Jewish Tidewater | Jewish News

2027 Super Sunday brings Jewish Tidewater together to learn, play, act, and give

Amy Zelenka — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:01:35 +0000

Sunday, October 11, 12 – 3 pm, Sandler Family Campus

Tidewater’s Jewish community will gather for a very special Super Sunday this month. 2027 Super Sunday is a day dedicated to learning, family fun, volunteerism, and giving, while connecting with local and global organizations.

Learn about the impact of giving
Throughout the day, attendees will have the opportunity to stroll displays in the Copeland Cardo and meet community partners whose work is made possible in part through United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s support. Each agency will share stories highlighting the impact of their services on Jewish communities from Tidewater to Tel Aviv. This is an opportunity for participants to see firsthand how their individual and collective tzedakah supports local and overseas programs, nurtures Jewish pride, and safeguards the Jewish community’s shared future.

A Sunday Funday for families
Noon – 4 pm, Sandler Family Campus
Families are invited to bring their children to Sunday Funday where the kids can bounce, create, and play while parents and other family members take part in the day’s activities. Parents volunteering for Super Sunday who are making calls in support of the Campaign may also drop-off children ages 4 and older during their calling shift. Childcare spots are limited, and drop-off is available only during parents’ calling shifts. Families can register for Sunday Funday when registering for Super Sunday.

Taking action together
Super Sunday is Tidewater’s largest day of Jewish community action, with volunteers playing a central role in making the campaign successful. During the event, volunteer callers will reach out to fellow-community members to request pledges of support for the 2027 Community Campaign. Super Sunday shows that every gift matters, and every connection matters, whether it comes through a phone call, text message, or personal conversation. Community members interested in volunteering are encouraged to sign up for a calling shift. Calling will take place in the Fleder Multipurpose Room.

Giving back to the community
Super Sunday also brings with it the simple invitation to give. Donations to United Jewish Federation of Tidewater help strengthen the local community while supporting Jewish life beyond the region.

This year’s Super Sunday offers something for everyone — and an opportunity to learn about the work UJFT does every single day.

For more information and to register, go to jewishva.org/supersunday.

Amy Zelenka is chief development officer for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.

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Jewish News VA — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 16:58:27 +0000

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$2 million endowment for new Curator of Photography at Chrysler Museum honors Germaine Clair, former Jewish News art director

Jewish News VA — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 16:53:26 +0000

A transformative $2 million gift from longtime Chrysler Museum supporter and former curator Brooks Johnson will establish an endowed Curator of Photography position at the Chrysler Museum of Art. The newly created Germaine Clair and Brooks Johnson Curator of Photography will ensure the continued growth, care, and visibility of the Museum’s photography collection.

The endowment honors Johnson’s late wife, Germaine Clair, who was an active member of Hampton Roads’ creative community known for her warmth, generosity, elegance, and spirited advocacy for the arts. Clair served as art director for Jewish News for 18 years, where she used her design talent and production expertise to produce the paper and its accompanying materials – meeting deadline after deadline. A highly accomplished graphic designer, Clair also produced numerous books and exhibition catalogues for the Chrysler Museum of Art, as well as W.W. Norton & Company, Bulfinch Press, Aperture, and Takarajima Books. In addition, she taught design as adjunct faculty at Tidewater Community College. Clair’s legacy lives on through her lasting impact on the region’s cultural landscape and the many institutions she supported.

Johnson began his career at the Chrysler Museum in 1977 as the museum photographer, and in 1980 became the first Curator of Photography, before departing in 2008 to begin a second career at Harmony Investments, Inc., in Virginia Beach. During his 31-year tenure, Johnson brought more than 4,500 objects, spanning the history of photography, into the collection, while organizing more than 100 exhibitions and more than two dozen publications. In June 2019, he was awarded the title of Founding Curator of Photography by the Chrysler Museum.

“Germaine and I conceived the Chrysler Museum’s photography program as an integrated program of collections, exhibitions, and publications, and with generous support from donors, that vision became an enduring reality,” says Johnson. “Germaine’s encouragement and deep belief in photography shaped the program in countless ways, and this endowment carries our shared vision forward by ensuring the program continues to grow and serve the museum and its community for generations to come. There could be no more meaningful way to honor Germaine, the life we shared, and the love, partnership, and inspiration she brought to my life.”

“We are deeply appreciative of Brooks and Germaine, and the impact they’ve had on our community,” says Erik H. Neil, Macon and Joan Brock Director of the Chrysler Museum of Art. “This remarkable gift allows us to build on decades of success and reinforces our commitment to photography as a vital artistic and educational medium.”

