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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.

Thank you to our supporters who recently donated to Jewish News!

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.)

Sixteen elections later, voting still matters

Robin Mancoll — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 16:48:24 +0000

This election season marks my 16th election with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Jewish Community Relations Council.

Over those 16 election cycles, I’ve watched elections energize the community, spark debate, shape public policy, and help determine the direction of local, state, and national government. I’ve also heard countless people say the same thing: “My vote won’t make a difference.”

History tells us otherwise.

One of the most compelling examples happened just across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Those who follow elections likely remember the 2017 race between David Yancey and Shelly Simonds for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. After Election Day, a recount, and legal challenges, the race ended in an exact tie and was ultimately decided by a random drawing under Virginia law.

At a time when concerns about antisemitism, support for Israel, and the safety of Jewish communities are top of mind throughout the Jewish community, voting is one of the most direct ways to make your voice heard.

But making your voice heard requires more than simply showing up on Election Day. It means becoming an informed voter by learning about the candidates, understanding the issues, reviewing the ballot, and planning how and when to vote.

To help make that easier, the JCRC created a 2026 Election Toolkit – a one-stop resource for Virginia voters. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater must remain nonpartisan. The toolkit is designed to encourage informed and engaged participation in the democratic process.

Sixteen elections later, the message remains the same:
Get educated. Show up. Vote.
Because your vote matters.
Every vote matters.

Visit JewishVA.org/Election26 to make your plan to vote and access the toolkit.

Robin Mancoll, is senior director, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Jewish Community Relations Council.

Honoring one’s father and mother

Haley Bartel — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 16:19:48 +0000

“Honor your father and your mother” is one of the most recognizable of the Ten Commandments – simple enough for a child to memorize, yet its sentiment sticks with many Jews far more into adulthood.

Kibud av v’em, the Jewish obligation to honor one’s parents, doesn’t end when childhood does. It follows families as they make some of life’s most difficult decisions: how to care for a parent who is aging.

Rabbi Jacob Herber of Congregation Beth El expands on what honoring a parent requires, per Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16. Feeding them, providing for them, and helping them get around are all core examples.

“As Jews, we now face many situations that the Torah and Talmud never anticipated,” Herber says – dementia, nursing facilities, life support, a parent who can no longer communicate. “We should always try to provide our parents with dignity and care. But each situation should be taken into consideration.”

Herber is careful to note that kibud av v’em plays only a small role in actual life-or-death medical decisions. The more central Jewish values at play, he says, are the obligation to save lives, to prevent suffering, and to honor a parent’s own wishes. When congregants come to him wrestling with these decisions, he starts by listening.

“I like to remind my congregants to ask themselves: What would my mother or father want? What is the doctor saying they will gain from this treatment? Will this allow my parent to live comfortably and have quality of life? What can my family do to take care of my parent?”

Elder law attorney Scott Alperin equates honoring one’s parent to respecting them. “It involves both a spiritual obligation to dignify them because they are responsible for giving you life, but also reflects a responsibility to respect them because your parents play an essential role in guiding you to achieve your lot in life.”

At his practice, Alperin Law, he works with families navigating long-term care and end-of-life planning on a regular basis, and the principle of honoring one’s parents shows up in nearly every case that crosses his desk. The hardest conversations often involve a parent who wants to stay independent even as it becomes less safe to do so.

“Mom and dad may wish to remain in the residence they have called home for several decades for as long as possible,” he says, “but there are complicating considerations as the parents decline and confront mobility limitations, cognitive impairment, or the need for assistance with their activities of daily living.”

One of the most difficult scenarios he sees is a parent who is no longer safe to drive but refuses to give up their license. “We all take for granted our freedom of movement and the ability to drive where we need to go, and that is one of the most heartbreaking conversations to have with a parent who is faced with permanently losing their independence.”

This is why Alperin encourages families to plan ahead – executing a general durable power of attorney and a healthcare power of attorney while a parent is still able to, so that a trusted agent can step in without the expense and emotional toll of a guardianship proceeding. That said, even with the right documents in place, families still have to reckon with a deeper question.

“The biggest misconception is the recognition that what the child perceives as being in the best interest of the parent does not always equate to what the parent desires,” Alperin says. “Many children erroneously assume that because their parents are old and frail, what the children want is best for their parents. Often that is not the case.”

Rabbi Levi Brashevitzky of Chabad stresses that the obligation doesn’t end when a parent can no longer reciprocate. “Not only does kibud av v’em apply then,” he says, “Torah teaches that it applies after their passing too.”

