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Dear Readers, It’s been eight years since we celebrated Thanksgivukah…when the holidays of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah converged. Here we are again…almost. This year the first night of Hanukkah begins on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, which creates the opportunity...
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival 2021–2022 The annual celebration of Jewish writers, books, and ideas, Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival provides...
Ignorance is not bliss: Israeli American actress, activist, and author Noa Tishby to speak on advocating for Israel Wednesday, October 13, 7:30 pm Free and open to the community with in-person and online options available, RSVP (required) at JewishVA.org/IsraelToday...
Stephen Fried with area clergy Sunday, October 3, 5:30 pm Stephen Fried with area professionals Monday, October 4, 7 pm If someone were to ask what’s in your pillbox, you may answer blood pressure medication, cholesterol medication, immunosuppressants, something...
This summer, Camp JCC provided consistency and happiness—what campers so desperately needed after a difficult year. Campers were able to be kids again, counselors were able to role model while showing off their silly side, and families had a sense of routine and...
Sunday, September 12, 10 am–1 pm Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Each year, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Super Sunday marks the biggest day of impact for Tidewater’s Jewish community. Scores of community members participate by answering the call...
Smiling faces and giddy laughter tell the story with absolutely zero words: Camp JCC 2021 is a resounding success. Days at Camp JCC are packed with activities that appeal to each age group and hit just about every interest. From fishing to golfing, swimming to...
The weather was as perfect as the mood when the community gathered in the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community’s “back yard” for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater/Simon Family JCC’s Biennial Meeting on Tuesday, June 15. It was the...
(JTA)—After 12 straight years as Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu is losing power—and the government that’s about to replace him is remarkable in its own right. Netanyahu’s ouster is a huge deal on its own. Over the past decade-plus, as the country’s...
(JTA)—After 11 days of fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed to a “mutual and simultaneous” ceasefire on Thursday, May 20 that began at 2 a.m. Friday Israel time. Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved the truce, after military officials presented what they deemed...
(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...
The sun was shining and the air crisp, making it a perfect day to hang out of car windows and stand up through sunroofs waving Israeli flags and streamers to celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s 73rd Independence Day, at the Sandler Family Campus on Sunday, April 18....
Groundbreaking: Sunday, March 10, 1:30–3:30 pm 425 Washington Park, Norfolk When Sarah Lipman moved from New Jersey to Tidewater less than four years ago, she saw a need for improvement in one particular aspect of the Jewish community. “I came and loved the community,...
(JTA)—I lived in Minnesota for five years. My wife is from there; her family still lives there. When we return to visit, we have to reckon with a frightening reality: My in-laws’ newly elected congressional representative is deeply implicated in anti-Semitism. We are...
Hands United Building Bridges Week 2019 Hands United Building Bridges’ (HUBB) second annual Building Bridges Week brought the Tidewater community together for several meaningful events including a Shabbat service at Ohef Sholom Temple on Friday, January 11; the Summit...
The BIG Saturday Night Celebration of Jewish Film and champagne reception Saturday, January 26, 7:15 pm, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts Tickets: $35; Under 21: $18 Ty Kelly, Team Israel and New York Mets player, and Seth Kramer, director, will speak following...
Presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg and Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi January 21 – January 30 As one of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the nation, the mission of the 26th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard...
Tidewater’s musical weekend with Rick Recht combines fun and inspiration Rick Recht spent four days in Tidewater connecting with educators, NFTY and BBYO high school students, Hebrew Academy of Tidewater and Strelitz Early Childhood Center students and their families,...
Singer-Songwriter Rick Recht to perform community concerts in Tidewater Thursday, November 29–Sunday, December 2 A popular Jewish rock star, Rick Recht is also an educator and leadership motivator. During his visit to Tidewater’s Jewish community, Recht will bring his...
Across the nation, vigils, services, and town hall meetings have taken place since the horrific murders at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday, October 27. The same is true for Tidewater. In sanctuaries and in public spaces and in private schools, the...
The 11 victims of the Saturday, October 27 attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue included two brothers with intellectual disabilities, a married couple and a physician who assisted patients in the early days of the AIDS crisis. The chief medical examiner of Pittsburgh's...
Israel Today’s first ever artist-in-residence, Hanoch Piven, will lead a variety of workshops for people of all ages, backgrounds, and ethnicities, as well as display his work in the Leon Family Gallery during his two-week Tidewater visit, October 15–October 26.
The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater kicked-off its 2019 Annual Campaign to a standing room only crowd on Thursday, Sept. 6 at the Sandler Family Campus. Featured speaker Izzy Ezagui— IDF soldier and author—addressed the packed room, and kept the audience spellbound as he recounted the harrowing and heartening experiences of his life.
(JTA)—For North American Jews, the Jewish year 5778 began with tensions between Israel and the Diaspora over egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall and ended with more tension over a controversial nationality law. In between, North American Jews grappled with the impact of the #MeToo movement, the Trump administration relocated the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and actress Natalie Portman made headlines for turning down a chance to collect a top prize in Israel.
An annual reminder of what it means to be Jewish, this year the High Holidays get their ‘ jump start’ on September 1 with the joyful Selichot services. The following Thursday, another motivator to start 5779 on a positive note—inspiring personal growth and commitment to one’s self as well as to the greater Jewish community—takes place at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Annual Campaign Kickoff.
( JTA)—Jewish tourists from North America are likely to notice one big difference when visiting synagogues around the world. Though a plethora of symbols, such as stars of David and menorahs, may be displayed, national flags are rare inside the sanctuary. Meanwhile,...
NAHAL OZ, Israel (JTA)—Dani Ben David fiddles with his radio, switching between it and his cellphone as he drives through the Beeri Forest, a nature reserve located on the border of Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. As his Jeep jolts over the dirt road, he...
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Society of Professionals (SOP) held its annual spring event ‘An Evening at the Cavalier’ on Wednesday, April 25. Sponsored by Insco Insurance Group, more than 100 people convened at the new Cavalier Hotel Crystal Ballroom to...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israeli leaders and citizens responded with euphoria as the Trump administration moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem on Monday, May 14, designating a pre-existing consular building as the official U.S. diplomatic mission to the Jewish State. Hundreds...
Promoted as a major celebration of the Jewish state on the eve of its 70th anniversary, Israel Fest lived up to its billing on Sunday, April 22. Some 2,500 persons from across the community, double what attended in 2017, filled the backlot of the Simon Family JCC to...
14th Annual Run, Roll or Stroll Sunday, May 6 24th Street Park Virginia Beach Boardwalk Jewish Family Service of Tidewater’s 14th Annual Run, Roll or Stroll features an 8K run, 5K run, 5K walk, and a 1 Mile run/walk. Families and individuals of all ages are encouraged...
David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, publicly read the Declaration of Independence of Israel on May 14, 1948. The anniversary of this date on the Jewish calendar is known as Yom Ha’atzmaut, and this year is Thursday, April 19. As the Tidewater Jewish...