 10,000 people, Tipp City is approximately 16 miles north of Dayton. The Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton is aware of 36 people in 21 Jewish households who live there.

Jewish Federation CEO Cathy Gardner described the incident as “shocking and disturbing.”

“While I do not believe this woman had antisemitic intent, her actions highlight the need for education and a deeper understanding for all,” Gardner noted in a statement. “This incident is a reminder of how damaging words and actions can be…Flippant, casual references to Hitler, the Nazi regime, or the Holocaust grossly diminish the tragedy that still affects so many. Seeing this image splashed in the news in reference to a disagreement at a board meeting desensitizes people to the terror that ensued at the command of Hitler.”

In a phone interview with The Observer the evening before her apology, Zakkour had difficulty understanding why anyone would be offended by her outburst, though she said, “I feel like crawling in a hole.”

“It came out of my mouth right there and then because I was just frustrated,” Zakkour said. “This has been building up. I think he (Patry) does have a dictator mentality. It was like the symbolic, sarcastic gesture of… submission to a board member trying to act like a dictator. That was in no way meant to be anything towards the Jewish people. If we don’t identify, even at a local level, if we don’t call out suppression and oppression, I’m not an expert at this, but isn’t that how some of this snowballed with Hitler and Nazism?”

Zakkour added she wasn’t trying to say that her situation “equates to somebody that’s (gone) through the Holocaust," and that “what the Nazis did, I’m not saying that Mr. Patry did things like that and physically harmed people.”

In a Sept. 6 interview with the Dayton Daily News, Patry denied Zakkour’s allegations that he is a bully and acts like a dictator. He also called on Zakkour to resign.

In recent years, Tipp City Board of Education meetings have become known for acrimony among its board members.

In December 2021, petitioners sought through the Miami County Common Pleas Court to have Zakkour

and Theresa Dunaway removed from the board over what their complaint alleged was a flagrant misuse of authority and power. At the time, Zakkour was the board’s vice president and Dunaway was its president.

The court had scheduled a trial for this October, but the group that filed the complaint opted not to advance their claim.

Zakkour said the media coverage of her “Sieg Heil” incident makes her sick.

“I have been getting hate mail. You wouldn’t believe the four-letter words I’m being called.”

Howie Beigelman, president and CEO of Ohio Jewish Communities, told The Observer that in 2023, it’s never acceptable to compare a political opponent to Hitler.

“It’s never acceptable to use a Nazi salute in debating and discussing policy or political differences. As the (Ohio) governor and legislators are putting more of a focus on Holocaust education, this is a sad reminder of why such efforts and leadership are needed.”

Two of the remaining three members of the Tipp City Board of Education have denounced Zakkour’s incident.

Amber Drum, who is now president of the Tipp City BOE, said in a media statement Sept. 6 that she was shocked by Zakkour’s lack of professionalism. She didn’t notice the incident when it happened, only afterward when she saw the video.

“At Tipp City Schools, our district motto is ‘Where Excellence is a Tradition’ and we ask those in our district to follow the 3 Pillars: ‘Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and to have Integrity.’ Those expectations were not met by Mrs. Zakkour’s actions at last night’s board meeting.”

Regarding Patry, who resigned as president and from the board Sept. 5, Drum said in the statement that she has never felt bullied by him “or been made to feel less-than by anything he has said to me.”

BOE Member Theresa Dunaway, who was out of town during the Sept. 5 meeting, declined to comment.

Tipp BOE Member Richard Mains Sr. said in an email interview that like Drum, he didn’t see the incident when it occurred.

“I, too, was offended and insulted when I saw the video replay,” Mains said. “No one should imitate Hitler. My father fought in the U.S. Army to defeat Hitler and the Nazis. I’m sure my father is equally offended even though he is now deceased.”

The Observer reached out to Tipp City’s mayor, Mike McFarland, for an interview about the incident. He replied by email: “Regarding the unfortunate situation that occurred, the city is not involved with the school board as they are a separate organization and not under city control. The city has no comment at this time.”

THE DAYTON

OBSERVER

daytonjewishobserver.org

Editor and Publisher Marshall Weiss mweiss@jfgd.net

937-610-1555

Contributors Rabbi Haviva Horvitz Candace R. Kwiatek

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Proofreader Rachel Haug Gilbert, Steven H. Solomon 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. 28, No. 2. The Dayton Jewish Observer is published monthly by the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton, a nonprofit corporation, 525 Versailles Dr., Dayton, OH 45459.

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

The Dayton Jewish Observer Mission Statement

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

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

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The Dayton Jewish Observer

Antisemitic conspiracy theories find platform at West Chester Tea Party

By Sam Fisher, cincyjewfolk.com

Cincinnati's Jewish Community Relations Council has condemned the West Chester Tea Party for hosting a speaker with antisemitic conspiracy theories and for spreading those ideas through email and social media.

On Sept. 5, the West Chester Tea Party hosted author Harald Zieger, who addressed the group for an hour. Over the course of his talk, he made several antisemitic remarks.

His full talk to the group was posted on the party’s public Vimeo account and shared in an email that included excerpts from his presentation.

history of antisemitic conspiracy theories on the party’s social media profiles, and made the statement condemning the group’s antisemitism.

“We were informed that the West Chester Tea Party had platformed an extreme antisemitic speaker, disseminated antisemitic content to their email list, and posted much antisemitic content (over a long space of time) on their Facebook and Gab accounts,” said Rabbi Ari Jun, director of Cincinnati's JCRC.

The West Chester Tea Party has not responded to requests for comment.

“The West Chester Tea Party subsequently repeated many of these ideas in an email sent to their membership on Sept. 9,” the Cincinnati JCRC said in a statement.

The West Chester Tea Party has not responded to requests for comment.

Cincinnati's JCRC was made aware of the incident over the following weekend and after conducting a review, found a

A glance at the West Chester Tea Party’s social media and website shows numerous posts that contain antisemitic conspiracy theories.

The posts cover a range of antisemitic tropes, including:

• The myth that Jews control world politics, banking, and control the media;

• The great replacement theory, a White supremacist conspiracy theory that claims Jews are attempting to replace White Christians with minority groups;

• Blood libel, a centuries-old antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jews sacrifice Christian children to use their blood in religious ceremonies;

• That Jews are disloyal, a conspiracy theory that claims Jews are only loyal to other Jews and pushing a Jewish agenda.

Zieger was promoting his latest book. He claims on his website that he was born in East Germany and was a “card-carrying communist until his confrontation with God and meeting his wife who was raised in a Christian home.”

The Tea Party movement was founded in 2009 within the Republican Party. It opposes the Washington political establishment and espouses conservative and libertarian philosophy, including reduced government spending, lower taxes, and reduction of the national debt and the federal budget deficit.

The Cincinnati JCRC said in its statement that Republican elected officials had voiced their support for the Jewish community and did not condone the group’s behavior.

“This isn’t about typical ‘left versus right’ politics, but about setting boundaries for reasonable discourse,” Jun said. “We cannot allow antisemitism to spread further into the mainstream.”

Addressing antisemitism head-on is the best way to keep it from spreading, he added.

“We might be tempted to not draw extra attention to this extremist group (but) ignoring antisemitism will not slow their spread or make them go away,” Jun said. “As Louis Brandeis said, sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

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Announcement of Sept. 5 event with Harald Zieger at West Chester Tea Party's website.

Cincinnati JCRC Dir. Rabbi Ari Jun

Temple Israel Learning Together Opportunities

for Everyone

On Rosh Hashanah, neo-Nazi flyers dropped at Tipp City homes &

in Cincinnati area

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

One city near Dayton and five communities in the Cincinnati area were littered with neo-Nazi flyers on Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 16 and 17.

Israel 4 HQ Class with Rabbi Bodney-Halasz

Sundays beginning, October 15, at Noon

10 weekly sessions, Temple Israel

Cost: $20 for all 10 Sessions (Snacks provided)

Rabbi Bodney-Halasz is teaching a new 10-part Israel educational class based on the framework of the Four Hatikva Questions. It will address Israel’s complexities, focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and religious pluralism in Israel. Scan the code to RSVP.

My Favorite Midrashim with Rabbi Emeritus

David Sofian

Tuesdays, October 10, 17, 24, 31, from 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Temple Israel

Cost: Free

Rabbi Emeritus, David Sofian will lead us in a lively discussion of some of his Favorite Midrashim. Each session will use Midrash (a style of rabbinical interpretation) to shed light on religious questions from the Torah. Each class will last 90 minutes. Scan the code to RSVP.

Temple Israel’s Brotherhood presents The Ryterband Speaker Series

Sundays, beginning October 8, at 9:45 a.m.

Temple Israel

Cost: $7/per session or $65 for the entire series Visit tidayton.org for more information.

In Tipp City, 16 miles north of Dayton in Miami County, “a lot more than 50” hate flyers were dropped in front of homes between 9 p.m., Sept. 16 and the afternoon of Sept. 17, Tipp City Chief of Police Greg Adkins told The Observer

Neo-Nazi flyers were also discovered on those days across the neighborhoods of Downtown Cincinnati, Walnut Hills, East Walnut Hills, the city of Loveland, and Anderson Township.

The six different versions of the hate flyers in Tipp City all carried the name of the Aryan Freedom Network and its website. At least two of the flyers distributed in the Cincinnati area indicated they originated from the Aryan Freedom Network.

