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On Tuesday, October 28, alongside Aaron Shames, I had the pleasure of moderating an event for the Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival showcasing the book Tiny Pep Talks. It was such a fun and uplifting experience! The evening was filled with laughter,...
The Mitzvah committee at Ohef Sholom Temple completed its annual Thanksgiving Drive to benefit Jewish Family Service’s clients on Sunday, November 16. The temple’s Religious School classes, along with other congregant’s generosity, made it possible to fill 30...
Families gathered at Red Wing Park for a PJ Library Pumpkin Pop-Up on Sunday, Nov. 2. Parents and children spent the afternoon enjoying each other’s company and connecting with families who live nearby. Designed with local families in mind, the pop-up offered an...
Saturday, December 6, and Sunday, December 7 Temple Israel “When we are gone, who will tell our stories?” That’s a compelling question that the survivors of the Holocaust ask, as do the liberators and the Righteous Among the Nations of WWII. Now their children, the...
December 22, 2025 - January 2, 2026 Sandler Family Campus Although the chill is here and summer may seem far away, Camp JCC fun is right around the corner with the return of Camp JCC Winter Camp. Taking place over the winter break for local school districts,...
Israel in Focus: Hamas’ War – Truth and Consequences Modern Warfare and the Fight for Truth in the Age of Misinformation Wednesday, December 3, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus, Free MAJ John W. Spencer, USA (Ret.), is not only one of the world’s leading experts on...
A Story for Everything: An Evening of Stories, Laughter, and Inspiration Thursday, December 11, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus What makes a moment memorable? What turns an ordinary experience into something that connects, teaches, or inspires? This December, host of...
Begins Wednesday, December 10 during most JCC basketball games Children can join Siblings on the Sidelines — a fun new program led by Tidewater’s Shinshinim, Noga Yaniv and Yarden Lahan — while their siblings compete in the Simon Family JCC Youth Basketball League....
Thursday, December 4, 6 pm, Prince Books How and why did a beautiful “harlot” help Joshua conquer the idol-worshipping, walled Canaanite city of Jericho soon after the formerly enslaved Hebrews crossed the River Jordan? Surely a guardian angel must have been at her...
Sunday, December 14, at 2 pm Chrysler Museum of Art Samantha Baskind, PhD., distinguished professor of Art History at Cleveland State University, will speak on The Remarkable Journey of Moses Ezekiel's Norfolk Botanical Garden Artist Statues. Sir Moses...
The 29th Annual Elie Wiesel Writing and Visual Arts Competition, which invites students in grades 6 - 12 to reflect on the lessons of the Holocaust and explore how they might be able to rid the world of antisemitism, bigotry, and hatred, is now open. The Holocaust...
NORFOLK - David Bruce Jorgenson, age 83, departed this world on October 31, 2025. David lived a life full of love. Just before he was born, his parents – Minnesota transplants to Los Angeles – rode a train back to rural Minnesota to be surrounded by his first...
The day following the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, Ted Deutch, CEO of American Jewish Committee, distributed the following email. The world’s attention is focused on New York City with Zohran Mamdani winning the mayoral election, and I...
(JTA) — The Anti-Defamation League is launching a nationwide legal service to connect victims of antisemitism with lawyers who can take their cases on a pro-bono basis. The initiative comes as the ADL has increasingly turned to litigation as a tactic — the...
We got your letter. Initially, my thought was that you were young firebrands who wanted to shake up the world. Then I re-read what you wrote. And I thought about it for a while. Then I thought some more. And then I concluded you are propagandistic...
Four young women, with childhood roots in Jewish Tidewater, have nuptials on the mind. Now spread out across the country, three of these Virginia natives recently married, while one is still in the planning stages. Hannah Diehl Testa and her husband, Kevin...
Celebrating his 80th birthday this month, Rabbi Israel Zoberman has packed a lot into his eight decades – including living on three continents. Tidewater has been his home since 1981. Born on November 12, 1945, in Chu, Kazakhstan to Polish Holocaust survivors,...
Henry Scolnick gave a speech at this year’s Annual Aid Another Gala, an event sponsored by Aid Another, an organization founded to promote and empower individuals with disabilities through dance, music, art, educational assistance, recreational activities, and sports....
A junior at Cape Henry Collegiate, Henry Scolnick was recently named one of this year’s recipients for the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award. Henry is the youngest recipient in this year’s cohort. Awarded annually by The Helen Diller Family Foundation, up to 15...
The ODU Alumni Association celebrates distinguished and outstanding ODU graduates, as well as friends of the University, who have excelled in their professions and made lasting impacts on their communities and #MonarchNation. Honorees may be recognized as...
Mikelle Rappaport, founder, owner, and executive director of Golden Lifestyle Partners, knows firsthand how difficult it can be to manage transitions for seniors. As a caregiver to her grandparents, and now to her mother with dementia, Rappaport understands that...
In 1925, Fanny Goldstein, a Jewish librarian at the Boston Public Library, decided Jewish books and Jewish pride deserved celebration. She created a display of Jewish books at the West End Branch, launching the first Jewish Book Week. By 1927, Jewish communities...
Nunez Fine Jewelers, located at Hilltop in Virginia Beach, is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. For 20 years, this family-owned business has offered personalized service, on-site repairs, and quality custom work. Pete Nunez, the store’s...
A combination of High German and Hebrew, Yiddish is a language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. In Tidewater, the Yiddish Club embraces Yiddish culture, language, and history with music, film, poetry, and literature at its monthly meetings. For...
As 2025 winds down, now is the ideal time to revisit personal charitable giving strategy. Legislative changes and shifting tax thresholds can affect how to give and how far dollars go to make a difference. “The close of the calendar year is when charitable and...
Former editor of the Jerusalem Post and senior fellow at the Jewish People’s Policy Institute, Yaakov Katz returned to Tidewater on Thursday, October 23 to discuss Israel’s Blind Spot – Understanding Hamas. The evening’s conversation was based on Katz’s recent...
They’re at it again! Local Mah Jongg Mavens Amy Levy and Stephanie Calliott are on a mission to make sure everyone has the opportunity to learn the game. With their contagious enthusiasm, Mah Jongg is fast becoming a multigenerational favorite — and now it’s the next...
The first installment of the Judaism and the Arts series invited participants to explore both the meaning and the beauty of one of Judaism’s most familiar symbols: the mezuzah. Attendees first learned about the history, symbolism, and spiritual significance of the...
Middle School programming began this year with the Middle School Movie Night on Saturday, October 25. After a pizza dinner, the participants melted various chocolate combinations over their popcorn and enjoyed more sweet, salty, and chewy treats throughout the...
Residents of Aviva Pembroke joined community members for the launch of Knots of Kindness, a knitting and crocheting circle in partnership with Jewish Family Service of Tidewater and Aviva Pembroke on Thursday, October 16. The gathering was filled with warmth,...
As food prices continue to rise and benefits such as SNAP decrease, more neighbors are struggling to put meals on the table. In fact, Jewish Family Service’s Food Pantry has seen a significant increase in visitors—people who never imagined they would need to ask for...
Rick Mersel is the author of All Revved Up and Ready to Go: My Life in Concert. He is a featured author 2025 Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival. Mersel will join his business partner and fellow Tidewater native Jessica Gordon for a conversation about...