“The directions said we could take inspiration from anywhere such as inspiring people, places we love, landmarks, quotes, or historic events,” says Gruber. “For me it was an easy choice.” Turns out the Hawaiian-born third generation Filipino American and so-called “Army brat” was married to Larry, a Jewish sailor whom she met in New Jersey. “So, I was a Navy wife and then became an Army mom” when her twin sons enlisted, one of whom subsequently graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 

In fact, 26 of her family members have been in one military uniform or another, having collectively given 300 years of service to their country. “And I was a procurement analyst for the Navy for 22 years,” adds Gruber, “so clearly I have a feel for these men and women.” Indeed Larry was assigned to ships for 17 of his 22 years in the Navy, “so I had the main role in raising the kids.”

No wonder Gruber opted to include the logos of all five military branches in her quilt pattern. “I hope it inspires more people to respect those who serve and thank them and their families for their sacrifices.” 

Grossman’s late dad was in the Navy, but the Hopewell/Petersburg native chose to highlight the plight of those of her faith in her design. “Frankly I am very upset with how our government is treating immigrants today, considering how many Jews came to America to escape persecution.” Grossman’s 16”x20” block (same size as Gruber’s) reminds that Jews fled pogroms in Eastern Europe and came to this country, most passing by the Statue of Liberty, erected in the New York harbor in 1886. “As most of us know, Emma Lazarus’ poem called The New Colossus, which is on the statue, includes the words, ‘give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ Those words speak to me, so I decided to use the welcoming of foreigners, and particularly Jewish ones, as my theme.”

A former president of her synagogue, Grossman sewed a pair of ships on her piece. The first one is coming to America over blue waves in the early 1900’s, its passengers greeted by a hand offering friendship. The second boat, however, recalls ones that brought Holocaust refugees to America’s shores, through dark and ominous seas, and were turned away.  “I don’t know whether anyone else sending in quilt blocks will focus on religious freedom, but it is a very important issue for me.”

Visit the project website at visitwilliamsburg.com to see what others have submitted.  

Sometime this year, Visit Williamsburg will stitch the sections, as many as 4,000 are expected, into one huge birthday quilt, unveil it in April and then display it at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center. No doubt these two Hampton Roads Jewish crafters will drive there to see how hundreds of other creative countrymen and women chose to commemorate this nation’s rich diversity.

Organizers sent me a couple videos to watch, and on the day of the event, all 11 dealers, including other novices, got a tutorial from former UJFT professional Alex Pomerantz, a poker maven who came back from Baltimore as a volunteer to oversee the Tournament.

Thanks to Danny and his enthusiastic fellows, who this night raised money for JCC Summer Camp, all was be-seder (in order). There were plenty of chips (for eating and betting), decks, drinks, and decorations. Thanks mostly to the Federation’s able Amy Zelenka and Alex, every state mandated “i” had been dotted and “t” crossed to assure the games were as kosher as the sliders and pretzels.

Eighty-five “gamblers” from Oyster Point and Ghent to Little Neck and the North End were there, hungry to play, each having and eventually anted up $100 for the opportunity (with early- stage options to add-on another $50 more to continue). They ranged in age from 30 to past 80 (that one a woman who made it to nearly the final round). Most of the competitors though were regulars from their own weekly games, relocating to Corporate Woods Drive for this one evening.

I took Table 7, not knowing who would fill my eight chairs. Thankfully my gamers, though intense, were patient with this rookie dealer, helping me allow the “blind” (google it) to unfold before dealing two cards to each participant, then overseeing a first round of wagering and “burning” a card before the “flop,” placing three face up on the table. More checking, posturing and raising followed before a second burn and eventually my reveal of two more cards, creating a “community” of choices, from which these card sharks would determine their best hand of five from seven, before bulling or bluffing their way to the pot. I watched and waited for each outcome, then readied a shuffled second deck to deal again.

As players flamed out, the tables consolidated, with Alex distributing survivors to open seats, including at my number seven. At last, the big winner of a $500 Amazon gift card, Dalton Gilder, was crowned champion. I was exhausted but thrilled, not just to have helped Danny, Sam Molofsky (Nadiv chair), his other Jewish gents, and the Summer Camp (which gleaned nearly $25,000 in proceeds), but to have been part of what should become an annual happening on the Sandler Family Campus.

The Hebrew meaning of Nadiv is “generosity” – appropriate, since each member donates at least $365 to the UJFT campaign annually “and does so gladly,” says Danny, “because of the many social, athletic, and other activities (like a yearly March Madness Bracket Challenge Pool).”

