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For nearly 30 years, the Holocaust Commission’s White Rose Project has helped connect students with stories that educate, inspire, and encourage reflection. Each fall, the project donates Holocaust-related books to every middle and high school library throughout...
Books are packed, supplies are ready, and excitement is in the air because BeAR is heading back to school.The annual Be A Reader Literacy Project’s kickoff luncheon was a wonderful success, bringing together familiar faces, brand new mentors, lots of laughter and, of...
Three years after the atrocities of October 7, 2023, members of the Tidewater Jewish community gathered not simply to recall a date, but to honor lives, bear witness to loss, and reaffirm their enduring connection to Israel and the Jewish people.Surrounding the...
Members of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Center for Active Living, a group for older adults offering fitness, lifelong learning, and cultural programming, spent the morning of Tuesday, October 13 at the Chrysler Museum of Art. Attendees enjoyed a...
Book clubs are everywhere these days. Beth Chaverim’s Beach Sisterhood Book Club is comprised of a cordial group of Jewish women who meet monthly to discuss a selected book.The Sisterhood Book Club meetings take place at a local home with everyone contributing to a...
From the corridors of Capitol Hill to military deployments in Afghanistan and Poland, Lauren Sucher has built a career where every word matters, relationships are critical, and the stakes are high. Now, she’s bringing that experience closer to home: strengthening...
Friday, Oct. 30 – Saturday, Oct. 31 Step away from the business of everyday life and join thousands of Jews around the globe for the annual Tidewater Shabbat Project. Last year, a record breaking 300 people from around Tidewater came together for a lively and...
Wednesday, November 4, 7 pm, B’nai Israel Congregation B’nai Israel Congregation, in partnership with the Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, invites Jewish women of all ages, stages, and backgrounds to Together We Rise, a...
October 19 - May 24, Mondays, 5 pm Sandler Family Campus, Free Join Tidewater’s Shinshinim for weekly conversational Hebrew classes designed to help participants build confidence in speaking and understanding modern Hebrew. Through interactive activities, games,...
Wednesday, November 11, 9 am-4 pm, Simon Family JCC Need a fun, reliable plan for kids when school is out? Camp JCC has the answer for students in grades K–5: An action-packed day of crafts, gym games, free swim, and plenty of fun. It’s the perfect opportunity for...
Thursday, November 5, 9 am, Free, Sandler Family Campus Looking for a fun way to connect with other parents and caregivers while little ones explore and play? Consider Baby & Me, a welcoming monthly gathering for babies up to 24 months and their caregivers.Enjoy...
November 23 - 24, Monday and Tuesday Sandler Family Campus Israel’s story is often told through innovation, resilience, and entrepreneurship. Behind that story are artists, makers, and entrepreneurs whose creativity transforms ideas into products that reach global...
Norfolk – Norman Hecht, 93, passed away on September 12, 2026, after a brief illness.A proud native of Norfolk, he was the son and youngest child of the late Mollie L. and Joseph L. Hecht. He graduated from Maury High School in 1950 and University of Virginia Law...
Boca Raton, Fla. – Richard H. Kline died September 7, 2026.Richard H. Kline was a key figure in Virginia Beach’s community life and business world. As an entrepreneur, he founded RK Chevrolet in 1964, establishing one of the city’s important car dealerships that...
Boca Raton, Fla. –Tutsie Lipkin unexpectedly passed away on August 31 in Boca Raton, Florida.She was the daughter of the late William and Dora Wolman Bullock and in addition was predeceased by her sister and brother-in-law, Margie and Nat Leiderman, and her nephew,...
Pikesville, Md. – Evelyn Mandelberg (nee Strauss), of Pikesville, Maryland, passed away on Monday, September 21, 2026, at the age of 99.She is survived by her loving children Dr. Terry (Shelley) Mandelberg and Robert (Ilene) Mandelberg; cherished daughter-in-law,...
Norfolk – Stanley J. Peck told his last joke on Sunday, September 13, shortly after celebrating his 91st birthday and his 70th wedding anniversary.He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 24, 1935, and moved to Norfolk, Virginia, when he was 10 years old. He was...
Virginia Beach – Selma Oppleman Snyder passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by her family, just four months shy of her 100th birthday.To know Selma was to know a woman who was truly unforgettable. Iconic, elegant, beautiful, opinionated and fierce...Selma...
Norfolk – Dr. Stephen Willis Tonelson died peacefully on September 17, 2026.His wife, Lona, and his daughters, Claire and Rachel, were with him. He was predeceased by his parents, Dr. A. Rufus and Mrs. Sara Tonelson, and his older brother, Dr. Louis Tonelson.Steve was...
Join Tidewater’s Jewish community to commemorate the lives lost on October 7, 2023, and honor the strength and resilience of the Israeli people.Community members will create a visual tribute by planting 1,200 Israeli flags on the grounds of the Reba and Sam Sandler...
Wednesday, October 7, 12:30 -1:30 pmWebb Center, Old Dominion University This year’s October 7 Memorial at Old Dominion University centers on the voices of students. They will read, share personal reflections, remember those whose lives were changed by October 7, and...
Virginia Beach – Jay M. Woodman, 77, passed away peacefully at home on Monday, September 7, 2026.Jay was born in Hampton, Va. to the late Theodore and Frances Woodman, and was preceded in death by his in-laws, Shirley and Leon Harris, and son-in-law Joel Prohofsky....
Marco Island, Fla. – Joan Naomi Thompson, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and cherished friend, passed away peacefully on August 19, 2026. She leaves behind a legacy of love, devotion, and family that will continue to live on through the generations.Joan was the...
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, David Ashe was at home in Virginia Beach watching the Today Show while on terminal leave from the Marine Corps.He had recently completed his first active-duty tour and was stationed in San Diego. At the moment, however, Ashe was at...
Ron Kampeas(JTA) — Gloria Steinem, the trailblazing feminist who turbocharged the women’s rights movement’s second wave by casting the liberation of women as part of the broader project of eliminating other bigotries including antisemitism, died at 92 on Wednesday,...
Harry Mansbach, of blessed memory, believed that opportunity carried responsibility. His daughter, Sally Herman, remembers a father who understood how much circumstance could shape a person’s path. She says he believed those who had been fortunate had a responsibility...
Where Rosh Hashanah brings sweetness and celebration, Yom Kippur asks something different — stillness, honesty, and the harder work of reflection. For young children, that’s a tricky needle to thread. Three local families share how they’ve made it meaningful. Jennie...
Sukkot, which literally translates to “booths” or “huts,” is akin to a fall harvest festival. It’s a holiday that celebrates all God gives, both in terms of crops and shelter. Eating, dwelling, and even sleeping in the sukkah commemorates the time of Jews living in...
There is something about Yom Kippur that makes time feel different. Perhaps it is the haunting melody of Kol Nidrei, or the fasting, or simply the knowledge that Jews around the world are standing before the same ancient questions: Who have I become? What have I taken...
Conservative Jews like me who have read from the Torah for years either memorize the words, vowels, and musical notes…or trope…or just manage to get through typically a handful of sentences from an eighth of a third of the sedrah or weekly portion (the triennial cycle...
Families gathered at the Sandler Family Campus on Friday, August 21 for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s and PJ Library’s annual End-of-Summer Shabbat.The celebration was originally planned as a pool party, but unexpected weather required a change of plans....
Two dozen or so women gathered to immerse themselves in Mizrahi culture on the evening of Sunday, August 23. The event was led by Jackie Dratch, creator of the Mizrahi Dance Archive, and organized by NextGen757, a community group for young Jewish adults ages 21 -...