Cincyjewfolk.com reported that the flyers in the Cincinnati area contained neo-Nazi images along with links to conspiracy websites such as the antisemitic Jew Watch.

According to the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, the Aryan Freedom Network is a small, growing neo-Nazi group based in De Kalb, Texas. It claims to have chapters in 25 states, including Ohio. It directs its hatred toward Jews, Black people, and the LGBTQ + community.

“Definitely a lot of the area got hit,” Adkins said of Tipp City, where one of his police officers found and collected the hate flyers in several neighborhoods.

“The people who did it definitely spent some money, because they put them all in Ziploc bags with gravel in the bags,” he said. “Our belief is they drove down the street and just tossed them on the curb lawns, and that way they wouldn’t trigger a ringing doorbell.”

A rising tide of hate

The Anti-Defamation League’s regional office confirmed that hate activity in southwest Ohio has expanded in recent months.

“These types of activities are increasingly being deployed by antisemites and White supremacists to sow hatred and attempt to intimidate our communities,” ADL Regional Director Kelly Fishman said.

The flyers hit Tipp City 11 days after Tipp City Board of Education Member Anne Zakkour sarcastically gave the Nazi salute and said "Sieg Heil" to then board President Simon Patry during a

Sept. 5 work session. Over the next few days, local media coverage and video of the outburst were picked up by local media outlets across the United States, and ultimately landed at national and international news media.

“I think the climate surrounding that could have played into the fact that they (the flyers) were delivered (so soon) after that had occurred,” Adkins said, “but we have nothing to say that it did or did not.”

activity

Sept. 5 was also when the West Chester Tea Party hosted author Harald Zieger, who made several antisemitic remarks. The incident and its video distribution led the Cincinnati Jewish Community Relations Council to track and denounce the West Chester Tea Party’s history of antisemitic conspiracy theories on the party’s social media profiles.

Adkins said that in his 23 years with the force, he’s never seen hate flyers distributed in Tipp City. He added that he had no evidence that the flyer drop was timed to the Jewish new year.

Steve Shuchat, who has lived in Tipp City for 23 years, also said he has never seen hate flyers in Tipp City, though he did recall antisemitic flyers that were distributed in western Miami County about five years ago.

Four years ago, Tipp City was the site of three incidents of hate vandalism, when swastikas were found spraypainted on two sidewalks along Plum Street and on a CSX railroad electric box. One included the phrase “White

One of six versions of more than 50 Aryan Freedom Network flyers dropped in front of homes in Tipp City, Sept. 16 and 17.

According to the ADL, hate

in southwest Ohio has expanded in recent months.

“It’s very disturbing that anyone is targeting Tipp City with this kind of horrible information,” he said. “I don’t think this is specifically someone who is living in Tipp distributing this to Tipp homes.”

Also on Rosh Hashanah, on Sept. 16, seven Dayton police cruisers and a MetroParks cruiser converged to block Temple Israel’s main entrance minutes after receiving word of a swatting threat. More than 300 people were praying in Temple Israel at the time.

In August, the Washington Township neighborhood of Brittany Hills/Wood-

bourne south of Dayton was also hit with White supremacist flyers.

Even if perpetrators of such flyer drops are found, Adkins said, the only charge that might apply would be littering. The message on the flyers, he said, is protected as free speech.

“Whether it was legal or criminal, the flyers that have been distributed demonstrate how important it is that individuals and our community voice our disgust and state that this is not welcome in our community,” said Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton CEO Cathy Gardner.

“Speaking out in public will raise the communal voice that the ideology behind the flyer is hateful – plain and simple. Speaking out is the action of an upstander and not a bystander.”

Sam Fisher of cincyjewfolk.com contributed to this story.

DAYTON

Community trip to Budapest, Prague, London, Jan. 28-Feb. 5

The Jewish Federation, in partnership with Beth Abraham Synagogue, Beth Jacob Congregation, Chabad, Temple Beth Or, and Temple Israel, will lead a trip with a focus on Jewish sites in Budapest, Prague, and London, Jan. 28-Feb. 5.

The Jewish communities of Budapest and Dayton are connected through the Partnership2Gether program of the Jewish Agency for Israel. P2G facilitates people-to-people relationships through cultural, social, medical, educational, and economic programs.

Also in P2G are Israel's Western Galilee and 16 other Jewish communities across the central United States.

A member of P2G's Budapest young adult group will lead an architectural tour of the city. Time in Budapest will include a night cruise on the Danube River.

Touring in Prague and London are in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the rescue and restoration of 1,564 Czech Torah scrolls.

In Czechoslovakia in 1942, the Nazis warehoused the scrolls at the Central Jewish Museum in Prague.

According to the Memorial Scrolls Trust Museum in London, members of Prague’s Jewish community “devised a way to bring the religious treasures from the deserted provincial communities to the comparative safety of Prague. The Nazis were persuaded to accept this plan and more than 100,000 items were sent to the museum.”

Prague’s Jewish leaders hoped that someday the liquidated artifacts might be returned to their communities.

After the war, the scrolls became the property of the Communist government. In 1964, London’s Westminster

SUKKOT PRAYERS B"H

MSTM

Memorial Scrolls Trust Museum, London

Synagogue purchased the scrolls with the help of private donations. Westminster Synagogue established the Memorial Scrolls Trust to conserve, restore, and distribute the Czech scrolls.

Temple Beth Or and Temple Israel are each home to a Czech Torah scroll on permanent loan from the trust.

Beth Abraham and Beth Jacob also house Torah scrolls that came out of Nazi-occupied Europe.

In Prague, trip participants will learn details of how the scrolls ended up there, and about Nazi-looted Czech Judaica.

In London, those on the trip will join Jews from around the world at the Memorial Scrolls Trust Museum for its anniversary celebration.

The cost of the trip is $2,450 per person for double occupancy. Single occupancy is available for an additional $300. Additional expenses are airfare to and from Europe and some meals when participants tour on their own.

Jewish Federation CEO Cathy Gardner said the Jewish Federation will accept applications to provide emerging leaders with stipends of $1,500 each, to offset the trip's expenses.

For more information about the trip and stipend applications, contact Gardner at cgardner@jfgd.net or rabbis with any of the participating organizations.

THE

7:30pm

OUT

SIMCHAT TORAH

Dance with the Torah, say Lechayim and enjoy a full buffet dinner (including kid friendly menu). Sing and dance the night away in celebration of the Torah. Outdoor dancing on Far Hills Avenue. Funky Flags - Holy Torahs - Rockin’ Hakafot

— Gayle & Irvin Moscowitz with their parents, Milton & Harriet Moscowitz & Edward & Frieda Weisbrod

Beforea vacation to New Orleans, Irvin Moscowitz researched Ancestry.com to find the cemetery where his great-grandparents were buried. “I have pictures and heard stories about my family, but standing by their graves from 1840 made me feel like I was right there with them. That’s when I knew we needed to maintain our cemeteries for future generations.”

Closer to home, Irvin and his wife, Gayle, visit their parents and his grandparents at Beth Jacob’s cemetery in Dayton. They contributed to the Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Dayton campaign to “guarantee that we can take care of the people who took care of us.”

As a Kohen, Irvin kept clear of cemeteries for a long time. “I’ve made peace with the ways in which I could get close to the people that mean the most to me,” he said. “I figured out a way not to trample on my heritage but to fulfill my need to be respectful and honor my family. When I walk through a well-kept cemetery, I get a feeling that I’m actually close to someone who’s no longer here. I’ll put a stone on the headstone to let them know I’m there. It always brings back a lot of warm memories.”

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.

Building a singing community

Beth Abraham's Rabbi Glazer introduces niggun circles

By Marshall Weiss, The Observer

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer isn't sure what will come out of the niggun circles he's introducing to Beth Abraham Synagogue, and that's what makes it exciting.

"Once we get into the rhythm of this, there will be gifts that just emerge from the synergy of the circle," he says. "We're going to discover it together."

A niggun is a wordless, mystical prayer melody, based in the Chasidic traditions of Eastern Europe.

The power of the niggun, the rabbi says, is its ability "to be more inclusive, to reach people, to bring spiritual experiences to anyone and everyone."

Glazer borrows a term from song leader Joey Weisenberg, who led Beth Abraham's first niggun circles over the weekend of the rabbi's installation at the Conservative synagogue in August.

"He speaks about it as building singing communities. There's something about the infrastructure of building vibrant, authentic communities that can happen through sounds and resonances and especially melodies without words that bring us to a deeper place of connection that Chasidism understood at its core. It's something old, and it's something new."

Weisenberg is the founder and director of Hadar's Rising Song Institute, an incubator for musicians and prayer leaders who seek to reinvent Jewish spiritual music.

Beginning Oct. 14 and continuing the second Saturday of each month, Glazer will lead a niggun circle at 12:30 p.m., following kiddush lunch after Shabbat services.

The monthly niggun circle with meditations, he

‘We owe it to our families to take care of them.’

Beth Abraham Synagogue's Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer, his wife, Elyssa Wortzman, and their daughter, Tal, in a niggun circle led by Joey Weisenberg (L) during the rabbi's installation weekend in August.

says, is based on another Chasidic tradition.

"We're going to have a niggun for the month and it will also be related to a phrase from the Torah. I see these circles as labs or incubation spaces. We're going to see what emerges from it. And then it's inevitable that there's going to be spillover: people will be singing differently, they'll be sitting differently."