Texas Hold ‘Em though was their most ambitious undertaking yet, and the community responded, thanks to their love of the game, help from volunteers (including five BBYO’ers) and tolerance of first-time dealers, not yet ready for Rivers but clearly appreciated by the men of Nadiv.

Cantor Elihu Flax to serve as part-time chaplain • Saturday, May 17, 10 am

With a number of its Jewish and even some non-Jewish residents looking on, Cantor Elihu Flax affixed a fully kosher Mezuzah on the front door of Aviva Pembroke senior housing, located at Pembroke Square near Target and other retailers, restaurants, hotels, and popular amenities.

“The mezuzah includes a parchment with the Shema that calls on Jews to ‘write them on the doorposts of your house and upon your gates’,” said Flax, who was chaplain and director of Religious Services at Beth Sholom Village, 2004 – 2021 and is currently coordinator of Religious Services at Congregation Beth El. His first position in Hampton Roads was as cantor at Temple Israel for five years.

“I am thrilled to announce that Aviva has retained me to be its first chaplain,” says Cantor Flax.

To fit that into his other duties, Flax, who has a doctor of music degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary, will be at Aviva two days a week, offering pastoral care and leading Jewish services, while also “honoring religious preferences of non-Jewish residents,” presiding at funerals if asked, hosting “Ask the Clergy” classes, and of course, conducting “sing-a-longs.”

Aviva is pleased to have him on the team, says Jay Kossman, chairman of the board of Beth Sholom Village. “Having Cantor Flax back on staff is a real bonus,” he says. BSV, along with Pembroke Square Associates, built and operates the 153-unit complex, featuring one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, plus units for assisted living and memory impaired individuals. “It took a little while to establish the Jewish presence we have always desired for Aviva, and we’re not done yet. Our Jewish residents have been waiting for the mezuzah, but we wanted to secure a good one and arrange a nice ceremony.”

Another and equally significant event will take place on Saturday, May 17 when Danny Rubin, his sons, and father lead a Sabbath Service to dedicate a new ark – designed and constructed by David Small, a Navy man who also created the new Readers Table at Beth El where he’s a member. “It’s beautiful,” says Rubin, who began attending services at the old Beth Sholom, now Maimonides Health Care in Virginia Beach, as a child. “On May 17th, we will put it to good use, taking the Torah in and out to read the weekly sedrah and honoring residents and volunteers with aliyot and ark openings. I hope everyone will attend this historic program.”

Mezuzot are now on several resident apartments, and Aviva will assist anyone wishing to secure one. “We will have a nice mix of Jewish and non-Jewish residents,” says Kossman, “but there is a plaque just inside the front entrance with the names of donors, the vast majority of them Jewish, who rightly wanted there to be as much of a Jewish presence as possible, given the resident and ownership mix, although the Pembroke leadership has been very amenable to our requests. Thanks to Cantor Flax, our Board, staff, the Rubins, and other volunteers and clergy, we will have that and are open to all ideas to engage those Jews who live here, their families and the community.””

Cyclist, scholar, father, mentor, musician, soccer, hockey, and baseball fan, U.S. history buff, Coast Guard Chaplain…and rabbi.

That pretty much describes Jacob Herber, who assumes the pulpit at Norfolk’s Congregation Beth El in mid-July. “I am really looking forward to living and working in your community,” says Herber, who grew up in Beacon, a small town outside New York City where he received his grounding in Judaism. “At 13, I was often the 10th in a minyan.”

But his family moved to the suburbs of Sacramento shortly afterwards where “I was one of two Jews in my high school.” College was at UC Davis. “I majored in history and thought I was headed to law school, even worked for a while for the chief of staff for San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.”

Ultimately, though, Herber decided his interest was more in Jewish than secular law, so it was back east to New York. “I spent six years at the Jewish Theological Seminary, then became an assistant rabbi outside Philadelphia before moving to Milwaukee to be chief rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid for 15 years.” He also served two terms as head of the Wisconsin Board of Rabbis, taking time off in 2008 to travel to Uganda with a host of other leading conservative rabbis to supervise the formal conversion of more than 200 members of the Abayudaya community that had long practiced Jewish rituals.

A rising star in the rabbinic ranks, Herber next earned a fellowship at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, a leading research and educational center serving Israel and world Jewry, then joined their national staff. “That experience, which included working with rabbis across the country, taught me how to look at Torah in a different way, particularly focusing on values and pluralism, seeking truth through debate but without disrespecting others.” Oh do we need that today.