The Chrysler Museum of Art’s world-class photography collection includes more than 5,000 works – from iconic works by recognized masters to innovative pieces that reflect the medium’s diversity and breadth.

Brooks Johnson and Eric Neil at the museum.

Megan Dombroski (Germaine Clair’s daughter) and Brooks Johnson. (Photograph by Lynn Marsden-Atlass.)

Be A Reader is back to school

Robin Ford — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 16:21:08 +0000

The High Holy Days just offered a time to pause, reflect, and think about the year ahead – how to do better, how to give more, and, hopefully, how to make a difference.

Now it’s time to get busy!

This is one of Be A Reader (BeAR) Literacy Project’s favorite times of the year. These early fall days are when mentors are matched with schools, teachers choose their second graders, books and supplies are being gathered, and mentors prepare to head back into classrooms across Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

For 27 years, BeAR mentors have spent one hour a week reading one-on-one with second-grade students in local Title I schools. Mentors don’t need to be a teacher or a reading expert – they just need a little patience, a love for kids, and a willingness to show up.

To a child, having someone walk through that school door every week just for them says, “You matter! I believe in you! I’m excited to see you!” That’s a pretty big message packed into one little hour.

The High Holy Days may be over, but the things reflected on don’t have to be. Now, they can be carried into the new year and put into action.
It might not be possible to change the entire world, but it certainly is possible to change someone’s little corner of it.

For one second grader, one hour a week is a wonderful place to start.

To learn more about BeAR, contact Robin Ford at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater at 757-321-2304 or rford@ujft.org.

A legacy of opportunity

Tidewater Jewish Foundation Staff — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:21:05 +0000

Harry Mansbach, of blessed memory, believed that opportunity carried responsibility. His daughter, Sally Herman, remembers a father who understood how much circumstance could shape a person’s path. She says he believed those who had been fortunate had a responsibility to create opportunities for others.

When his wife, Marie, died in 1989, Mansbach put that belief into action. Marie had been involved with the Girl Scouts, and Mansbach chose to honor her by investing in young people in their hometown of Norfolk. The idea became the Marie A. Mansbach Memorial Student Motivation Program.

Mansbach wasn’t necessarily looking for the valedictorian or the student whose potential was already obvious. He envisioned helping capable students who needed encouragement, mentorship, and someone willing to believe more was possible.

“He was able to take himself out of his own moment and empathize with other people,” says Herman, who serves on the board of the program. More than three decades later, his family still carries that responsibility.

Today, through An Achievable Dream, the program provides Norfolk Public Schools students with mentoring, academic support, enrichment, and college preparation – all supported by the program’s endowment at Tidewater Jewish Foundation.

For Herman, continuing to invest reflects what her father taught his family. “Every human being has something to contribute,” she says. “Being so fortunate in so many ways, it’s our responsibility to help others.”

After her father’s death, Herman recognized that managing an increasingly complex program required institutional stability, financial stewardship, and the ability to adapt without losing sight of its original purpose. The family found that partner in TJF.

That relationship has allowed the family to remain connected to Harry and Marie Mansbach’s intentions without carrying the responsibility of administering the program alone. For May Lynn Mansbach, the couple’s daughter-in-law and a program board member, TJF has become more than the institution managing the endowment.

“With TJF, we’ve never felt like we simply handed over a fund to be managed,” says May Lynn Mansbach. “They have taken a genuine interest in the program, in the students, and in what Harry and Marie wanted to accomplish. They’ve helped us care for the legacy, not just the money.”

That distinction matters. The family needed a partner capable of understanding why the fund existed, protecting Harry and Marie Mansbach’s intentions, and helping the program evolve as circumstances changed.

For families considering their own charitable legacy, the Mansbach story offers a model: it’s not necessary to know today exactly how a community’s needs will change tomorrow. That is what TJF provides the Mansbach family; the stability to protect the original vision, the flexibility to respond to changing needs, and the confidence to continue investing in something deeply personal to their family.

To learn more, go to foundation.jewishva.org.

Rabbi Levi’s newest trope sidekick is his own 13-year-old son

Joel Rubin — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:53:31 +0000

Conservative Jews like me who have read from the Torah for years either memorize the words, vowels, and musical notes…or trope…or just manage to get through typically a handful of sentences from an eighth of a third of the sedrah or weekly portion (the triennial cycle it’s called) on Shabbat mornings.