Niggun circles organically lead some participants and facilitators to create their own niggunim in the process. "That's the basis of a lot of what Joey was doing."

Glazer's goal is to expose his congregants and Dayton's Jewish community to a way of building community that isn't prevalent here.

"Joey's been training a lot of prayer leaders to follow this methodology of building singing communities. And that's what I really wanted to bring to Beth Abraham."

Glazer also brings his passion for various kinds of community building through Chasidism's multiple forms. Most Jews, he says, are unaware there are 37 different kinds of Chasidism.

One kind that captures the rabbi's soul forcefully is what he calls "Tiberian Chasidism."

His passion to learn about this little-known community has led him

to co-translate and co-edit with scholar Nehemia Polen two volumes of a book series on the subject — From Tiberias, With Love — with four more volumes on the way.

Beginning in the late 1770s, Rabbi Abraham haCohen of Kalisk and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk led a short-lived Chasidic community in Tiberias that had arrived from Eastern Europe.

"It was different from the Chasidism of Eastern Europe," Glazer says. "It was a model that was more horizontal. The Vitebsker and Kalisker Rebbes co-led it together at the same time. They wanted to ensure that the newness, the freshness, the dynamism of what the Baal Shem Tov revealed wasn't becoming ossified and lost in these structures."

The Kalisker Rebbe defined what its adherents strove for as dybbuk chaverim, Glazer says, "to be deeply connected and immersed in this absorbing experience that we can call the infinite God."

He says the group was concerned with "what happens when you don't have those very high moments that get you into a place where you were totally absorbed in the oneness of being. And so they said, when you feel like you've gone down a few steps, when you're off

Continued on Page 23

Chasidic niggunim and study with Beth Abraham Synagogue's Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer, 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood. 937-293-9520

Virtual Lunch & Learn, Mondays, noon-12:45 p.m. beginning Oct. 2. Who's Afraid of Chasidism & Why Does it Still Matter? Journeying Through the Foundations of Chasidism Today. Registration required at bethabrahamdayton.org.

Niggun Circle Monthly Meditations, Second Saturdays, 12:30 p.m. (after kiddush lunch), beginning Oct. 14.

Tiberian Niggun Circle, Monday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m. Clergy-musicians share discoveries from their Tiberian Chasidism workshop.

Ukraine: 1941 and 2023

A personal reflection

By Jim Nathanson

I was standing in what looked to be a pleasant city park. Though it was August, a light breeze made for a comfortable day, but I felt anything but comfortable as I stood and just stared at the ground. It looked so very ordinary, but it was anything but ordinary.

There once had been a deep ravine here; it had been filled, the ground leveled, as if altering the landscape could change what happened here. Nothing could. Eighty-two years ago, in September 1941, nearly 33,800 Jews were butchered at this site. The ravine was Babyn Yar — located in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

I was in Ukraine for five days, in the midst of its war with Russia, for no other reason than to the show my support for the Ukrainian people in their battle against Putin’s naked aggression.

But I couldn’t go to Ukraine without stopping at Babyn Yar. Not only was it the sight of one of the most horrific episodes of the Holocaust, but during the Shoah, few people anywhere collaborated more with the Nazis than did the Ukrainians, and few areas saw their Jewish population so thoroughly decimated, with a prewar population of 2.7 million, 60% of which were killed by war’s end.

Reconciliation through scholar's thesis

In my support for the Ukraine of today, I needed to make peace with the memory of the tens of thousands of my fellow Jews who died in the Ukraine of yesterday.

Helping me with this reconciliation is an especially insightful book by Timothy Snyder, Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning. A native Daytonian, Snyder is a history professor at Yale University.

Snyder’s core thesis is that “minority populations depend most on the protection of the state, and upon the rule of law, and it is they who suffer most from anarchy and war.”

The Nazis soon learned that the first step in ridding the world of Jews was to destroy the states in which they lived, to turn Jews into stateless people no longer under the protection of any legal authority.

The Holocaust was the most brutal, Snyder argues, in areas such as western Ukraine where political authority was

decimated by the back and forth of Russian and German occupations, each of which set out through sheer brutality to dismantle local political structures — in the case of the Russians, to build a new society, and in the case of the Germans, to create stateless regions that could be ‘colonized’ for the benefit of the Reich.

The degree of state destruction and the obliteration of the rule of law determined the extent local populations joined in the killing of Jews — not the ethnicity of the killers.

This distinction made no difference to the millions of Jews who were murdered, nor does it expunge the culpability of those who did the killing, but it should make a difference in how we view the descendants of their murderers today.

Nationalist heroes with the stench of history

Nonetheless, many of Ukraine’s current allies do question their continued honoring of nationalist leaders who fanned antisemitic sentiment and often sided with the Nazis — committing numerous atrocities against Jews and others they viewed as sympathetic to the Soviets.

Just this January, for example, the Ukrainian parliament commemorated the birth of Stepan Bandera, who was the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the coalition that led the battle for Ukrainian independence but that also often collaborated with the Nazis.

In April 1941, for example, the OUN declared that Jews were the foremost enemy of Ukraine and that “OUN combats the Jews as a prop of the Muscovite-Bolshevik regime.”

Yad Vashem notes that months before Babyn Yar, Ukrainian nationalists were directly responsible for the deaths of at least 6,000 Jews.

Today’s obsessive political correctness would have us judge all historic figures by today’s standards with little or no recognition of the historical context within which these individuals lived and left their mark on history.

But those of us who question this obsessiveness recognize that our heroes often not only had feet of clay but sometimes the stench of history clings to their memory.

The Ukrainian people should be allowed their nationalist heroes however intense that stench might be.

We Americans, after all, haven’t stopped purchasing Ford automobiles just because Henry Ford was one of the most outrageous American antisemites of the early 20th century. We haven’t stopped listening to Richard Wagner‘s music just because he was one of the most outrageous antisemites of the 19th century. And we haven’t torn down the monuments to Charles Lindbergh just because he was our nation’s foremost fascist sympathizer up until Dec. 7, 1941.

It's also worth noting that no place in Europe has a longer history of a Jewish presence than Ukraine. There is even evidence that Jews were living in Greek settlements in the Crimea as early as the fourth century B.C.E. and much of modern-day Ukraine east of the Dnipro River was part of the Khazarian Empire, whose nobility and many of its citizens adopted Judaism around 800 C.E.

Though Khazaria largely disappeared by the mid-10th century, there are records of Khazarian Jews in the vicinity of present-day Ukraine as late as the 12th century.

My hotel in Kyiv was located in the Podil, one of city’s oldest sections, now a bustling entertainment district even as the war rages.

A thriving Ashkenazi community existed there as early as the 11th century. Even today, the Podil is home to two early and important choral synagogues. A short walk from my hotel was the Rozenberg or Podil Synagogue, a superb Moorish-style building completed in 1895.

Not too far way is another late 19thcentury choral synagogue, the Brodsky

Synagogue, built more in Romanesque Revival style, that boasts both a kosher market and kosher restaurant.

As I walked through both synagogues, two of seven found in Kyiv, I marveled at the endurance of the local Jewish community.

'Over a thousand years of friendship'

Henry Abramson, a Touro University historian and an expert on UkrainianJewish history, notes that the intermittent periods of violence against Jews "doesn’t negate over a thousand years of friendship."

He further notes a long history of cultural interchange that wouldn’t have occurred unless Jews and Ukrainians were interacting on friendly terms for most of their shared history, or as he puts it “unless Ukrainian and Jewish children were spending time in each other’s kitchens.”

A Pew Research poll published in March 2018 found that Ukrainians are far more likely to welcome Jews as fellow citizens than the populations of any other Eastern European nation.

Only 5% of Ukrainians would not accept Jews as fellow citizens, compared, for example, to 23% of Lithuanians, 22% of Romanians, 18% of Poles, and 14% of Russians.

Nothing, of course, speaks more about the Ukraine of today than the fact that its current president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a Jew. Elected in 2019 on an anti-corruption platform with over 70% of the vote (and after playing a Ukrainian president in a TV comedy), this improbable politician has evolved into a charismatic wartime leader who has kept his nation and its allies united. His religion has never been an issue, and even his political spat with the popular mayor of Kyiv has had no religious overtones.

Only Putin has tried to make an issue Continued on Page 22

Jim Nathanson at the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, Kyiv.

In my support for the Ukraine of today, I needed to make peace with the memory of the tens of thousands of my fellow Jews who died in the Ukraine of yesterday.

Jim Nathanson, a Dayton-based political and public affairs consultant for 30 years, was political director of the Republican National Committee in 1992 and had previously taught political science at colleges in New York and Ohio.

October 2023

JEWISH

UPCOMING EVENTS

WEDNESDAYS, 12:30 - 3:30PM

Open Canasta

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 6PM

Cultural Arts & Book Series Opening Night

Karen Fine and Animal Services Resource Fair

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2 -3:30PM

Let's put the "J" in LGBTQ+!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2:30PM

Cultural Arts & Book Series — Martin Fletcher

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 9AM - 1PM

Medicare Check Up Day

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

Reclaiming the past, building the future

Budapest Prague London

Please join us for a once in a lifetime trip to Europe! We will experience the modern revival of Judaism in Hungary, explore the history of Jewish artifacts in Prague, and participate in the celebration of the Torah scroll reclamation project in London. Additional highlights include an architectural tour of Budapest, a nighttime cruise on the Danube River, visits to beautifully restored synagogues, and time to explore favorite spots in London.