Missing the day-to-day life of being a shul clergy, Herber returned west, becoming rabbi at Herzl Ner Tamid outside of Seattle, serving there the past five years. When he wasn’t delivering sermons or leading classes, the rabbi was often tending to the spiritual needs of Coast Guard personnel as a chaplain, which also included assisting Navy personnel in the area. An avid outdoorsman, Herber was often on his bike. “I was on a major racing team in Milwaukee, and when I got to Washington state, I started an affinity group within the synagogue.”

But Rabbi Herber, who also plays a mean electric guitar, missed the east coast. “My teams are the Yankees in baseball and the Rangers in hockey, as well as the Chelsea Soccer club in England.”

Now divorced, he is very close with his two accomplished adult children. “My daughter went to Dickinson College in Pennsylvania and while there earned an internship in the Israeli embassy in Washington DC.” Herber says she was so impressive that they offered her a job after graduation. “Today Mychal is the communications director, working closely with the ambassador.” Son Adin could be here in Hampton Roads someday. “He is currently in Navy boot camp with hopes of becoming a Seal,” says his proud dad. “After training in Coronado, he might be assigned to Virginia Beach.”

“Jacob Herber’s background was so impressive that when he applied to be our rabbi, we couldn’t wait to meet him,” says Beth El president and former Navy Admiral Herm Shelanski. “He blew everybody away when he visited and led services. It was an easy decision for our search committee.”

Both Herber and Shelanski are American history enthusiasts. Indeed Shelanski, who has already bonded with his new hire over their shared Philly roots, is anxious to take the Rebbie to places like Monticello, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. “I cannot wait to do that,” says Herber, “and it’s wonderful that I’m coming to Virginia right as the country is about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. I hope to engage the congregation in programs around that period.”

Herber plans to be in his Ghent office sparingly. “I am very aware that most of the congregants live in Virginia Beach, so I intend to spend time in coffee shops there including the Cardo Café (at the Sandler Family Campus) to meet congregants and others in the Jewish community. I want to listen and get to know your customs and traditions, hopes, and dreams. I am very forward looking though, appreciating that the conservative movement has challenges, and we need to adapt.”

When in Tidewater in February, “it was so comfortable and welcoming,” he recalls, “a place I knew immediately I could be happy and productive. It felt like putting on gloves that fit perfectly.” Sounds like this experienced Jewish professional will find a home where he can share his multiple talents and love of his faith.

For more information on leasing a unit at Aviva, visit www.avivapembroke.com or call 757-963-8423.

“I was on the board of National B’nai Brith Women and a volunteer with Jewish Family Service here in Tidewater,” Porter says. That confluence, plus her big heart, put her in the right place at an auspicious time for “Aliyah,” the mass migration of Soviet Jews after the USSR lifted its ban on “refusenik” emigration. 

Communities across the country mobilized, none more so than Tidewater, and a cadre of Jewish women led the way. “We organized a major rally at the JCC in Norfolk called a ‘Women’s Plea for Soviet Jewry’ on December 17, 1972,” recalls Porter. “I will never forget it.” 

Nearly 400 attended, hearing from Norfolk Mayor Roy Martin, who had earlier issued a proclamation to mark the day, as well as from one of the 150,000 Russians who had emigrated to the U.S. during that tumultuous time. “We collected 1,200 signatures on petitions that day to send to the UN and got the crowd to write 800 post cards to President Nixon and Ambassador Dobrygin protesting the treatment of Soviet Jews,” says Porter. 

The rally was but one of many activities that took place here over the next couple of decades as the USSR turned on and off a spigot that allowed Jews windows to leave for America or Israel. 

In 1980, refugee Arcady Fishel wrote a letter to the UJF News, (now Jewish News) praising Porter (and the vast team working with her from the synagogues and agencies) for “furnishing living quarters and fully stocking them with food products and necessities, for taking us shopping, monitoring our every need, organizing a school for Russian immigrants to learn the English language, and placing everyone in a job they might be qualified for.” Porter and her ladies made sure those who wanted to attend Sabbath services could, and on one day that year, oversaw the placement of mezzuzim on all the immigrants’ dwellings. In his letter, Fishel said his countrymen “look upon Ellie Porter as both a sister and a parent.” 

Porter was all that plus a wife to Dick, a furniture salesman who found dressers and tables for the Russians, and a mother to Janet, Michael, and Sandra, who became a stellar community volunteer in her own right. “My mom was so busy with Russian resettlement when we were teenagers, but we understood,” says Sandra Porter Leon. “She even went to ODU to take Russian language classes. That’s how committed she was. She was really our hero.” 