But the guys on the Orthodox team chant all 304,805 words over the course of the year, an impressive achievement. Rabbi Levi Brashevitzky of Chabad of Tidewater is such a Baal Korei. After initially watching him from the gallery at the Chabad “House” (a former funeral parlor) on Colley Avenue, I asked, “how do you know the 27 tropes so well?” They are not on the parchment, but they are in the Chumash, which includes the entire text with translations, vowels, and trope. The congregants have copies of the Chumash at their seats, but more importantly, so does the one standing to the reader’s left. “Do you see what he’s doing?” queried Brashevitzky.

And so the next time I was at Chabad, I watched closely. While the Rebbe was zipping through the unadorned lines in the columns, in his peripheral vision was his human cue card, flashing him a set of signals. “When he sticks out his index finger at an angle, that’s a re-vi-i,” says the 48-year-old Brooklyn-born father of three. “An okay gesture with two fingers is a te-li-shi. A hard chop means ‘sohf pasuke,’ the end of the sentence.”

Larry Bublick, a longtime member, was Brashevitzky’s signal guy for years. His wife’s brother is an occasional sideman. The newest one, though, is his and wife Rashi’s (nee Margolin) flesh and blood, their youngest, Shaya Brashevitzky, freshly bar mitzvahed and now motioning pah-zairs and ti-veers like a pro on Saturdays.

So on a recent Thursday (not on a Shabbos), I had this proud abba and his ben meet me at Chabad for an interview, demonstration and photos. “Yes, I wanted to learn how to do the trope signals,” says Shaya. “I thought it was cool.”

In reality, it is not a sin to mess up a trope. “It’s the words that are most important,” says the learned Brashevitzky, and in most shuls of any denomination, there are minders in the pews ready to correct the reader when he blows a Hoo or a Hee.

“I don’t mind at all,” says the rabbi, “because the Torah is our story. Every letter, every paragraph has meaning.” As for the trope, Google says the Masoretes, a group of 10th century scholars living in Tiberias, Israel codified them. As to who devised the signals (www.learntrope.com/handSigns.html), “I don’t know,” says Brashevitzky, “but they work.”

Brashevitzky says he did not read the Torah at his own Bar Mitzvah and wasn’t aware of all the trope signing until his wedding weekend. Now it’s his vocation. In advance of each week’s “kriat ha torah,” he relies mostly on his own memory of the text and some minor prep each Friday afternoon.

Once he has yad in hand and a Cohain aliyah chanter over his shoulder, Brashevitzky depends on his signaler to keep pace with him (a couple words ahead actually), so the presentation seems seamless to the men and women on either side of the mechitzah (separator). And take it from this occasional Torah reader, no one tells the tale of the Five Books faster, clearer and more melodically than Rev Levi Brashevitzky

Havdalah on the beach

Stephanie Adler Calliot — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:39:59 +0000

It was another beautiful evening at the beach on Saturday, August 29, when 68 people (but who is counting) gathered in our backyard to celebrate Havdalah together.

Known for separating the Shabbat from the ordinary weekdays, Havdalah is a joyful service and a great reason to be together. There are many interpretations of the symbols used during the service: the cup of wine (grape juice) for a full cup of blessings for the coming week; sweet aromatic spices to refresh the soul; and a braided candle to blend light and darkness. All good reasons to make one stop, think, and be grateful.

Rabbi Ari, from Temple Emanuel, lead the group in singing and swaying and treated everyone to a beautiful blowing of the shofar.

And then, there was dessert, another sweet part of the evening. Friends – new and old, young and wise (see what I did there?) – shared this special night. A family from New York, considering a move to the area, also came, knowing not a soul. But when they left, they felt connected. They were thrilled with the welcoming spirit of our community.

We are a lucky bunch.

Stephanie Calliott, Don London, and Elisa Malkman.

David Leon, Betty Ann and Scott Levin.

Lauren Brand Zabazhinsky, Bonnie Brand, Judy Rosenblatt, and Cathy Eichelbaum.

JoAnn Macon, Sharon Leach, Ralph Soussan, and Clay Macon.

Rabbi Ari blows the shofar.

Marilyn Siegel, Nate Elkin, Ken Siegel, and Joyce Elkin.

Rabbi Ari Oliszewski and Larry Siegel.

Larry Weinstein, Stephanie Calliott, and Rabbi Ari Oliszewski from Temple Emanuel.