January 28 - February 5, 2024

Cost: $2,450 per person

Cost includes hotel accommodations (double occupancy, $300 additional for single occupancy) and most meals. Does not include airfare. Register by Friday, December 1, 2023

In partnership with Beth Abraham Synagogue, Beth Jacob Synagogue, Chabad of Greater Dayton, Temple Beth Or, and Temple Israel

For more information, call 937-610-1555 or email Alisa Thomas at athomas@jfgd.net

JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

Let’s Put the “J”

Let's do a KNITZVAH

Sunday, October 22

2 - 3:30PM

The Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education (525 Versailles Dr., 45459) No cost. RSVP by Monday, October 16.

Let’s put the “J” (Jewish) in LGBTQ+! Are you or your family a member of the LGBTQ+ community and looking to connect with others within the Jewish community? Join us for an afternoon of connecting with friends old and new, noshing, and doing something good for the community. We will be making cards of encouragement, empowerment and support for those David’s Place serves!

Donations of new winterwear (hats, scarves, gloves, mittens) for David’s Place is your admission!

Calling all our crafty community members…Let’s do a KNITZVAH! The KNITZVAH is already underway! Monday, October 2 to Wednesday, November 22, 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-o , please contact Jacquelyn Archie at jarchie@jfgd.net or 937-610-1555.

MEDICARE CHECK UP DAYS

Learn ways to: Stay Informed. Stay Healthy. Save Money.

Tuesday, October 31, 9AM – 1PM Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education (525 Versailles Dr., 45459) By appointment only.

Free Medicare Check Up Day with the Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP) in partnership with Jewish Family Services at the Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education. Schedule an appointment by calling 937-610-1555

Medicare counselors from the Ohio Department of Insurance will be on hand to sit down with you individually.

The Annual Medicare Enrollment Period is October 15 – December 7. Get tips on how to enroll for 2024 coverage in a Medicare prescription drug plan (Part D) and/or a Medicare health plan. Can’t make it to the Boonshoft CJCE on October 31? See the ad on page 18 for information about all the Medicare Check Up Days in Montgomery County.

October 2023

JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

OCTOBER

Adventures in Parenting

A special Cultural Arts & Book Series event

Sunday, November 5 @ 7PM

The Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education (525 Versailles Drive, Centerville), No Cost

Community moderators will lead small group conversations on topics on every parent’s mind, including getting involved in Jewish Dayton, Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah planning, bringing Shabbat into your home, managing stress, ways to approach di cult conversations, and an introduction to the Wendy Mogel books The Blessing of a Skinned Knee — Using Timeless Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children and The Blessing of a B Minus — Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Resilient Teenagers. No charge. Attendees will leave with a copy of each book! To register, visit jewishdayton.org/events. Questions? Contact Kate Elder at kelder@jfgd.net.

&

AUDITIONS

Sunday, October 15 beginning at 2PM & Wednesday, October 18 beginning at 6PM

At The Boonshoft CJCE (525 Versailles Dr., Centerville, 45459)

Audition for this year's musical — Tuck Everlasting! Participants are asked to prepare a one-minute segment of a Broadway song. Please wear comfortable clothes as we will also be teaching a basic dance as part of the audition. Everyone who auditions will be cast in the show.

Please visit jewishdayton.org/youth-theatre-auditions to schedule an audition.

SPECIAL FEATURE: Animal Services Resource Fair @ 6PM

Thursday, October 19 @ 7PM

The Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education (525 Versailles Drive, Centerville)

Cost: $5 + Pet food, cat litter, or animal treats for donation

Karen Fine

The Other Family Doctor — A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality

Beyond Pets • The Other Family Doctor is a heartwarming memoir about one woman’s career as a vet and the unique roles that pets play in our lives. Woven into Dr. Fine’s story are the stories of her own pets who have taught her the most valuable lessons — how caring for the animals in our lives can teach us to better care for ourselves. Don’t Miss: 6PM Live Animal Resources Fair!

Participating organizations include: SICSA Animal Adoption Center, Humane Society of Greater Dayton, The Tenth Life, Sophie’s Companions for Veterans, Montgomery County Canine Unit, Ohio Labrador Retriever Rescue Services, Wagmor Service Dogs, and Dayton Dog Training Club

Sunday October 29 @ 2:30 PM

In partnership with the University of Dayton Department of Communication University of Dayton – Science Center 114 (300 College Park Avenue, Dayton)

Free parking in Lot B – o of Stewart Street

Cost: $7 (No cost to students with student ID) Book signing and author presentation

Martin Fletcher

Teachers — The Ones I Can’t Forget

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Circumstances • During his 40 years as a foreign news correspondent, Martin Fletcher met thousands of people at the extremes — war, revolution, natural disasters, and life. In Teachers, he reflects on some of his most memorable encounters with single individuals — through narrative and photos — and the lessons he learned from each.

To purchase tickets for in-person events or to register for free events, please visit jewishdayton.org/events or call 937-610-1555

JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

Legacies, Tributes, & Memorials

JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER DAYTON ENDOWMENT FUND

In memory of David London

Donna and Marshall Weiss

Wishing Helen Halcomb a quick recovery

Cathy Gardner

CAROL J. PAVLOFSKY LEADERSHIP FUND

In honor of Elaine Bettman’s birthday

David and Marlene Miller

ISRAEL SUPPORT FUND

In memory of David London

Mary and Gary Youra

HOLOCAUST PROGRAMMING FUND

In memory of David London

Helene Gordon

JOE BETTMAN MEMORIAL

TZADIK AWARD

In honor of Elaine Bettman’s special birthday

Rita Solko

In memory of David London

Jean and Todd Bettman

In honor of Cathy Gardner’s Humanitarian Award from NCCJ

Judy Schwartzman and Mike Ja e

As we celebrate the start of a new year, we look forward to continuing to strengthen our community through the LIFE & LEGACY program. If you are interested in learning more about leaving your legacy, contact Janese R. Sweeny at jsweeny@jfgd.net or 937-401-1542.

CAROLE RABINOWITZ CAMP FUND

In memory of Robert Vigder

In memory of Joyce Abromowitz

Bernard Rabinowitz

In honor of Cathy Gardner and all her good work

Phil and Louisa Dreety

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES

In honor of Linda Kahn’s induction into the Dayton Business Hall of Fame

In honor of Debbie Feldman’s induction into the Dayton Business Hall of Fame

In honor of Sandy Mendelson’s posthumous induction into the Dayton Business Hall of Fame

Susan and Jonas Gruenberg

ROBERT L. AND RITA Z. CLINE

BIKUR HAVERIM FUND

In honor of Joan and Peter Wells’ 55th anniversary

Meredith A. Cline

Down on the Farm!

Sunday, October 22 5:30-8:30PM at Lucas Brothers Farm (3229 Ferry Rd., Bellbrook 45305)

Camp Shalom and PJ Library families are invited for an evening of fall fun including hayrides, corn mazes, campfires, s’mores, and more! No cost.

RSVP by October 18 at jewishdayton.org.

Questions? Please contact Kate Elder at kelder@jfgd.net

Classes

Beth Abraham: Mondays, noon: Virtual Lunch & Learns beg. Oct. 2: Who’s Afraid of Chasidism & Why Does it Still Matter? Preregistration required. Sat., Oct. 21, 28, 12:30 p.m.: Pilgrimage Through Psalms. 937-293-9520. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood.

Beth Jacob Classes on Zoom: w. Rabbi Agar. Tuesdays, 7 p.m.: Torah Tuesdays. Thursdays, 7 p.m.: Thursdays of Thought. 937-274-2149.

Chabad Classes: Tuesdays, 8 p.m.: Code of Jewish Law. Wednesdays, 7:30 p.m.: Talmud. Thursdays, noon: Parsha. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood. chabaddayton.com.

Temple Beth Or Classes: Sundays, 12:30 p.m.: Adult Hebrew. Thurs., Oct. 12, 7 p.m.: Chai Mitzvah on Zoom. 5275 Marshall Rd., Centerville. 937-435-3400.

Temple Israel Classes: Sundays, noon: Israel-4 Hatikvah Questions w. Rabbi BodneyHalasz, $20. Tues., Oct. 3, 10, 24, 31, noon: Talmud hybrid. Tues., Oct. 10, 17, 24, 31, 5:30

CALENDAR

p.m.: My Favorite Midrashim w.

Rabbi Emeritus Sofian. Wed., Oct. 4, 10 a.m.: Social Justice Commentary w. Rabbi BodneyHalasz at home of Cathy Lieberman. Weds., Oct. 11, 18, 25, 10 a.m.: Torah Queeries w.

Rabbi Bodney-Halasz at home of Cathy Lieberman. Thurs., Oct. 12, 3:30 p.m.: Living w. Ambiguous Loss. Fri., Oct. 13, 11 a.m.: Living w. Loss w.

Rabbi Bodney-Halasz, RSVPs requested. Sat., Oct. 7, 21, 28, 9:15 a.m.: Virtual Torah Study. Sat., Oct. 14, 9:15 a.m.: Hybrid Torah Study. 937-496-0500. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton.

Synagogue Forum Intro. to Judaism Course: Tues., Oct. 24-March, 7 p.m. $36. In person & Zoom. Register at jewishdayton.org/events.

Adults

Temple Beth Or Exploration of the Jewish Short Story: Wed., Oct. 25, 7 p.m. Via Zoom. templebethor.com, 937435-3400.