Porter was, in her own words, “young and energetic. We did it all.” So did dentists (like Sonny Lefcoe) and doctors (like Jerome Pearlman). “I remember our local mohel Rabbi Fish circumcised two Russian boys under age one at Leigh Memorial,” she says. “That was a big deal for us.” 

“The floodgates really opened in the late 80’s,” recalls Nancy Engel, who came aboard as staff at JFS to work under Debbie Steiger and Harry Graber, who directed the agency from 1988 until 2003. “As a result of what happened with the Vietnamese boat people who had no families here, the government was very involved, providing funds that we had to manage,” she says, which meant keeping “meticulous records of every dollar spent,” says Engel, “but our community really responded with every synagogue agreeing to adopt a family every year.” That also included, according to Graber, “finding them jobs, housing, ESL classes, and building trust because the Russians came from an environment where there was none.” 

“The government challenged us to raise money privately, and oh did we – two and a half times more than expected,” recalls Graber. And though JFS paid for some services through its allocation, much was donated. 

“I remember Harry Weisberg gave us an entire warehouse at one of his furniture stores for clothing, furniture, and other donations,” says Engel. “Doris Friedman was among those who spoke Yiddish fluently, so she was invaluable as a translator, as were Virginia Opera standout Hope and her professor husband Leonid Milahap.” The Nusbaums and others provided affordable apartment units, with AC or fans because Tidewater’s summer heat was new to the Russians. Engel and Porter, still very engaged, remember so many women who stepped up, singling out Jerry Lerner, Iris Laskey, and Evelyn Eisenberg. “It was all hands-on deck,” says Porter. “There was so much to do.” 

“What happened in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and into this century was a real credit to our community,” says Rabbi Michael Panitz of Temple Israel, which because of its location near affordable housing complexes and the JCC on Newport Avenue, was in the middle of much of the action. “It was tough though because these immigrants could not practice their faith in Russia and had little or nothing when they arrived. But our Jewish family collectively stepped up to help because they were Jews who needed us. It was awe-inspiring.” 

On the JFS staff today is a Russian emigrant, Irina Kvitko, who was not sure at first if she wanted to leave her home in Kyiv but had an eight-year-old son who “needed a better future.” Her husband, Dmitriy Kremenchugskiy, would later earn a degree in finance from Virginia Tech and find a career in construction. Today they have three adult children, including their oldest Max, a local civil engineer. His wife, Iryna, has made culinary headlines because of her popular Virginia Beach bakery, Krem. When Russia invaded Ukraine, she decided to do something to support her country, starting with selling macaroons to raise funds. Within two months, customers had purchased more than 5,000, collecting close to $25,000. When Israel was attacked in October, Iryna baked blue and white macaroons, donating the proceeds to support the Jewish state. 

Russian resettlement continues to be a source of great pride at JFS. “This was well before my time here, but I cannot imagine this agency has ever worked as hard for a cause as it did to bring some 300 families to our community,” says Kelly Burroughs, CEO, who succeeded Betty Ann Levin, now UJFT executive vice president/CEO, who followed Harry Graber. “Having stalwarts like Harry, Nancy, and Ellie around reminds us of what we’re capable of doing when a cause of that magnitude lands on our doorstep.” 

“Eternal God,
As we gather in this esteemed assembly to reflect on the State of the City of Norfolk, we come before You with hearts full of gratitude and humility. We acknowledge the abundant blessings You have bestowed upon our community and the opportunities You have provided for growth and prosperity.

In Your infinite wisdom, You have woven a tapestry of diversity into the fabric of our city, blessing us with a multitude of talents, cultures, and perspectives. Grant us the wisdom to embrace and celebrate these differences, recognizing them as gifts from Your hand.

Guide us, O Lord, to foster an environment of inclusivity and acceptance, where every voice is heard, and every individual is valued for their unique contributions. Help us to break down the barriers that divide us and to build bridges of understanding and compassion.

We lift up our business leaders to You, O God, asking for Your guidance as they navigate the complexities of the marketplace. Instill in them a deep commitment to ethical conduct and moral integrity, that they may lead with wisdom and integrity, always striving to do what is right in Your sight.

May our endeavors be marked not only by success but by a steadfast dedication to serving the common good and uplifting the marginalized and oppressed. Help us to be agents of positive change in our city, working tirelessly to create a more just and equitable society for all.

Bless our efforts, O Lord, and let them be a testament to Your boundless grace and mercy. May we walk in Your ways, seeking justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with You, now and always.

