Southeastern Virginia: Chesapeake • Norfolk • Portsmouth • Suffolk • Virginia Beach
Archives
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...
There is something about Yom Kippur that makes time feel different. Perhaps it is the haunting melody of Kol Nidrei, or the fasting, or simply the knowledge that Jews around the world are standing before the same ancient questions: Who have I become? What have I taken...
Two dozen or so women gathered to immerse themselves in Mizrahi culture on the evening of Sunday, August 23. The event was led by Jackie Dratch, creator of the Mizrahi Dance Archive, and organized by NextGen757, a community group for young Jewish adults ages 21 -...
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...
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...
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...
“Unforgettable” is an appropriate way to describe Camp JCC’s 2026 summer. The season was packed with exciting field trips, spirited theme days, new campers, and an incredible staff team, including the additions of Christine Carnahan as camp manager, and Blake Sisler,...
Rosh Hashanah is a special holiday, offering observers a sense of renewal and the opportunity for a fresh start. It is a time for reflecting on the previous year and considering what to do differently in the year to come. The concept might not immediately...
The ritual of Tashlich is an all-encompassing symbolic representation of the High Holidays. This process of releasing sins into the river comes directly from the book of Micah, verse 19: “He will again have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou...
Rosh Hashanah arrives each year carrying questions. What did I accomplish during the year that has passed? Where did I fall short? Whom did I help? Whom did I hurt? What needs to change? But beneath all these questions lies another, more...
The JCC Maccabi Games and Access were held August 2-7 in two different host cities—Toronto and Kansas City. The Team Virginia Beach delegation went to the Games in Canada, joining more than 60 other delegations from nine countries. Eight athletes...
Singer, songwriter, and philanthropist Dolly Parton died Tuesday, August 25 at the age of 80. The outpouring of grief was immediate and universal. “PJ Library and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation team are sad to learn of the passing of musician, philanthropist,...
Supporters of Jewish News help keep local Jewish journalism alive at a time when it feels as if it is disappearing almost everywhere else. Jewish News appreciates all who support the newspaper with generous contributions – whether in honor of or in memory of...
Among the various organizations and programs receiving recent gifts from the Rose Frances Glasser and Bernard Glasser Philanthropic Fund, was Jewish News. The distributions were determined by the late couple’s family. “My mother was a very astute businesswoman...
Growing up in the Bible Belt (Northern Georgia south of Chattanooga, Tennessee), Baptist bred Lauren Krajesky could never imagine where she would be today. “I have to pinch myself,” she says. “I really am in a dream job.” A decade after becoming an executive...
As educators prepare for a new school year, many are facing challenges that extend beyond academics. Rising incidents of antisemitism and other forms of bias, increasing polarization, and the need to foster safe classroom communities have made inclusive teaching...
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s NextGen community recently teamed up with Norfolk Kayak Rentals for an eventful Sunset on the Water experience. Despite cloudy skies, the weather held out so that NextGen kayakers could enjoy time out on the water. ...
When Paul Peck talks about the future of Tidewater Jewish Foundation, he doesn’t begin with fundraising goals or financial projections. He begins with responsibility. “We’re the beneficiaries of the hard work of earlier generations,” he says. “It’s our obligation to...
Every organization has them: ideas discussed around board tables, programs waiting for funding, projects that could strengthen Jewish life, deepen engagement, expand educational opportunities, or bring people together in meaningful ways. For Tidewater Jewish...
Michelle Luria didn’t expect to start over. But now, from her Norfolk apartment overlooking the Elizabeth River, she describes a life filled with new experiences and community. “I love it here,” she says. “The people are so lovely, intelligent, well...
Few diagnoses change the course of a family’s journey quite like Alzheimer’s disease. It reaches far beyond the individual, touching spouses, children, grandchildren, friends, and entire communities. Today, more than 7.4 million Americans age 65 and older are living...
Strolling the streets of downtown Norfolk, one might hear the smooth sound of live jazz wafting from a condo’s windows. “We get together quite often, at least once a week to play,” says Gad Brosch, MD. A gynecologist who retired after 35 years in practice, he now...
Yiddish was the first language Harriet Meier ever spoke. Born in Germany to Polish Holocaust survivors who met in a displaced persons camp after World War II, Meier grew up hearing the language at home and among her parents’ friends. English eventually...
When people think about volunteering, they often focus on the difference they can make for someone else. What I have learned through the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation’s Be A Reader Literacy Project (BeAR) is that the volunteers...
Rabbi Mike Moskowitz brought a thoughtful approach to allyship as a spiritual practice during a June 10 program at the Sandler Family Campus. Presented by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Arts + Ideas and Konikoff Center for Learning, the event was part of...
Shavuot celebrates receiving the Torah, but for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s NextGen community, it also became an opportunity to strengthen relationships, deepen Jewish learning, and explore what it means to grow together. Through two gatherings, one...
The fifth cohort of Shinshinim will arrive in Tidewater later this summer. Shinshinim is an acronym for Shnat Sherut, a year of service undertaken between high school and army service— when Israeli teens spend a year connecting with Jewish communities around the...
Bettie Minette Cooper remembered every person she met.Always known as Minette, she died on October 14, 2025, at 87 years young, leaving a legacy of commitment to family, her synagogue, the arts, and a variety of civic organizations and projects.Cooper’s story began in...
Jewish community has long extended beyond geography, linking people across continents who often recognize a shared sense of belonging.Liora Zerbib knows about this feeling of belonging after spending several weeks with a Jewish host family in Ghent.Zerbib, an Israeli...
The Simon Family JCC Fitness Center recently upgraded its cardio equipment with new treadmills, ellipticals, and rowing machines featuring iFit technology. These machines offer interactive global workouts and studio classes, with systems that automatically adjust...
Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s Simon Family Legacy Celebration on Wednesday, May 27 was an opportunity for communities to converge, gathering around a shared vision, shared responsibility, and shared purpose.More than 100 TJF fundholders, community leaders,...
This year, Shavuot celebrated 3,338 years since the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. To this very day, Jews continue to study the Torah, cherish it, and hold it close. The Torah serves as guidance on how to live and make the world a better place.SIA’s Primary Years...