Temple Israel's A Rabbi Walks into a Bar: Thurs., Oct. 26, 6 p.m. 1st round on Temple Israel. w. Rabbi BodneyHalasz. Loose Ends Brewing,

890 S. Main St., Centerville.

Women

Chabad Annual Ladies Shabbat Dinner: Fri., Oct. 20, 6 p.m. $36. chabaddayton.com. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood.

Men

Chabad Men’s Night Out in the Sukkah: Wed., Oct. 4, 6:15 p.m. $64. chabaddayton. com. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood.

Family

Temple Israel Prayer & Play: Sat., Oct. 14, 10:30 a.m. Contact Rabbi Sobo at 937496-0050. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton.

PJ Library Down on the Farm: Sun., Oct. 22, 5:30 p.m. Free. RSVP by Oct. 18 at jewishdayton.org/events. Lucas Brothers Farm, 3229 Ferry Rd., Bellbrook.

Children & Teens

JCC Children’s Youth Theatre Auditions: Sun., Oct. 15, 2 p.m. & Wed., Oct. 18, 6 p.m. Grades 3-12. For info., registration, jewishdayton.org/ events. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. 937610-1555.

Seniors

JFS Medicare Check Up Day: Tues., Oct. 31, 9 a.m. Free. By appointment only. 937-6101555. Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville.

Sukkot

Beth Jacob Cookie Decorating in the Sukkah: Sun., Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m. 937-274-2149. 7020 N. Main St., Harrison Twp.

Chabad Community Sukkot Party & CKids Club: Tues., Oct. 3, 5:30 p.m. $15 adults, $5 children. chabaddayton. com. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood.

Simchat Torah

Temple Israel Simchat Torah Services, Dinner & Kindergarten Consecration: Sat., Oct. 7, 6 p.m. Free. Contact Rabbi Sobo, 937-496-0050. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton.

Simchat Torah at Chabad: Sat., Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. Free. Buffet dinner w. kid-friendly menu. chabaddayton.com. 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood.

Beth Abraham Simchat Torah Celebration: Sun., Oct. 8, 9:30 a.m. Free. Build your own

ice cream sundae following service. 937-293-9520. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood.

JCC Cultural Arts & Book Series

See schedule, Page 13.

Community

Beth Abraham Rick Pinsky Brunch Series: Sundays, 10 a.m. $7. Oct. 15: Rabbi Glazer, The Nearer Your Destination, the More You Keep Slip Sliding Away. Oct. 22: Joel Shapiro, Origins of Christianity. Oct. 29: Earlham College Jewish Studies Chair Elliot Ratzman, Is Jewish Pacifism Possible? RSVP to 937-293-9520. 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood.

JFS' Let’s put the “J” in LGBTQ+: Sun., Oct. 22, 2 p.m. Free. RSVP at jewishdayton. org/events. Contact Jacquelyn Archie for info., 937-610-1555.

Tiberian Niggun Circle: Mon., Oct. 23, 7 p.m: Beth Abraham Synagogue, 305 Sugar Camp Cir., Oakwood.

Temple Israel Soul-Warming Drinks and S’mores: Wed., Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m. Free. 937496-0050. 130 Riverside Dr., Dayton.

Beth Abraham, Dayton’s only Conservative synagogue, is enthusiastically egalitarian and is affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. For a complete schedule of our programs, go to bethabrahamdayton.org.

Join Rav Aubrey for spiritual study & song in the New Year

Tiberian Niggun Circle • Monday, Oct. 23, 7-8 p.m.

With internationally renowned clergy-musicians sharing discoveries from their Tiberian Hasidism workshop: Rabbi Neil Blumofe (Texas), Rabbi Marcus Rubenstein (Minnesota), Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorney (California), Rabbi Yosef Goldman (Maryland). Limited seating. Register at bethabrahamdayton.org.

Niggun Circle: Monthly Meditations

2nd Saturday, 12:30 p.m. (after kiddush lunch), beginning Oct. 14 Niggun circle — interactive spiritual singing of wordless melodies — along with meditations through contemplative study.

Pilgrimage Through Psalms

1st, 3rd, 4th Saturdays, 12:30 p.m. (after kiddush lunch), resuming Oct. 21 Contemplative study of contemporary & ancient Psalms.

Virtual Lunch & Learn

Mondays, Noon-12:45 p.m., beginning Oct. 2

Who's Afraid of Hasidism & Why Does it Still Matter? Journeying through the foundations of Hasidism today. Registration required at bethabrahamdayton.org.

Simchat Torah Celebration!

Sunday, Oct. 8, 9:30 a.m.

Dancing & singing with the Torahs followed by Ice Cream Sundae Bar.

305 Sugar Camp Circle Dayton, Ohio 45409 937•293•9520 www.bethabrahamdayton.org

Right: It was a Barbie theme for this year's Temple Beth Or family Rosh Hashanah service. Here, Marc, Carrie, and Olivia Siegel think inside the box. Rabbis Judy Chessin and Ben Azriel connected the movie's values to Jewish values. Barbie director and cowriter Greta Gerwig said of her movie, 'Things can be both/and. I'm doing the thing and subverting the thing.'

Below: At Hillel Academy's Afterschool Coding Club, Adi Atzmon works with Ozobots, small robots that introduce children to coding.

Beth Abraham's Cantor Andrea Raizen sounds the shofar for residents at One Lincoln Park as part of Jewish Family Services' Jewish new year celebration there. (L to R): Bob Kahn, Jerry Krochmal, Stanley and Connie Blum, Dr. Mort Levine, and Clara Hochstein.

Tara

Ready to dig into Rosh Hashanah gift bag treats in Ms. Julie's K-Club with the JCC's Early Childhood are (L to R) Audrey Jones, Wynn Thornton, Jacob Vance, and Kate Shatzkin.

Temple Beth Or

Hillel Academy

CONGREGATIONS

Beth Abraham Synagogue

Conservative

Rabbi Aubrey L. Glazer

Cantor/Dir. of Ed. & Programming

Andrea Raizen

Fridays, 5 p.m.

Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.

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

Beth Jacob Congregation

Traditional

Rabbi Leibel Agar

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

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

Temple Anshe Emeth

Reform

Rabbinic Intern

Gretchen Johnson

Fri., Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m.

320 Caldwell St., Piqua.

Contact Steve Shuchat, 937-7262116, ansheemeth@gmail.com. ansheemeth.org

Temple Beth Or

Reform

Rabbi Judy Chessin

Asst. Rabbi/Educator Ben Azriel

Fridays, 6:30 p.m. 5275 Marshall Rd., Wash. Twp. 937-435-3400. templebethor.com

Temple Beth Sholom

Reform

Rabbi Haviva Horvitz

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

Temple Israel

Reform

Senior Rabbi Karen BodneyHalasz Rabbi/Educator Tina Sobo

Fri., Oct. 6, 6 p.m.

Fridays, Oct. 20 & 27, 6:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 14, 10:30 a.m.

130 Riverside Dr., Dayton. 937-496-0050. tidayton.org

Temple Sholom

Reform

Rabbi Cary Kozberg

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

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

Chabad of Greater Dayton

Rabbi Nochum Mangel

Associate Rabbi Shmuel Klatzkin

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

Yellow Springs Havurah

Independent

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

RELIGION

How much should we depend on a tool that could become the master?

By Rabbi Haviva Horvitz Temple Beth Sholom, Middletown

Give me a topic and ask me to write an article or teach a course, and I will have no trouble. I enjoy doing the research and will happily share what I have learned and add my own thoughts and opinions.

However, ask me to write an article on anything I wish to convey...and I am stumped.

So, I did something I never thought I would ever do.

I asked Microsoft's Bing AI chatbot to write an appropriate article of approximately 750 words for the October edition of The Dayton Jewish Observer

Perspectives

Within moments, I had before me an article of 788 words, which detailed the holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. The article even referenced several congregations in the Dayton area for services and programs.

It was interesting, but it wasn’t me. In addition, by the time this article is being read, the first two holidays will be over for this year.

However, the experience had me concerned. Recently, I was having breakfast with a group of friends, and we were discussing AI and the powers we are giving to computers.

some possible ethical issues, which included plagiarism, misinformation, and privacy.

It occurred to me that in Judaism, when discussing sinat chinam, or baseless hatred, an example often used is quoting something and not giving the original author credit.

When I was looking for a specific story for one of my High Holiday sermons, I had asked Microsoft's Bing AI chatbot and was given a similar story, but it had a different ending.

When I asked who wrote that story, the computer program answered, "I did," almost proudly, if that is possible. I realized then that plagiarism is going to be a concern.

Next, my focus turned to the recent writers’ strike. Again, I conferred with Microsoft's Bing AI chatbot and was informed that the “cause of the writers’ strike is a lack of agreement on a new contract between the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.”

Can AI make the mundane holy, as we try to do, or is it too robotic?

These programs are slowly learning from us and, what are currently useful research tools, can easily become something much greater, and possibly something dangerous.

We debated whose jobs were at risk of being taken over and I stated, rather smugly, that as a rabbi, my job needs a human touch. Now, I am not so sure. It was very easy – perhaps too easy — to have my computer write for me.

My first thoughts were with regard to the matter of ethics: Is it ethical to use an article or a sermon written by my computer?

According to Microsoft's Bing AI chatbot, my “AI-powered copilot for the web,” the matter of ethics depends on the purpose and context of the article.