This we ask as we unapologetically celebrate business (Chamber’s tagline), Amen.

Sitting up front, I rushed to Pastor Tyree as he left the stage and told him his writing was spot-on for the occasion, and as a Jew, I had never felt more included. I then e-mailed him and asked for the text of his message. He responded, “thank you for taking the time to reach out to me again. I have reflected every day on your kind words since the event.” He encouraged me to share the invocation.

I, among others, endure religious speech in the public square and don’t make a public fuss, but we call attention when individuals like W.T. Tyree recognize the opportunity they have to bring us together and do so. Thank you sir.

I was at Beth El that Saturday and was blown away by the spread that included Sacred Species Salad and Veggie Lasagna plus Crustless Apple Crumb Cake. Most of the women’s angst, however, came not from hoping to impress me, but Nathan herself who was leisurely enjoying the meal and making new friends. “We taste tested everything first to be sure Joan would approve,” recalls Rose. “It was great for (my husband) Neil who loved the desserts I brought home.”

After kiddush, we attacked the buffet, but all eyes were also on Joan Nathan. Would she savor what the Sisterhood served? “It’s all excellent,” she told me. So good that the food scholar took a tray of lasagna home to DC where she hopefully shared some kind words about the catering talent at a conservative shul on Shirley Avenue in Norfolk.

Oh, one other thing. On the Friday of the Kramer Scholar’s Weekend, while the women were knocking themselves out in the Myers Hall kitchen, the Health Department showed up to conduct a surprise inspection. “We passed with flying colors,” says Smith, “thanks mostly to our terrific synagogue staff.” Crisis averted. On to the next simcha

Yes, the 76-year-old African American was joined in the social hall by yours truly (a former synagogue president), Ron Koas, the rabbi at Congregation Beth El, and Elihu Flax, once the cantor at Temple Israel and later religious director at Beth Sholom. McCall asked us to speak about Dr. King, his history, and relationships with Jewish leaders during his too short life (1929-1968). Why? Because we are her Jewish mishpacha. “I converted in 2011,” says McCall, “nine years after I placed my aunt at Beth Sholom and began helping with daily religious services, starting with Christian ones, and then studying with Rabbi Archie Ruberg and others about Judaism.” She was bat mitzvahed in 2012.

“I really fell in love with the Jewish faith because of the connections with Christianity like baptism whose roots were from the mikveh (ritual bath),” McCall says, who grew up in Berkley, once one of Norfolk’s most Jewish neighborhoods. “I also spent a lot of time as a child in a very Jewish community in Philadelphia, and it had such an impact on me that my friends used to say, ‘Vergie, you ARE Jewish’.” The closest elementary school to her in Norfolk was Gatewood, but she (who would later graduate from Booker T. Washington High School) could not go there. “It was the white school, so we had to walk about three miles to Lincoln Elementary.”

McCall speaks openly about all she and her family endured. “I heard lots of stories about how my grandparents worked so hard picking cotton and tying up tobacco leaves.” And she recalls how some of her Berkley neighbors moved to white Norview in Norfolk, only to have their houses bombed or crosses burned on their lawns. At the same time, she remembers Jewish retailers like Crockin Levy as the only ones that would give blacks credit. Her sister, Mary, married a Jewish school teacher named Becker. “When Mary died last October, so many Jewish people made donations in her honor to synagogues and their sisterhoods. It was wonderful.”

Married and later divorced in 1983, McCall has two grown sons living out of the area (Richmond, Va. and Harrisburg, Pa.). She worked in radiology in Philly and as a trainer at CBN in Virginia Beach.

“We have come a long way but still have a long way to go,” she told the MLK Day audience, that included, ironically, Betty Harris, the first black teacher at Gatewood. Another African American resident, Navy vet Duane Williams, recalled bigotry against his parents who had emigrated to Norfolk from Trinidad and Tobago. “We had trouble finding a place to live here because of our color.” At the King Commemoration, Williams read aloud a poem by Langston Hughes called I Too, about being dismissed “from the table,” an indignity that the author said must end.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

See full work at poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too

For Vergie McCall, religion has truly defined her life. She learned to sing at Mt. Zion AME Church on Filbert Street in Norfolk and was ordained as a minister there in 1996, later conducting Christian weddings, at times inserting rituals from Jewish ones. That interfaith experience was on full display as we celebrated Dr. King, who would certainly have been proud of how she brought us together this day. “My journey has been so exciting,” she says. It’s such a joy for me to be along for the ride.”