His advice to families navigating the hardest calls is less about legal mechanics and more about posture. “Always approach with pledging the fifth of the Ten Commandments,” he says. “Reflect on the partnership they have with God in your creation. Remember your children learn most by what you do and how you handle situations, more than what you tell them and or demand of them.”

Through the legal framework and religious grounding, a common thread emerges: honoring a parent isn’t about doing everything they ask or protecting them from every risk. It’s about taking their wishes seriously while maintaining a mindset that values both practical and the spiritual perspectives of the law. Most importantly, it’s knowing that how a family navigates these moments matters just as much as what they decide.

Lev Sara Bikkur Cholim Committee initiative

Avigayil Perry — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 15:21:34 +0000

More than 50 women gathered on the top floor of the Assembly building in downtown Norfolk for the Lev Sara Bikkur Cholim Inaugural Dinner in March. Lev Sara Bikkur Cholim is a committee founded by Shari Berman, Shana Danziger, Liba Eisenberg, Dee Slone, and Michal Stein. Attendees enjoyed a dairy dinner catered by Cater613 while listening to speakers share how the project began and highlight the importance of the mitzvah of bikkur cholim.

Shari Berman opened the program by explaining the “why” behind the project. Lev Sara is named in memory of her mother-in-law, Shirley Berman, whose Hebrew name was Sara. Berman described how her mother-in-law dedicated her life to chesed, to bikkur cholim. In addition to her work as a social worker, she volunteered with an organization that supports people with cancer. Berman said she “felt this project would be a meaningful way to honor Shirley’s memory.”

In introducing Elise Wolf, the keynote speaker, Michal Stein noted that Wolf’s connection to Norfolk spans many years. Born in Norfolk to Benn and Jackie Richels, she noted that the community continues to benefit from the hard work the Richels invested in Norfolk’s Jewish community. As the principal of Bais Yaakov of Baltimore, Wolf has played a significant role in educating thousands of young Jewish women, including Stein, who highlighted the love, care, and devotion Wolf shows her students during their time at the school and long after graduation.

Wolf began by saying that when she researched the topic of bikkur cholim, “it never occurred to me how nuanced and how varied this mitzvah is.” She broke the mitzvah down into three parts: what it is, where it appears in the Torah, and the benefits of performing it. The word bikkur, she explained, means to check on someone and ensure that their needs are met.

Wolf shared a couple of stories stressing the benefits of bikkur cholim.

First, she told a story from the Gemara about the great first-century sage, Rabbi Akiva. When one of his students was absent for a couple of days and his classmates had not seen him, Rabbi Akiva suspected he was ill, as he was typically diligent and dedicated. When Rabbi Akiva visited him, he found drawn window shades and the room dusty. He immediately opened the windows to let in fresh air, changed the bed linens, and spent a few minutes speaking with his student. The student said to his rebbe, “You have given me life.” Wolf emphasized this Gemara’s lesson: when we neglect the sick, we cause great harm, but when we care for them, we give life.

Another story was about Rabbi Aryeh Levin, a revered figure in Jerusalem who passed away in the 1960s. Rabbi Levin regularly visited hospital patients. One day, the mother of a sick child approached him in tears, explaining that she could not provide for her son and that no one was caring for him. Rabbi Levin promised to add the boy to his list of weekly visits. After several weeks, the child remarked, “They’re finally paying attention to me, checking if I need anything.” When Rabbi Levin thanked the hospital staff, they replied, “If he is important to you, he must be important to us.” Wolf emphasized that the takeaway from this story is that when hospital staff see others showing care and attention to a patient, they are more likely to do the same. She said she has witnessed this dynamic herself during the many hours she has spent in hospitals with families.

Liba Eisenberg introduced the final part of the program. “Now we have ‘the what,’ the importance of this mitzvah. (But) what makes the biggest difference is not in what but in how we do the mitzvah.” Participants at each table spent about 10 minutes discussing pre-distributed questions, including: What is helpful—and what is not? What does it mean to show up without extracting information? How do we want people to feel after interacting with us? Several themes emerged: It is often more helpful to offer something specific—“I make soup; can I bring you some at 1?”—rather than asking a broad question like, “What can I do to help?” which may put the burden on the person who is ill. Participants also noted the importance of respecting privacy and not pressing for details about someone’s condition. Instead, the focus should be on offering time and conversation. Genuine care should feel natural and unforced. Visits should not be rushed; rather than arriving with an eye on the clock, one should be present and make the interaction about the other person. Ultimately, listening was highlighted as one of the most meaningful ways to support someone going through a difficult time.