I was given a short list of

with a clean slate, perhaps this is a good time to question how much we want to depend on AI.

Are we capable of using this technology as a tool and not allow it to go any further?

In an article by Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig from April 23 found at Aish.com, it says “…humans have long been aware of the possibility of this coming to pass, and one would hope that measures are being taken to safeguard humanity. Hollywood has been warning us of the dangers of this technology for over 50 years (2001: A Space Odyssey springs to mind and, of course, there are many others like The Matrix and I, Robot).”

Three main issues in the strike were listed, including the use of artificial intelligence in the writing process. Like me, the writers are concerned that this wonderful tool might one day replace them; and that one day seems to be getting closer and closer.

As Rabbi Dan Wolpe posted on his Facebook page recently, “The irony of the OpenAI ChatGPT is that it will ultimately destroy the very intelligence and creativity that enable it to be created.”

As we have concluded the High Holiday season for 5784 and have begun the new year

His article raises concerns about an AI-run world where decisions and actions are based on data analysis. The human touch would be lost. Rabbi Zweig continues: “This is similar to the difference between living in a world created by accident vs. living in a theocentric universe; a divinely created world that has intelligent design and is purpose driven. One of the main features of living in a world created by God is that life has sanctity and innate value. Most importantly, and a primary tenet of Jewish philosophy, is the core belief that God created the world with the sole purpose of benefiting mankind and that the Almighty seeks a relationship with man.”

So, does AI help our relationship with the Almighty or get in the way? Can AI make the mundane holy, as we try to do, or is it too robotic?

In the meantime, I wrote this article myself, and am happy with myself for doing that, even if it is a little too long and not perfect. Shanah Tovah!

Holocaust-themed student art at DAI

Altruism by Noah Levinson

Through Nov. 12, 20 student artworks from the 2023 Max May & Lydia May Holocaust Art & Writing Contest are on exhibit at the Dayton Art Institute. The annual contest for area students in grades five through 12 is named after the grandparents of Dayton Holocaust Resource Center Director Renate Frydman.

Candle Lightings

Shabbat, Erev Sukkot

Sept. 29: 7:05 p.m.

First Eve Sukkot

Sept. 30: 8:01 p.m.

Shabbat, Erev Shemini Atzeret

Oct. 6: 6:53 p.m.

Erev Simchat Torah

Oct. 7: 7:50 p.m.

Shabbat, Oct. 13: 6:43 p.m.

Shabbat, Oct. 20: 6:32 p.m.

Shabbat, Oct. 27: 6:23 p.m.

October Tishri/Cheshvan Torah Portions

Oct. 14, Bereshit (Gen. 1:1-6:8)

Oct. 21, Noach (Gen. 6:9-11:32)

Oct. 28, Lech Lecha (Gen. 12:1-17:27)

Sukkot Festival of Booths

Sept. 30-Oct. 6

15-21 Tishri

Named after the huts the Jews lived in while wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. Marked by building sukkot to eat meals in during the festival, and in the synagogue by processions with the lulav (palm branches with myrtle and willow) and etrog (citron fruit).

Shemini Atzeret

Eighth Day of Assembly

Oct. 7/22 Tishri

Historically, it allowed an extra day in Jerusalem for Jewish pilgrims on their journey to the Temple. Tefillat Geshem (the prayer for rain), Hallel (Psalms of thanksgiving and joy), and Yizkor (memorial prayers) are recited.

Simchat Torah

Rejoicing of the Torah

Oct. 8/23 Tishri

Annual cycle of reading the Torah is concluded and a new cycle begun. Celebrated in the synagogue with singing, dancing, and Torah processionals.

Rabbi Haviva Horvitz

Renee and Frank Handel have joyfully welcomed the births of two granddaughters. Josh and Arielle Handel of Cincinnati welcomed daughter Emmy Blake on Feb. 27. Emmy joins big sister, Marlowe, 3. Maternal grandparents are Jonathan and Shari Mann of Cincinnati. Dori and Jeff Herald welcomed the arrival of Maren Ava on April 14. Paternal grandparents are Kathy and Bill Herald of Atlanta. Both girls were named for their great-grandmother, Maxine Rubin, of blessed memory.

Dayton Children’s has presented Dr. Michael Albert with its Wallace B. Taggart Award, its highest physician honor. Mike has led the orthopedic department at Dayton Children's for nearly all of his 34-year career. He arrived there during his first rotation studying at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. Mike has created cutting-edge, minimally invasive surgery procedures

that have greatly improved the efficiency of spinal surgeries for young patients.

Amy and Marshall Lachman are now the proud owners of Bill's Donuts in Centerville.

Matt Arnovitz received the Miami Valley School's Distinguished Alumnus Award at the MVS annual alumni awards dinner.

Marvin Olinsky will be inducted into the Dayton Region Walk of Fame at its Oct. 11 luncheon at Sinclair Community College. The retired CEO of Five Rivers MetroParks, Marv was a driving force behind Adventure Central, which has served Dayton's youths for nearly two decades. The Walk of Fame is on West Third Street between Shannon and Broadway Streets in the Wright-Dunbar Business District.

Meryl Hattenbach has joined Hillel Academy as its administrative assistant. She's also responsible for recruiting new families to the Jewish day school.

Lake Miller, education director with the National Conference for Community & Justice of Greater Dayton, is now an Ohio Certified Prevention Consultant.

Melanie Barrett, CEO of Bailey Bug, competed on Season 11 of Amazon Prime's The Blox, a competition program for startups. Based in Springfield, Bailey Bug manufactures capes for wheelchair users. The capes, which wrap around the front, are produced by people with disabilities through Vocational Guidance Services in Columbus. Season 11 of The Blox is scheduled for release in a few months.

Taking Israel: A Journey of African American Students, a 2015 documentary produced by retired Wilberforce University Vice President of Development Eric V.A. Winston and directed by Vincent Singleton, was shown on Maryland Public Television in September in conjunction with the station's annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week and is now streaming via MPT for two years. In Taking Israel, Wilberforce alumni return to Israel and recall summers of work, teaching, and study there. Between 1988 and 2002, 150 Wilberforce students completed their summer co-ops in Israel with Winston's guidance.

Dayton BBYO teens joined more than 100 from the region at Kings Island for the BBYO-KIO regional kickoff (L to R): Noah Baumgarten, Eli and Brody Dowlar, Cay Becker, JCC Exec. Dir. Marc Jacob, Alli Becker, Avi and Chava Gilbert, Bri Becker, Sam Jacob.

Melanie Barrett

Dr. Michael Albert

Sukkot makes me dream of a beef tagine with quinces

By Rob Eshman, forward.com

When I see the pomegranates turn ripe on our tree and the quinces appear at the farmers market, I know it’s time to start planning menus for Sukkot.

Quinces aren’t much to eat raw, but cooked they offer up a flavor between apples and pears, and unlike both, lend more substance to a stew.

There’s a lot of recipes for North African beef or lamb tagines with quinces — many Persian and Syrian ones as well. From Claudia Roden’s books I learned to cook the quinces separately, giving them their own deep honey glaze, then folding them into the almostfinished stew.

3 lbs. boneless beef shank or stew meat, in 2-inch cubes

3 onions, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. ras el-hanout

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. harissa or cayenne

1 tsp. pepper

2 bay leaves

1 carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 large quinces

1 tsp. honey

1 small lemon, juiced

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

About 2 cups water

Sear the meat

Season the beef with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat a quarter cup of olive oil. Add beef cubes and sauté until well-browned on all sides. You may need to do this in batches so you don't crowd the skillet. Remove the beef from the skillet and let rest while you make the onions.

Make the onions

Add another quarter cup of olive oil to the skillet. When hot, add onions and garlic. Sauté until clear, add the carrots and celery, then the bay leaves and all the spices. Sauté a few more minutes.

Cook the stew

If you use an Instant Pot, add the beef and onion mixture to the Instant Pot. Pour in about two cups of water, so it comes about threequarters of the way to the top of the meat. Stir well. Cover and cook at Stew/Meat setting for an hour. In a regular heavy pot, stir all ingredients together, add water, bring to boil, then lower heat to medium. Cover with a tight lid and simmer the stew for two hours.

Make the quinces

Wash the quinces but do not peel. Place quinces in a pot of boiling water. Boil the quinces about 15 minutes or until barely cooked. They should still be firm. Cut quinces in quarters lengthwise. Remove core with knife. Cut in eights, then cut crosswise into chunks. In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Add quinces and honey. Sauté until wellbrowned, turning frequently. Set aside.

Finish the stew

If you're using the Instant Pot, let cool, then open. Stir in most of the quinces and the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning: You may want more harissa, salt or pepper. Remove lid, stir in most of the quinces and the lemon juice. Taste for seasoning: you may want more harissa, salt or pepper. To serve, dish stew into a warm serving bowl with the liquid. Garnish with reserved quince. Serves six.

Beef and Quince Tagine

@foodaism

Needy or needed?

Judaism's

While attending a conference in New York, Panamanian Rabbi Gabriel Benayon took time to shop in Manhattan where he purchased a new pair of sneakers. Returning to the conference, the rabbi noticed an ill-clad fellow enter his subway car, shoeless. Benayon thought to himself, “Why do I have

Candace R. Kwiatek

two pairs of shoes and he has none?”

