Five films are slated to hit big screens in Tidewater in celebration of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s and Simon Family JCC’s Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma and Howard Laderberg. The five films span continents, time periods, and...
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Foundations of Jewish Family Living
Sundays, beginning February 26, 10:30–11:30 am Ohef Sholom Temple, Free February 26: Creating Jewish Space March 26: Living Beyond the Day-to-Day April 23: Birth of a Nation This four-class series offered as a partnership between United Jewish Federation...
JMCC blooms with programs and daffodils
The Jewish Museum and Cultural Center, formerly known as Chevra T’helim, is a hidden treasure tucked in the heart of downtown Portsmouth, Va. Once an Orthodox Schul exemplifying Eastern European Jewish Orthodoxy, the Jewish Museum now offers many educational and...
Congregation Beth El’s “Mickey” Kramer Scholar-in-Residence Weekend: Rabbi Mike Uram
Friday, March 17–Sunday, March 19, Congregation Beth El Rabbi Mike Uram will join Congregation Beth El next month for its annual “Mickey” Kramer Scholar-In-Residence Weekend. Rabbi Uram is the chief Jewish education officer of Jewish Federations of North America...
Steven L. Advocat
Florida—Steven L. Advocat, 80, passed away on Monday, February 6, 2023. Steve was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. to the late Anne and Sidney Advocat. Remaining in New York for his early years, the family later moved to Salisbury, Md. Steve graduated from Wicomico High School...
Bert Lowenthal
Norfolk—Bert Lowenthal, 99, passed away Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at Harbor’s Edge in Norfolk. A sweet and charming man who was loved by many, including his parents, Harry and Rose Lowenthal (deceased), dear wife Arlene Helen Lowenthal (deceased), his sons, Robert...
UJFT’S Arts + Ideas has a new dynamic duo
The Arts + Ideas department of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC has a new professional team working on arts programming for the Jewish community—presenting some of the most exciting programs taking place in the region. Jill Grossman is the...
Virtual auction of Lorraine Fink’s donated works reaps funds for visual arts programming
The traditional in-person experience of art might have temporarily receded into the past, but for local artist Lorraine Fink, not even a pandemic could keep her art from the community she loves. Last month, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC...
Holocaust Commission
The Holocaust Commission gratefully acknowledges the following White Rose and Red Rose donors from this year’s annual campaigns to raise funds to continue our vital programming. We could not provide the vital educational support we offer to teachers, the military, and...
Simon Family Passport to Israel helps 8 teens head to Israel this summer
Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s Simon Family Passport to Israel will send eight students to Israel after a yearlong program pause due to the pandemic. “With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the world last year, we simply couldn’t have students travel in the summer of...
Elie Wiesel to be the first Jew honored with a bust in the National Cathedral in Washington
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Washington’s National Cathedral, known for its role during presidential inaugurations and other days of national import, is honoring Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace Laureate and Holocaust memoirist with a bust, making him the first Jew to be so honored....
What is Israel’s Mount Meron and why were so many Orthodox Jews gathered there for the Lag b’Omer holiday?
(JTA)—“If you haven’t seen the joy of Lag b’Omer on the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, you haven’t seen joy at all,” wrote the author Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israel’s first Nobel Prize laureate. That description reflects an aspect of the annual pilgrimage to Mount...
Start of school for 2021–2022 calendar year is revised for two local districts
Virginia Beach and Norfolk Public Schools will begin classes for the 2021–2022 school year on Thursday, September 9, 2021. This change will ease the transition back to school for Jewish families, eliminating the conflict between the first day of school and Rosh...
JDC Responds to COVID-19 Surge in India
Give at: www.jdc.org/COVIDIndia The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), in coordination with the Indian Jewish community and its local partner SEWA Cooperative Federation, is responding to the devastating COVID-19 surge in India by deploying...
Strelitz International Academy holds in-person student conferences
Communication between parents and teachers is an important part of the experience at Strelitz International Academy. Parents are always encouraged to contact their child’s teacher with questions or concerns that arise during the school year. SIA’s goal is to bring out...
Rare find available at Phoebus Auction Monday, May 31
The auction business can be an historian’s dream come true. People and Items connected to the events of history constantly appear. Provenance is a constant attraction. These people and events occupy the auctioneer’s thoughts and efforts, with family stories expanding...
Camp JCC—Meet the team
Dave, Sarah, Sierra, Lavette, Elyssa, Kate-Lynn, Chris, and Michelle look forward to seeing campers this summer Excited to be back in person this summer, Camp JCC’s leadership staff has both new and familiar faces. The extensive experience among these individuals,...
Danial Watts receives Stein Family College Scholarship
The annual Stein Family College Scholarship of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation was recently awarded to Danial Watts, a soon-to-be graduate of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach. Watts is the 13th recipient of the four-year scholarship, which provides up to...
Janice M. Hurley
Chesapeake—Janice M. Hurley, age 62, passed away Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in her Chesapeake home surrounded by her loving family. Janice was born in Portsmouth General Hospital in Portsmouth on October 10, 1958, the daughter of the late Frank and Esther Newman. She is...
Janna Marjorie Levinstein
Norfolk—Janna Levinstein, 74, passed away on April 18, 2021. Her family will miss her dearly. Condolences can be made at www.vacremationsociety.com. To plant memorial trees in memory, visit the Sympathy Store.
Robert Bruce Shapiro
Norfolk—Robert Bruce Shapiro, 70, of Norfolk passed away Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Arrangements by Affinity Funeral Service Richmond Chapel.
Eli Broad, philanthropist who remade Los Angeles and gave to Jewish causes
(JTA)—Eli Broad, the Jewish philanthropist who strove to reshape Los Angeles as an international culture capital and also gave to Jewish causes, has died at 87. Broad died Friday, April 30, a spokeswoman for the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation told The New York Times....
Your Dollars at Work: Remote religion ramps up during pandemic thanks in part to UJFT zooming in with tech support to local synagogues
In the digital-turned-remote age of work and worship, every single dollar makes a difference. Five synagogues in the area received funds from United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund of the Tidewater Jewish Community to upgrade and...
Cantor Elihu Flax retires from Beth Sholom Village
After almost 18 years of serving the spiritual and religious needs of Beth Sholom Village as its director of Religious Services, Cantor Elihu Flax is retiring in July. Cantor Flax became a fixture at BSV, taking an interest in all of the residents who lived there,...
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky joins BSV
Beth Sholom Village is set to welcome Rabbi Adam Ruditsky as its new Religious Cultural Leader. Ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion of California in Los Angeles, Ruditsky embraces the words of the Kotzker Rebbe, who taught, “a whole heart is a broken heart,”...
Camp JCC is filling fast, spaces are limited
The most common questions that people ask regarding summer camp, says Dave Flagler, Camp JCC director, concerns swimming. “People want to know if swimming will take place,” he says. “’Of course, it will!’ I tell everyone.” Camp JCC, after all, is known for its...