Before leaving, attendees completed cards indicating how they could get involved in the project, such as cooking and delivering meals, and visiting hospitals or senior living facilities. Although the committee was initiated by members of B’nai Israel, its mission extends to serving anyone in need within the greater Tidewater Jewish community.

To participate as a volunteer or recipient of services, email levsarabikkurcholim@gmail.com, call 757-559-1409, or go to https://www.bnaiisrael.org/lev-sara-bikur-cholim.html.

At 90, Holocaust Survivor Erica Ausch shows no signs of slowing down

Joel Rubin — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 15:19:25 +0000

For the past 13 summers, Erica Ausch has led hour-long water aerobics classes for fellow residents at the Oceans Condominiums on Atlantic Avenue. “Raise hands, bring them over your head, then down to your sides,” Ausch calls out. “Kick right side, arms out, then left, 10 times.”

“We call her ‘the world’s best teacher’,” says Evelyn Dowdy.

“She works your arms and legs, all your joints,” adds Dowdy’s sister Anne Holcombe. “As we get older, it’s what we need to do.”

For Ausch, it’s the latest chapter in a life that began in Kittsee, Austria, where in 1938 at age 2, her family hid out on a marooned barge on the Danube River with dozens of other Jews, relying on food from strangers to survive the coming Nazi invasion. “We were lucky,” she recalls. “We had relatives in Norfolk and were able to obtain affidavits to leave.”

Once here, “my father, who had run a tavern in Austria, took odd jobs at Hofheimer’s and Stein Furniture, before saving enough money to buy the Newport Delicatessen on 35th Street,” says Ausch.

He would change its name to his own, Reisner’s, and bring Ausch and her husband Eddie into the business, which became one of the first tenants in Janaf Shopping Center in 1964. “We sold a lot of sandwiches and wine until retiring in 1996,” she says.

Linda Ausch, one of their three daughters, took over and moved it to Great Neck Road before closing. Today it’s a Jimmy John’s.

Linda, who works in development part time for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, lives with her mom at the Oceans (Eddie, Ausch’s soulmate for 60 years, died in 2013). “My mother’s amazing,” she says. “So healthy that her cardiologist recently said, ‘come back in a year instead of six months;’ maybe it’s because of her lifestyle.”

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.

Yom Kippur: When “Impossible” becomes “I’m Possible”

Rabbi Ari Oliszewski — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:56:59 +0000

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 for granted? And, perhaps most importantly: who could I still become?

We tend to think of Yom Kippur as the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar. And it is. But solemnity should not be confused with despair. Yom Kippur may actually be the most hopeful day of the Jewish year — because it makes an extraordinary claim about human beings: we are not finished. And in the same breath, it asks us to see what we already have with new eyes, before life forces us to.

Look at a word we use far too easily: impossible. Now move the space. I’m possible. It sounds like wordplay, but it may hold one of Yom Kippur’s deepest teachings. Teshuvah is Judaism’s refusal to accept that a human being is ever a finished product.

The Talmud tells us about Resh Lakish, whose life had taken him far from the world of Torah before Rabbi Yochanan encountered him — and saw something Resh Lakish could no longer see in himself: potential, strength that could be redirected, a future that did not have to resemble the past. Resh Lakish changed his life and became one of the great Sages of his generation. His past was real. But it was not his destiny.

Most of us carry something we wish we could rewrite — a mistake, a broken relationship, words we wish we could take back. Judaism does not ask us to pretend those chapters were never written. It asks something more demanding: what chapter will you write next?

That question becomes sharper when we ask a harder one: what would happen if, suddenly, we lost what we complain about? What if the complicated relationship with a parent were no longer there? What if the job that exhausts us disappeared tomorrow, and we found ourselves missing it? Something strange happens when we imagine loss — irritation becomes gratitude. Ingratitude begins with the assumption that good things are inevitable. They are not.

Yom Kippur asks us to see our blessings with different eyes, not to frighten us, but to awaken us. Call your parents. Hold your children a little longer. Apologize while there is still someone to hear it. Say “I love you” before it is left unsaid. Be grateful for the ordinary Tuesday, the crowded table, the imperfect relationship, the friend who still answers the phone. Teshuvah begins when we stop assuming that tomorrow owes us a continuation of today.