He might have concluded, “I need a second pair of shoes,” and left it at that. Instead, he chose to see that they were needed by someone else even more. So he gave the shoes he was wearing to his fellow passenger and then put on his own new sneakers.

“We always have to be alert,” he explained. “We always have to try to think what good can we do towards another.”

Behavior that benefits another individual at some risk or cost to oneself is known as altruism. It’s variously explained by psychologists as an

evolutionary trait that enhances species survival, an involuntary Pavlovian response to the “feel good” brain hormones triggered by giving, or a learned behavior rewarded by increased feelings of self-esteem and selfworth.

Jewish psychologist Abraham Maslow reframed these explanations as a hierarchy of innate human needs, expanded to include meaning, personal growth and, at the apex, transcendence: being motivated by values that reach beyond the personal self.

Each of these explanations implies that, in the words of Rabbi Warren Goldstein, “God has hard-wired self-interest deep into the human psyche.”

Two thousand years earlier, the Talmudic sage Hillel implied the same: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?”

But just as Hillel continued, “If I am only for myself, what am I?,” Maslow recognized that human beings also have an absolute need for something bigger and higher than them-

selves: the transcendent or the sacred.

Altruism would seem to qualify as a transcendent value, yet altruism has no equivalent word in ancient or modern Hebrew, rabbinic scholar Rabbi Emil Hirsch notes.

The closest terms are nedivut, generosity or openhandedness, and ahavat hazulat, implying love of one’s fellow human being, neither of which encompasses the idea of reciprocity or cost to oneself.

The Hebrew calls to mind God’s acts of pure goodness and kindness, a selfless giving that exemplifies holiness, a quality the Torah calls on us to emulate in order to be holy ourselves.

The human challenge of selfless giving, however, is that we are hard-wired for self-interest.

The great Lithuanian sage Rabbi Shimon Shkop offers a most intriguing response to that challenge. “If the self is getting in the way of helping others, then we need to expand our definition of the self to encompass others — family, community, the Jewish people, the world.”

Goldstein adds, “The more we reach out to others, the greater we become. This is why, when a child is born, we pray:

‘May this katan’ — this small one, ‘become gadol’ — become big. We pray for this infant, so naturally preoccupied with meeting its immediate physical needs…to become someone who sees the people around him, really sees them, and has an expansive perspective of the world and an expansive definition of self.”

“You have freedom of choice, and the choice you need to make is a very simple one,” advises YouTube’s most popular rabbi, the Chasidic social philosopher Manis Friedman. “You can be needy or you can be needed. That’s it. That’s what (the purpose of life) boils down to. You can focus on your needs, try to satisfy your needs, pursue your needs, do it your way — whatever that means, and you’re gonna get depressed. Or you can focus on who needs you.”

Giving. "I remember the early years of Israel," muses Devorah, "when every egg and every piece of fruit was a treasure, and they didn’t stretch far in a family of 12. At the end of the street lived Mrs. Arzi. She wasn’t rich, but she saw things that needed to be seen. She would often give me a banana from her shopping basket as naturally as if I were her own child. I learned from her that you don’t have to be wealthy or live in prosperous times in order to give."

Doing. It’s the little things that make all the difference when flying from London to Los Angeles with a toddler, Barbara recalls. "Like the man who lifted my carry-on into the overhead. And the couple seated next to me who moved to the next row, saying kindly, 'We thought you’d enjoy the extra room.' And the woman who spontaneously packed up my things as we readied to land, allowing my baby to continue sleeping on my shoulder. They made the trip so much easier, and I’m so grateful."

Fixing. "I was creeping along Chicago’s I-55 in a snowstorm when my car skidded, eventually coming to an abrupt halt, horizontally across three lanes of the highway," Ethan remembers. "Heart pounding, I surveyed my limited options. A nearby driver stopped, stepped out into the middle of the highway, and waved both arms yelling, 'Stop!' Traffic came to a halt while he called out directions, guiding me back into one of the lanes. 'You’re good,' he shouted, thumbs-up, as he jumped back into his car and took off."

How many times do we zoom by others, too busy with the rush of life to pay attention to another's need?

Each person has something to offer, a talent or gift that can help another. “We exist because we are needed,” Manis Friedman concludes. “That’s who we are. We are necessary.”

Literature to share

Gitty and Kvetch by Caroline Kusin Pritchard. It started out as a perfect day when the upbeat and adventurous Gitty and her cranky feathered friend, Kvetch, set out on an adventure. But when Gitty’s perfect plan turns upside down, the importance of friendship and seeing things in new ways come into play. Complemented by lively, colorful images and hilarious dialogue sprinkled with Yiddish, this tale for primary ages also holds great adult appeal. Coco at the Ritz by Gioia Diliberto. Unknown to most, Coco Chanel, the couturier and founder of the Chanel brand, had dark connections with the Nazi party that made her very rich. Her paramour was a Nazi officer, but did she willingly agree to become a Nazi spy? She was an avowed antisemite, but did she ascribe to Nazi ideology? Did she seek personal profit or was she just trying to survive? Based on well-researched history, this novel raises the challenge of how each of us stands up to evil within our sight.

The human challenge of selfless giving, however, is that we are hard-wired for self-interest.

Arts&Culture

Lessons learned from people — & pets — kick off JCC's annual Cultural Arts & Book Series

A New York Times bestselling author/veterinarian and a National Jewish Book Award winning longtime NBC News Israel correspondent/bureau chief will raise the curtain on the JCC's 2023-24 Cultural Arts & Book Series in October.

Karen Fine opens the series Oct. 19 with a talk about her new memoir, The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life and Mortality.

A holistic veterinarian who celebrates the relationships between animals and people, Fine is an associate veterinarian at Central Animal Hospital in Leominster, Mass. For 25 years, she owned and operated her own house-call practice in

Massachusetts. She is also the author of a textbook, Narrative Medicine in Veterinary Practice.

An hour before Fine's talk, CABS will host an animal service resource fair.

Prolific author and television journalist Martin Fletcher

The JCC Cultural Arts & Book Series opens with Karen Fine, Thursday, Oct. 19 with an animal services resource fair at 6 p.m. followed by her talk at 7 p.m. at the Boonshoft CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville. The cost is $5. Donations of pet food, cat litter, and animal treats are encouraged.

In partnership with the University of Dayton Dept. of Communication, CABS will present Martin Fletcher on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 2:30 p.m. at Science Center 114. Free parking on campus is available at Lot B. The cost is $7, free for students with ID. Tickets for both programs are available at jewishdayton. org/events, 937-610-1555, or at the door.

CJ CHAN

A Healthy Alternative We Use The Best Ingredients Prepared Fresh Daily

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536 Wilmington Ave. Dayton, OH 45420 937-259-9866

returns for his third talk on the CABS program, Oct. 29 at University of Dayton. This time, he'll discuss his latest book, Teachers: The Ones I Can't Forget.

He shares stories of what he's learned over his four decades of reporting.

"My business was to meet people on the worst day of their lives, tell their story, and move on, often to a different tragedy in a different country," Fletcher recounts in the book's introduction. "I needed thick skin, but many left a scratch on my soul. I learned from their lives, and they changed me."

The JCC series continues with a dozen more events through April. For details, go to jewishdayton.org.

2ND LOCATION! 2747 W. Alex Bell Rd. Moraine, OH 45459 * Hot Pot Available * 937-259-8882

Mon-Thu: 10:30 am-10 pm Fri-Sat: 10:30 am-10:30 pm Sun: 11:30 a.m-10 pm

Bring in this ad and receive $10 off your next in-store purchase of $60 or more* Expires 1.31.2024. *Some exclusions apply. Not valid on wine, candy, or delivery.

1306 Troy Street • Dayton, Ohio 45404 937-223-1213 • furstflorist.com

ANNUAL MEDICARE ENROLLMENT PERIOD

October 15 - December 7

Learn ways to: Stay Informed. Stay Healthy. Save Money. Find out how the October 15 - December 7 Medicare Annual Coordinated Election Period can work for you. Get tips on how to enroll for 2024 coverage in a Medicare prescription drug plan (Part D) and/or a Medicare Health plan.

Medicare and OSHIIP, the Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program, are o ering three free Medicare Check Up days in Montgomery County to help with plan review and selection. Medicare counselors from the Ohio Department of Insurance will be on hand to sit down with you individually. By appointment only. Please call the desired location to schedule your appointment.

Please bring your medication list and current plan information to your appointment. OSHIIP Medicare Counselor and JFS volunteer Connie Blum will also be counseling and helping with 2024 plan selection; she can be reached at 937-503-1979

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24

9AM - 3PM

@ Huber Heights Senior Center 6428 Chambersberg Rd., 45424

For an appointment, call 937-233-9999.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31

9AM - 1PM

@ The Boonshoft Center for Jewish Culture and Education 525 Versailles Dr., 45459

For an appointment, call 937-610-1555.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3

9AM - 3PM

@ Earl Heck Center 201 N. Main St., 45322

For an appointment, call 937-836-5929

Karen Fine Martin Fletcher

Ukraine

Continued from Page 10

of Zelenskyy’s Jewishness. That his nation has rallied around him is a testament to both President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people.

But there is something else that I think speaks strongly to the Ukraine of today — the actual trigger that reminded me how important it was that I visit Babyn Yar.

There is a Hebrew song, Eli, Eli, (My Lord, My Lord) that many of us have heard sung on Yom Hashoah, the yearly event we hold to commemorate the Holocaust.