Building partnerships, strengthening community safety

Robin Mancoll — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:25:47 +0000

Temple Emanuel leadership recently welcomed Virginia Beach Chief of Police Paul Neudigate, members of his command staff, and 2nd Precinct Commander Captain James Gordon for a series of conversations focused on partnership, communication, and community safety. Joining the discussions were Mike Goldsmith, Tidewater’s Secure Community Network Regional Security advisor and Robin Mancoll, senior director of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Jewish Community Relations Council.

Ahead of the visit, VBPD’s Community Liaison Unit, along with the 2nd Precinct’s sergeant and officers, met with synagogue leadership for an introductory conversation and walkthrough of Temple Emanuel and its education building. The meeting provided an opportunity to build relationships, discuss challenges and opportunities, and familiarize officers with the facility, recognizing that it is far better to become familiar with a property before an emergency than during one.

“The strength of Virginia Beach lies in our ability to foster deep, meaningful collaborations between the police department, our citizens, and our faith-based communities,” says Chief Paul W. Neudigate. “When law enforcement joins hands with the people we serve and the spiritual leaders who guide our neighborhoods, we create an unbreakable network of support and communication.”

The meetings underscored the importance of strong partnerships between law enforcement and faith communities. Participants discussed the Jewish community’s unique needs while identifying opportunities to strengthen communication, collaboration, and ongoing security and preparedness efforts.

“United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is grateful to Chief Neudigate, his leadership team, Captain Gordon and the officers of the 2nd Precinct, and Captain Gervin and the officers of the 4th Precinct, where the Sandler Family Campus is located, and the Virginia Beach Police Department as a whole for their partnership and commitment to helping ensure the safety, security, and well-being of the Jewish community,” says Betty Ann Levin, UJFT’s executive vice president/CEO.

Secure Community Network trainings and services are offered at no cost thanks to the generosity of donors to United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. The support helps ensure every Jewish organization has access to expert security resources, regardless of size or budget. To help sustain this important work, please consider donating to UJFT’s Annual Campaign.

To learn more about SCN, visit JewishVA.org/SCN or email Mike Goldsmith at mgoldsmith@securecommunitynetwork.org.

America at 250 Spotlight: Tidewater Jewish Hero: Henry Scolnick, a community creator

Sierra Lautman — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:24:32 +0000

Seventeen-year-old Henry Scolnick has already accomplished what many adults only hope to achieve. As the founder of Ballers Basketball, he has built far more than an adaptive sports league, he has created a community where children with unique abilities, teenage volunteers, and families find friendship, confidence, and belonging. Along the way, he has become a thoughtful leader and mentor whose impact extends well beyond the basketball court.

Six years ago, while still in middle school, Scolnick founded Ballers Basketball after watching his younger brother, Oliver, who has autism, lose opportunities to play organized sports as competition increased. Partnering with Aid Another, he created an adaptive basketball league where children with unique abilities, including those with autism, Down Syndrome, mobility challenges, and other disabilities, could experience the joy of sports in an environment centered on inclusion rather than competition.

Today, Ballers has grown from seven players to 40, pairing each participant with a volunteer buddy who provides one-on-one support throughout the season. For his commitment to building that community, Scolnick is recognized as an Outstanding Jewish American in Tidewater, an initiative of the Konikoff Center for Learning at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater that celebrates local Jewish individuals whose lives exemplify leadership, service, and Jewish values.

This is not his first recognition for creating Ballers Basketball. In 2025, Scolnick was named one of 15 recipients for the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award – the youngest recipient in last year’s cohort. He was also named one of the Top 100 Emerging Innovators through the Horn School of Entrepreneurship at University of Delaware.

Now entering his senior year at Cape Henry Collegiate, Scolnick has watched Ballers evolve into something much bigger than he originally imagined.

“What started as a program for my brother and his friends has become something that’s valuable for the whole community,” he says.

That community is built intentionally. Scolnick works to pair players with the same volunteer whenever possible throughout the season, giving friendships time to develop. By the end of each winter, conversations extend well beyond basketball. Buddies catch up on school, favorite foods, and weekend plans.

One pairing particularly stands out to Scolnick. One of his friends volunteered and was matched with a girl who had never played basketball. As her confidence grew each week, so did their relationship. By the season’s end, not only was the player beaming with pride, but her family expressed deep gratitude for the friendship that had formed.

Those relationships often change the volunteers just as much as the players.