Maimonides made one of Judaism’s boldest statements about human freedom: the power is given to every person to incline toward good and be righteous, if one so chooses. We are free — not free from consequences, not free to pretend our mistakes never happened, but free to decide what happens next. And yet we so often build a narrative about ourselves and live inside it for years: I am just like this. That relationship is beyond repair. It is too late. These may be the most dangerous forms of “impossible” — because eventually we stop recognizing them as assumptions and start treating them as facts.

When the final shofar sounds at the close of Yom Kippur, it can feel like an ending. Perhaps it is the opposite. There are relationships still waiting to be repaired, apologies waiting to be spoken, blessings we have failed to notice — and a version of ourselves we have not yet met.

Your past is not your destiny. Your story is not over. And the person you could still become is waiting for you to begin.

My wish for all of us this Yom Kippur is simple: I wish that we could truly become “I’m possible.” May we find the strength to forgive — the people who hurt us, the chapters we wish were different, and even ourselves — so that we do not need to lose what we have today in order to finally appreciate it. May the things that bother us stop having the power to keep us from the people and the blessings already in front of us.
Gmar Chatimah Tovah.

Rabbi Ari Oliszewski, Temple Emanuel, Virginia Beach.

Mizrahi in Motion: Connecting through art, food, and movement

Haley Bartel — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:46:31 +0000

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 – 45.

“This is a women-focused event because there’s so many traditions of women doing exactly this, of gathering together, doing henna, and dancing,” Dratch says.
Held at a home in Virginia Beach, the evening kicked off with a helping of Mediterranean staples — falafel, schnitzel, salad, hummus, and Za’atar fries.

Then, Dratch sat everyone down for a brief presentation. She touched on the migration patterns of Mizrahi Jews, referring to them as ‘the Jews that never left the Middle East’ speaking about their spiritual, ritualistic uses of dance and henna.

Dratch grew up in Queens, N.Y. with her Israeli/Mizrahi family. She was also immersed in vibrant mixing pot of Jewish cultures from all parts of the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. In her presentation, she shared tidbits from all the traditions she has witnessed, from the extravagant, lively weddings of Bukharian Jews to the upbeat dance traditions of Egyptian Jews.”

As Dratch says, “there’s not one way to be Jewish, not one way to look Jewish.” In America, she says, most Jews come from Ashkenazi backgrounds. “We just don’t see this part of Judaism as much. But when you go to Israel, it’s everywhere, like in the fabric of the whole culture.”

Next, participants painted wooden Hamsa door decorations while waiting to get henna done – chatting and sharing anecdotes of all kinds, from raising children to moving to new cities to their respective jobs.

Though many dance and henna traditions are reserved for the bride on her wedding day, Dratch says there are also plenty of examples of rituals being held just for the fun of it. Special women’s celebrations such as Chag Habanot, or festival of daughters, a North African women’s Hanukkah celebration, or Leil Purim, a Kurdish Jewish women’s gathering the night before Purim, have the same common thread: bringing generations of Jewish women together to sing, dance, adorn themselves with henna, and celebrate womanhood.

Growing up, Dratch’s best friends were three Jewish Egyptian sisters, and belly dance was a common activity.

“Their mom would just take out some hip scarves and start making us dance,” she recalls. Just two weeks before this event, she performed at one of the sisters’ weddings in Philadelphia – a full-circle moment, she says, that made it “very special to relive those memories, 30 years later.”

Once everyone was properly acquainted, the group gathered outside for a Mizrahi dance party just like the childhood Dratch described. Before dancing, everyone selected traditional scarves, dresses, and hats to adorn themselves with.

Dratch took the group on what she called “a little dance tour throughout the Jewish Middle East” – particularly Yemenite, Moroccan, and Bukharian dance. Participants learned two-steps, chest and hip isolations, and more as they danced to the lively music that boomed from the large speaker.

Dancing freely doesn’t come easily to everyone, but doing so in such a supportive group setting made it a lot easier. The backyard was full of joy and laughter that evening as participants joked about the potential noise disruption the event was creating.

Dratch believes that the physical, communal nature of the evening was the whole point. “It’s one thing to read about it or to watch a video, but to actually move your body… the whole point of it is just really to enjoy each other, to dance, to be together, to kind of let loose. That is where real connection and community is made.”

Women’s Rosh Chodesh Mizrahi Dance
Thursdays, October 15 and November 12, 7 – 8 pm
Simon Family JCC
Free. Registration required. Women only.

Painting Hamsa door decorations.

Jackie Dratch leads the dancing.

Getting hena done.