The words were originally a poem written by a young woman, Hannah Senesh, who at the age of

19 in 1939 had immigrated to British Mandate Palestine to escape the antisemitism she faced in her native Hungary. Hannah Senesh was a true woman of valor.

In 1943, she enlisted in the British Army and volunteered to be trained as a resistance fighter. On March 14, 1944, she parachuted into Yugoslavia and spent three months with Josip Tito’s partisans before working her way north toward her ultimate objective, Budapest.

Soon after reaching Hungary, she was captured. Despite enduring five months of interrogation and torture, she never divulged a single detail of her mission. On Nov. 7, 1944, she was executed by firing squad.

In January, Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, shared on Twitter the Ukrainian Army Choir singing Eli, Eli at Babyn Yar during ceremonies mark-

ing International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The menorah where I was able to place a memorial stone is a tribute to the Jews killed at Babyn Yar and the focal point of this wonderful video.

The heroism of Hannah Senesh during the Shoah and the heroism of the Ukrainian people today both speak eloquently to that spirit within us that yearns for freedom and demands that we fight evil when encountered.

Our Haggadah, which we read each Passover, reminds us that this is the responsibility of each and every generation.

When we think of the Ukrainian people, we should never forget those who died at Babyn Yar, but we should also remember that moment — in the midst of their own bitter struggle against tyranny — when the Ukrainian people did honor to their memory.

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Singing community

Continued from Page Nine

that place of connectivity, you can connect just as deeply by connecting to the group energy. Dybbuk chaverim is the glue to the absorptive quality that happens when you connect with friends around you."

When he learned that teaching 15 years ago from Nehemia Polen, it inspired Glazer to dig deep into research about this lost community of Tiberias and its relevance for today's world.

Tiberian niggun workshop

This month, Glazer hopes to bring the sounds of Tiberian niggunim to life for the first time in centuries — at Beth Abraham Synagogue.

Four rabbis from across the United States who are expert musicians will join him at Beth Abraham in an intensive 72-hour workshop.

For the workshop, Glazer has been granted access to the Meir Shimon Geshuri Archives of Chasidic Song and Dance of Israel's Jewish Music Research Center at Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

An ethnomusicologist, Geshuri musically notated thousands of Chasidic melodies he heard in the mid-20th century, noted who he heard sing them, and where those who sang them said the melodies originated.

Glazer describes the Geshuri archives as like a recipe book of Chasidic melodies.

Only six or seven melodies connected to the Vitebsker and Kalisker Rebbes from the Geshuri Archives have been published.

"But there's more. Much, much more. What I want to do with the group is to go through the archives and workshop some of these melodies that have basically been almost lost to history. We're going to camp out in the chapel, we're going to have a recording studio set up there, and from dusk till dawn, we'll pray together, we'll eat together, we'll study together, and we're going to spend most of our time going through each of these pieces that we find in the archives. 'Gishori says this one comes from Tiberias. Let's try this one. Let's move it around the circle and see what happens.'"

On Monday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m., the rabbis will share what they've discovered in a public

program at Beth Abraham.

"We don't know what it's going to be," Glazer says. "It could be a teaching, it could be a couple of niggunim. It's going to be something experiential. We want people to be drawn in, like we did with Joey. Let's learn this niggun together and see what it feels like. Let's see if there are any future applications we might discover in the process. What does it touch in our soul?"

Their findings, he says, will form volume six of his Tiberian Chasidism book series, "with contributions from contemporary experts in niggunim and musicians from Orthodox America and Israel."

Virtual lunch & learns

Glazer begins a new virtual lunch and learn series Oct. 2 that will continue Mondays from noon to 12:45 p.m. He'll introduce participants to what he calls the "37 different flavors" of Chasidism.

"My goal is to go through all 37 flavors, try to share with people as many of the niggunim as I can find," he says. "I want to celebrate what exists, but I also want to uncover the things that people don't even know. We can complicate and also enhance our spiritual lives by understanding how rich Judaism really is from a spiritual perspective."

And a new book, too

Along with all the rabbi's Chasidic programming he launches in October, he celebrates the release of his new book with Rabbi Martin Cohen, Merest Breath, a contemporary translation of Ecclesiastes with two new commentaries.

Glazer describes Ecclesiastes as the strangest book of the Bible, and one of his favorites.

"It's the most interesting, fascinating book that you never would have imagined would be part of the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), and it is."

Beth Abraham will host a book release celebration via Zoom at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 2. Preregistration is required at bethabrahamdayton.org.

"I've been working on it for a lot of years and it's going to be fun," Glazer says of Merest Breath. "We wanted to give it a contemporary recharge, with a translation making it fresh and accessible, and commentaries that speak to the breadth and depth of where these great works of sacred literature come from."

Rochelle Maris Goldstein passed away on Sept. 7 in Dayton at the age of 81. She was born on April 8, 1942 in Allentown, Pa., the only child of the late Edward Erkes and Ruth Anne Shupack Erkes. Rochelle was a kind and caring individual, known for her inquisitive nature and energetic spirit. She dedicated her time to various causes as an active volunteer, always seeking ways to make a positive impact on her community.

In her professional life, Rochelle had a diverse career. She was a piano teacher for many years, sharing her love for music with numerous students. Additionally, she owned a knitting shop, where she nurtured her passion for knitting and connected with fellow enthusiasts. Rochelle also served as a secretary at the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities and later as a membership manager at WDPR Discover Classical radio station.

Rochelle found solace and community in her faith. She worshipped at both Beth Abraham Synagogue and Temple Israel. Her spiritual beliefs were an integral part of her life, providing her with guidance and strength.

Beyond her professional and religious pursuits, Rochelle had a rich array of hobbies. She was an avid knitter, creating beautiful pieces with her skilled hands. Historical fiction held a special place in her heart, and she loved immersing herself in the captivating stories of the past. Rochelle's passion for film and cultural arts led her to become a longtime member of the JCC Film Fest Committee, contributing to the celebration of Jewish culture and art. She was also an avid supporter of the rich Dayton cultural arts community.

Rochelle will be deeply

missed by her beloved family. She is survived by her devoted husband, Michael Goldstein; her daughter, Ellen Goldstein; and her sons, Eric and David Goldstein. She also leaves behind one granddaughter and four grandsons, who will cherish her memory.

Interment was at Beth Abraham Cemetery. In memory of Rochelle, contributions may be made to WDPR Discover Classical radio station, the JCC, Beth Abraham Synagogue, or a charity of the donor's choice. Rochelle's legacy of kindness, curiosity, and dedication to her community will continue to inspire all those who were fortunate enough to know her.

Glazer hopes to bring the sounds of Tiberian niggunim to life for the first time in centuries

September 2023

JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

FALL SERIES

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 7PM

Opening Night

The CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville 6PM Animal Services Resource Fair

Cost: $5 + Pet food, cat litter, or animal treats for donation Karen Fine, The Other Family Doctor

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2:30PM University of Dayton - Science Center 114 300 College Park Ave., Dayton

In partnership with the University of Dayton Department of Communication

Cost: $7

No Cost for Students with valid ID Martin Fletcher, Teachers: The Ones I Can’t Forget

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 7PM

The CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville

In partnership with PJ Library & PJ Our Way No Cost

Family Resource Night Special Event: Adventures in Parenting, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, The Blessing of a B Minus

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 5PM

Chabad, 2001 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood

In partnership with Chabad Women’s Circle. Featuring Dinner and a Cooking Demonstration

Cost: $36

Chanie Apfelbaum, Totally Kosher

WINTER WONDERS

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 7PM

Via Zoom No Cost

Gioia Diliberto, Coco at the Ritz

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024, 7PM

Livestream @ Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Ave., Centerville

In partnership with Washington-Centerville Public Library No Cost

David Abromowitz, The Foxtail Legacy

THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2024, 7PM Via Zoom No Cost

Benyamin Cohen, The Einstein E ect

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024, 7PM

Livestream @ Wright Memorial Public Library, 1776 Far Hills Ave., Oakwood

In partnership with Wright Memorial Public Library No Cost

Natasha Rogo , The Muppets in Moscow

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024, 7PM Via Zoom No Cost

Rabbi Diana Fersko, We Need to Talk About Antisemitism

SPRING SERIES

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2024, 6PM

Livestream @ Beth Abraham Synagogue 305 Sugar Camp Circle, Oakwood

In partnership with Beth Abraham Synagogue. Featuring the Author’s Appetizers, Salads, and Desserts

Cost: $18

Benedetta Guetta, Cooking Alla Giudia

SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2024, 4PM Via Zoom

In partnership with JCC Book Club No Cost

Jonathan Freedland, The Escape Artist

SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2024, 2:30PM Dayton Metro Library, 215 E. 3rd St., Dayton

In Partnership with the Dayton Metro Library No Cost

Tom Dugan, Wiesenthal

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2024, 7PM Via Zoom

In partnership with Hadassah No Cost

Rick Richman, And None Shall Make Them Afraid

SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2024, 5PM

Closing Night

The CJCE, 525 Versailles Dr., Centerville

Featuring a Ball Park Supper

Cost: $10

Joe Posnanski, Why We Love Baseball

Register for Zoom events & purchase tickets for in-person events: Jewishdayton.org. More info: Stacy Emo 937-610-5513 or semo @jfgd.net.

JEWISH FEDERATION of GREATER DAYTON & ITS AGENCIES

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FALL FEATURES