Scolnick sees Ballers as an expression of the Jewish value of tikkun olam, repairing the world, not simply by serving children with unique abilities, but by introducing neurotypical teenagers to peers they might otherwise never meet. Many volunteers arrive with little experience interacting with people with disabilities. They leave with new friendships, greater empathy, and a broader understanding of inclusion.

Running Ballers has also transformed Scolnick. Beyond organizing practices and recruiting volunteers, he has learned to navigate setbacks, solve problems, and adapt when plans inevitably change.

“If one day we don’t have enough volunteers, we have to figure it out because these kids depend on us,” he says. “I’ve had to learn how to adapt quickly and keep the program running no matter what.”

Those experiences have reshaped his understanding of leadership. Rather than seeing leadership as being in charge, Scolnick believes it means paying attention, making sure everyone feels welcome, recognizing when someone is struggling, and stepping in before a small challenge becomes a larger one.

That philosophy stems from his relationship with Oliver, whose experiences first inspired Ballers. When asked about his parents’ belief that, as Oliver’s older brother, Scolnick has been the most meaningful intervention in Oliver’s life, Scolnick is both humbled and quick to redirect the focus.

“It’s gratifying,” he says, “but I’m not doing this for the praise. I just wanted him to have the same great childhood and opportunities I had.”

Part of Scolnick’s preparation for next year when he’ll be in college is considering Ballers’ future. He’s already training younger student leaders to take over the program, hoping each generation of volunteers will mentor the next. His goal is to keep Ballers going and for it to remain youth-led, giving high school students the opportunity to grow as leaders while serving others.

Asked what success would look like 20 years from now, Scolnick says he hopes former players and volunteers will look back and realize that Ballers helped shape who they became.

If that happens, he believes the program will have accomplished exactly what he set out to do: create a place where everyone belongs.

Interested in nominating someone to be recognized as an Outstanding Jewish American in Tidewater? Visit JewishVA.org/TidewaterHeroes or contact Sierra Lautman at SLautman@UJFT.org.

ODU ProfessorAmy Milligan receives award from national academic organization

Jewish News VA — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:21:40 +0000

In recognition of her leadership in combating antisemitism and fostering a safer, more welcoming campus environment for Jewish and Zionist students, Professor Amy K. Milligan, Batten Endowed Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at Old Dominion University, received the second Academic Engagement Network (AEN) Faculty Changemaker Award ever to be awarded.

AEN is an academic organization comprised of more than 1,300 faculty members on nearly 400 campuses who combat antisemitism and advocate for open and robust discourse on Israel.

The Faculty Changemaker Award honors AEN members who demonstrate exceptional dedication to confronting antisemitism on campus and whose actions have helped bring about positive change in their community.

This is not the first time Milligan has received recognition for her commitment to fighting antisemitism and dedication to teaching. In 2018 she received the John R. Broderick Diversity Champion Award from Old Dominion University. In 2020, she won the Jeffrey B. Spence Award for Interfaith Understanding from Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities. In 2023, Milligan accepted the Robert L. Stern Excellence in Teaching Award from Old Dominion University. In 2024, she was selected as one of 20 participants nationwide for Resetting the Table’s training on navigating difficult conversations about Israel and Palestine. In 2025, she earned the Shine a Light on Antisemitism Civic Courage Award for University Educators and Administrators from The Jewish Education Project.

“This national recognition is especially meaningful to me because it reflects work that has become such an important part of my professional and personal life: supporting Jewish and Zionist students, confronting antisemitism in higher education, promoting civil discourse, and helping create campus communities where students feel supported, empowered, and able to speak openly about their identities and their connections to Israel,” says Milligan. “I see this award not as a culmination, but as an encouragement to continue this work.”

At ODU, Milligan has worked to create a safe environment for her students. In April 2025, with initial funding from AEN, she opened the Am Yisrael CHAI Café in her office to provide Jewish students with a gathering place to find community, ask difficult questions, and talk through their experiences in a supportive environment. Her mission is to promote civil discourse on campus to create an environment where all students can speak openly about their identities, perspectives, and connections to Judaism. She has sneakers that are painted with Am Yisrael Chai and feature the Star of David, which she wears regularly while teaching and attending events. It’s just one of the many ways she truly walks the walk.

Through Milligan’s efforts, she hopes to instill in her students the courage to connect across differences while empowering them to stay true to themselves and their identities.

Milligan describes AEN’s faculty network as an important source of professional support and community that has strengthened her work as an advocate and educator.

“There is still important work to do,” says Milligan. “I remain deeply committed to educating about antisemitism and anti-Zionism and advocating for Jewish and Zionist students wherever I can.”