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In a “normal” year, Super Sunday—a much beloved tradition—is simply one part of the Tidewater Jewish community’s fundraising lifecycle. In a critical fundraising year, with rising needs and a true imperative to meet them with immediacy, Super Sunday 2021 became a...
Strelitz International Academy students returned to the Sandler Family Campus for in-person learning on August 24. After almost six months away from their school and their friends, SIA students were clearly excited to be back. It was a unique and busy summer as SIA...
Sunday, September 13, 10 am–1 pm PREDICTION: This year’s United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Super Sunday Community Phone-a-thon will go down as “one for the record books.” Am I predicting an all-time high in the number of cards closed or the total of dollars...
David Konikoff didn’t come up with the legacy phrase “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” however it aptly describes his life purpose and why he imagined the Konikoff Center for Learning at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC with that...
Today’s ‘seniors’ are some of the most active people I know. Whether concentrating at work or relaxing in retirement, ‘busy’ and ‘engaged’ are more than buzz words for the over 55-year-old set. And, the articles in this section prove the point. Lisa Richmon spoke with...
Governor Ralph Northam announced on Tuesday, June 3 that he would move the portion of the Commonwealth that includes Tidewater into Phase 2 of reopening effective Friday, June 5. With his announcement, the Simon Family JCC made final preparations to open its...
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (JTA)—The other day, I saw an interesting Facebook post written by a college student who lives in New York. She was looking to find a daily morning minyan. Specifically, she sought one that met at a “college student-friendly hour,” since most minyanim...
Looking to stay safely connected to real human beings while quarantined? Helping others is a good way to survive and add new meaning to your life. United Jewish Federation of Tidewater recently launched an initiative to meet urgent needs imposed by COVID-19’s...
Sunday, May 3, 11 am The festivities will be different this year, but not having a larger gathering won’t keep Jewish Tidewater from celebrating Israel’s 72 years! Join the community for a day of celebration with virtual activities for Yom Ha’Atzmaut—Israel’s 72nd...
EVEN APART, WE STAND TOGETHER. COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund Kol Yisroel Aravim Zeh b’zeh. All Jews are responsible one for the other. As we enter the season of Passover—a holiday steeped in traditions of coming together with family and friends for the Seder—we know...
With indefinite closings looming due to the spread of COVID-19, everyone is trying to adjust to new routines and establish a new normal. The goal throughout Jewish Tidewater is to minimize disruption and provide continuity of care and services. Above all, the Jewish...
Purim begins at sunset on Monday, March 9 Tidewater is fortunate to have many great Purim events taking place this year. Check some of them out here. Sunday, March 8, 10:30 am A Totally Rad Purim Carnival Ohef Sholom Temple 530 Raleigh Ave, Norfolk...
This year’s Yom Hashoah Commemoration, honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, as well as liberators and righteous gentiles, brought the community together around not just awareness and sadness, but honor, hope, and music on a rainy Sunday night. Yom...
Get hearts pumping at the 13th Annual Run, Roll or Stroll Sunday, May 7, 24th Street Park at the Virginia Beach Boardwalk Spring means it’s time for Jewish Family Service’s m o s t anticipated event of the year: the 13th Annual Run, Roll or Stroll. In addition to the...
Celebrate the State of Israel’s 69th birthday (Yom Ha’Atzmaut in Hebrew) at the annual community-wide Israel Fest. TASTE #WITHISRAEL Fresh Israeli fare made by visiting chefs from Puzzle Israel with desserts and drinks prepared by local synagogues and agencies •...
Sunday, April 23, 6:45 pm, Ohef Sholom Temple Virginia Beach native and author Dr. Jay Grymes is this year’s featured speaker at the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s annual Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day program. Celebrating...
(JTA)—Almost daily accounts of vandalized cemeteries, spray-painted swastikas and bomb threats to JCCs and other Jewish agencies have naturally evoked considerable alarm. Clearly, we must never reconcile ourselves to an America where this is considered normal. Yet we...
Purim is a dark story marked by a crazy party. I’m still unsure why a close brush with extermination became, in the Middle Ages, an opportunity for costumes and farce, but there you have it. It’s the fifth century BCE, about a hundred years after the First Temple’s...
(JTA)—Trees have stories, and Israel’s trees have lots of stories. Scattered throughout the country, scores of ancient and historic trees help shed light on fascinating aspects of Israeli history, from the biblical to the modern, that are often overlooked by the...
Thursday, February 2–Sunday, February 5 Strengthening the Jewish community and engaging all area Jews in a truly transformative experience are two primary goals of the Milton “Mickey” Kramer Scholar-in-Residence Fund’s 4th Annual Tidewater Together. Unique in its...
The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater condemns, without reservation, the decision of the Obama administration not to use its veto power in the U.N. Security Council to defeat a resolution criticizing Israeli settlements. The measure is clearly a blow, despite...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate who became a leading icon of Holocaust remembrance and a global symbol of conscience, died Saturday, July 2 at 87. His death was the result of natural causes, the World Jewish Congress said in a...
The 2016 Biennial Meeting of the Simon Family JCC took place on Wednesday, June 15. During the meeting, outstanding community accomplishments were acknowledged, awards were presented, a president bid his farewell, and a prospective president explained that the...
Successful nonprofits must change with the times. And so, to remain vital to their communities, Jewish organizations across the nation are making strategic structural moves. In the Tidewater Jewish community, two organizations with a closely aligned vision, the Simon...
Sunday, June 5, 11 am–4 pm, Sandler Family Campus Explore everything Israeli at the Simon Family JCC’s biggest party of the year, the sixth annual Israel Fest, honoring Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s 68th Independence Day. The festival honors all the cultural, artistic, and...
Premiere of short documentaries at free screening Sunday, May 22, 2 pm, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts “My name is Alfred Dreyfus. I was born in Rastatt, Germany in 1923.” “My name is Mary Sigillo Barraco. I was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1923.” “My...
Wednesday, May 4, 6:45 pm, Temple Israel Choosing the most powerful and meaningful moment of Tidewater’s annual commemoration of Yom Hashoah, the Holocaust Day of Remembrance, is difficult. This year, there will be an abundance of these moments. Each part of the event...
World-renowned physician from The Cleveland Clinic to speak in Norfolk Wednesday, April 13, 7 pm, Chrysler Museum Approximately 82 million Americans are currently diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. Millions more think they are healthy, but actually are at risk....
The 130 Operation Hamantaschen volunteers did everything they were asked, and more, at the March 6 communitywide “make and bake” program held at the Simon Family JCC. Including the tasting. Quality control wasn’t part of the volunteer description publicized by...
Before the sun had a chance to fully rise, members of the Jewish community rose to take action at the state capitol in Richmond on Tuesday, Feb. 2. More than 50 participants, Tidewater’s largest group for Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day, gathered to make their voices...
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Israel’s government on Sunday, Jan. 31 approved a compromise to expand the non-Orthodox Jewish prayer section of the Western Wall, putting to rest the decades-long fight between Women of the Wall and Israel’s haredi Orthodox religious establishment. The...
Thursday, Feb. 4–Sunday, Feb. 7 For more than four decades, Rabbi Eric Yoffie has embraced his role as teacher, leader, thought-provoker, and change-maker. He’s spoken in front of small congregations and large. He’s met with presidents, prime ministers and leaders of...