Norfolk—Ritty Baumgard Margulies, 102, passed away on October 19, 2020, in Norfolk, Va. She was born in 1918 to Samuel and Sarah Siegel Baumgard. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Loyce Robinson, brother, Rabbi Herbert Baumgard, and her first...
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Sarah Blumenthal Zedd
Yorktown, Va.—Sarah Blumenthal Zedd, 95, passed away on Thursday, October 15, 2020, in Yorktown, Va. She was the former owner, with her husband, of the A&B Market in South Norfolk. Born in Portsmouth, Va., she was the daughter of the late Morris and Bertha Rosenblatt...
Bernard Cohen, who brought Loving v. Virginia to the Supreme Court Ron Kampeas
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Bernard Cohen, the lawyer whose volunteer gig with the ACLU led him to make history when he successfully argued that the Supreme Court should overturn laws banning interracial marriage, has died at 86. Cohen died on Monday, Oct. 12 at an assisted...
Israel’s oldest man – Marcy Oster
(JTA)—Israel’s oldest man, Shlomo Sulayman, has died at the age of 117. Sulayman died earlier this month with his family by his side, according to Ynet. He is survived by six children as well as “dozens of grandkids, great, and great-great grandkids.” Sulayman was...
Hasidic Jews have rebbes. Secular Jews have RBG.
(JTA)—In the haredi Orthodox world, a gadol is a Torah sage of such outstanding scholarly achievement that their legal conclusions are widely accepted and their words are deemed worthy of close study and repetition. More than just a mere expert, a gadol’s very persona...
I co-officiated a wedding with Justice Ginsburg—and it exposed a tension in Orthodox life
(JTA)—There was an audible gasp as she entered the room. Flanked by bodyguards, with her white gloves prominent, Ruth Bader Ginsburg took a seat next to the bride and groom as cameras clicked rapidly. I had never co-officiated a marriage ceremony before, let alone...
Poet honored by Holocaust Commission
Tapestry (Poems Woven from the Threads of Life) Mary Braford Martin Poetica Publishing Company, 2013 30 pages, $15 This is gifted poet Mary Martin’s first published book of verse, an inspiring debut honoring the language of the heart—and Martin’s heart is an embracing...
No simple explanation
A Small Town Near Auschwitz Ordinary Nazis and the Holocaust Mary Fulbrook Oxford University Press, 2012 421 pages, $34.95 ISBN 978-0-19-960330-5 We have chosen to pair this review with the one by Professor Frederick Lubich as they represent a more recent genre of...
Haunting memoir
The Shame of Survival: Working Through a Nazi Childhood Ursula Mahlendorf University Park: The Pennsylvania University Press, 2009 365 pages, $21.95 (paper) ISBN 978-0-03448-5 Ursula Mahlendorf has been teaching for more than 40 years, most of them as a professor of...
Staci Eichelbaum, HAT Class of 2005
In July, I excitedly boarded a plane from Norfolk to start my new career with AIPAC in Houston, Texas. As I quickly worked to find a new apartment, pack my clothing, book tickets, and make plans to begin my life in Houston, I couldn’t help but look back on my...
Hebrew Academy of Tidewater graduates class of 2013
Every year it happens in May and early June: Spring, a season of renewal and beauty, which grows from determination and hard work. It is also a season of graduations everywhere…an event that also commemorates growth, hard work and new beginnings. Coincidence? Probably...
Goal tracking for Beth Sholom Village: Accomplishments are abundant.
David Abraham, CEO of Beth Sholom Village and his entire team—everyone from director of nursing to dietary and maintenance—all interact with residents and family members to have a good handle on the day-to-day operations. Watching and being “hands on” is not enough,...
Report from Israel
My annual July pilgrimage to Israel, the land where our people came to be and where I had the privilege to grow up, proved again to be a rewarding experience. It was an opportunity to reconnect with family, friends, sites and food, practice almost exclusively my...
A week’s journey in Budapest and Prague: What’s in a name?
In 2000, at the age of 11, Ina’s neighbor told her that she was a Jew. Confused by the comment, she went home and asked her parents for the truth. “How is this possible?” she asked. Growing up Christian, she went to church with her mother. Without saying a word, her...
The Wonder of Woman
We were jet lagged and out of it when we exited the doors from customs into the arrivals area of the Tel Aviv airport. There was the usual crowd of people waiting for their friends and family. I was expecting a tour guide and a sign, but instead there were women —and...
Holocaust Commission inspires and challenges teachers at Conference
In an information-packed and emotional two days, 75 educators, human rights activists, and interested community members explored the question posed by the 11th Biennial Educators’ Conference of the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater: Why...
Kee Tavo
The Israelites are taught that re-entering the Promised Land is more than a physical act. At the core of this great adventure is a spiritual drama calling for giving thanks through a heartfelt thanksgiving, to the God who led Israel from the diverse confines of...
L’Shana Tova: Teshuvah, Tefilah, Tzedakah—Repentance, Prayer, Charity and Justice.
These are the watchwords for the Days of Awe or the High Holy Days between the start of Rosh Hashanah and the conclusion of Yom Kippur. All are examined whether they have lived by these words in the past year and whether they promise to live by these words in the...
Beth Sholom Village holds annual meeting
The evening of Thursday, June 20 began at Beth Sholom Village with drinks and appetizer’s prepared by The Village Caterers in honor of the Village’s annual meeting. The ceremony included many highlights. Neil Friedeman bid farewell to the board as president and...
Ella Jean “Jeannie” Richmon
Virginia Beach —Ella Jean “Jeannie” Richmon passed away on June 25, 2013. Jeannie was born in Portsmouth, Va. She graduated from ODU before she married Wilbur Richmon, from Richmond, Va. She was predeceased by parents Ida and Maxwell Roesen; brother Burnley; and...
Alan B. Nusbaum
Norfolk —Alan B. Nusbaum, affectionately known as “Nuz” by his many friends and business associates, died unexpectedly in a local hospital on June 27 at age 62 after a two-year long, courageous and seemingly successful battle against cancer. A Norfolk realtor and...
Florence Chalem Goldin
Virginia Beach —Florence Chalem Goldin of Virginia Beach passed away peacefully on July 6, 2013. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Jennie Chalem, born in Chicago, Il., and a graduate of Northwestern University. She was predeceased by her husband of 55 years, Dr....
Jane Heller Frieden
Norfolk —Jane Heller Frieden, 86, of the 200 block of Oxford St. Norfolk, Va., died July 6, 2013 after succumbing to complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Until her illness, Mrs. Frieden, a native of Norfolk, was an active volunteer in a variety of civic organizations...
Irene Gerber Cohen
Virginia Beach —Irene Gerber Cohen, 91, passed away on Friday, June 28, 2013 in her residence at Beth Sholom Terrace. A native of Baltimore, Md., she was the daughter of the late Sarah Forman and Samuel Gerber, and the widow of Raymond I. Cohen. She was retired from...
Molly “Mickey” Breman
Norfolk —Molly “Mickey” Breman, born September 28, 1923 in Newark, N.J., passed away on July 1, 2013 in Rockville, Md. She was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., the second child of Heiman and Gussi Lederman and was the sister of Ida Lederman Kates and Skippy Lederman. She...
Dr. Conrad Macon and Dr. Meredith Degnan on their wedding at B’nai Torah Synagogue in Boca Raton, Fla. on May 4, 2013. Conrad is the son of JoAnn and Clay Macon, and the Grandson of Rose Jacobson and Howard Jacobson, of blessed memory, and the grandson of Shirley...