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That’s A Wrap: Jewish Book Festival 2024

That’s A Wrap: Jewish Book Festival 2024

Over six weeks, the 2024 Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival brought together bestselling authors, emerging voices, and an audience hungry for stories. The festival began with a look into history, as novelist Rachel Beanland transported attendees back...

Letting go at year-end for a better beginning

Letting go at year-end for a better beginning

As the 2024 calendar year nears the finish line, one pervasive question is: How is it possible to leave behind the stresses and anxieties of the past 12 months and approach 2025 with renewed hope and opportunity? With ongoing wars and hostilities in the Middle East...

Looking back and looking forward

Looking back and looking forward

Year end is fast approaching, and with it comes an opportunity to look back and assess… Did I do all I wanted to do over the past 12 months? Did I accomplish my goals? Stick with my New Year’s resolutions? Make the world better in some small way?   Year end...

Janet Porter Kramer and Kathryn Kramer

Janet Porter Kramer and Kathryn Kramer

One unique aspect about this mother- daughter realtor duo –  Janet Kramer and Kathryn Kramer – is their succession into real estate. Kathryn Kramer entered the field first and encouraged her mom to pivot from a career in architecture to selling homes. ...

Maximize 2024 tax benefits with smart year-end giving

Maximize 2024 tax benefits with smart year-end giving

As the end of the year approaches, individuals and families are considering ways to maximize the financial benefits of their charitable giving. Tidewater Jewish Foundation offers guidance to help donors make informed decisions that align with their financial goals...

Nadiv members tour USS Eisenhower

Nadiv members tour USS Eisenhower

More than a young men’s fundraising group for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Nadiv is a place to network, socialize, and learn about each other’s professional lives. On Friday, November 8, 12 Nadiv members toured the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. Jonathan Beha, a...

Mitzvah Projects deserve their own “Mazel Tov!”

Mitzvah Projects deserve their own “Mazel Tov!”

Becoming a bar or bat mitzvah is a multi-faceted time for 13-year-olds and their families.  Preparations for this special milestone include studying Jewish history and Hebrew, learning how to conduct a Shabbat service, interpreting a parsha, and applying its...

Living a life of legacy

Glasser family: Bern, Jessica, Jake, Lori, Michael, Ross, and Caroline (Ross’s significant other). Rose Frances Glasser was a living legacy. Her work within the Hampton Roads and global Jewish communities exemplified her commitment to its continuity. From being a...

Yom Hashoah 2024 Community Holocaust Commemoration

Sunday, May 5, 6:45 pm Temple Emanuel The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater invites the community to attend the annual Holocaust Day Remembrance, Yom Hashoah.The Commemoration will feature survivor and scholar Dr. Mordecai Paldiel, a...

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Tidewater Community Book Club

Sunday, April 28, 10 am, Temple Emanuel The Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Tidewater Community Book Club will continue with its second book, The Great Partnership: Science, Religion and the Search for Meaning, which was a National Jewish Book Awards Finalist. Rabbi Sacks was...

A twist on tradition

The smell of fresh cookies baking filled the Sandler Family Campus on Sunday, March 10 for the annual “Operation Hamantaschen” PJ Library event.Children, parents, grandparents, and friends put on colorful aprons, pushed up their sleeves, and dove into the delicious,...

Rabbi Israel Zoberman: recognized for 50 years of rabbinic service

Rabbi Israel Zoberman with his certificate of “surviving” 50 years (1974-2024) in the rabbinate. He received an Honorary Life Membership from the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) at its national convention last month in Philadelphia, Pa.In recognition of...

Thinking outside the triangle this Purim

I’ll be honest with you. I have never been a big fan of mass produced hamantaschen. I am generally not a sweets guy, but what I always found particularly underwhelming was the thick crust. When I worked in a bakery in Israel, we would start selling “oznei haman”...

Knowledge is key

Israel’s war with Hamas has inflamed vocal and aggressive antisemitism and anti-Zionism that has not been witnessed in the United States for many generations. Heated discussions have ensued, often with discrepancies about the facts.Helping to equip readers with basic...

The story of the Truman Torah

VADM Herman Shelanski (retired) and Captain USS Harry S Truman 2016-2019It was President Truman who, despite contrary advice from his cabinet and closest advisors, was the first head of state in the world to recognize Israel on May 14, 1948. For this boldness, Hyman...

Barr Foundation’s Torah Pointers gifted to The Fralin Museum of Art

First major gift of Judaica in the University of Virginia’s history The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia will expand its holdings with a promised gift of more than 150 Torah pointers, or yads, from Clay H. Barr and the Barr Foundation. This marks the...

Estate Planning: One of the best ways to demonstrate caring

Addressing the sensitive topics of money, mortality, and family relationships can be challenging, especially when it involves estate planning. The hesitation to have the discussion often stems from the perceived complexity and emotional weight of making decisions...

It’s a Wrap: 2024 Virginia Festival of Jewish Film

The Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg wrapped up on Wednesday, Feb. 28. This year’s festival, which included five feature films in addition to a special event showcasing four Israeli short films, was attended by more than 600...

KIDdish

Welcome to Kiddish, a Jewish News column celebrating little people – their first introductions, milestones, simchas, and accomplishments. Sharing these special moments and achievements with Jewish Tidewater creates a collective kvell! Harding Parkes Nusbaum Born...

Trends in simcha celebrations… always an evolution

Jews have been celebrating life-cycle milestones for what seems like forever – with events often including traditions dating back for what also seems like forever. . .or at least several centuries. While the significance of a bar or bat mitzvah or Jewish wedding may...

New logo, new website for Jewish News

For the first time since Jewish News created its website in 2012, we’ve built an all new, easy-to- navigate site with loads of information that is both timely and that dates to the 1940s. The address remains the same: www.JewishNewsVa.org. When the site was first...

YAD: Thriving in 2024 with community engagement and events

Since the start of 2024, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Adult Division has been bustling with activity, bringing together members for fun, meaningful, and community-building activities by holding events for families and young adults. So far this year,...

Excitement builds for Aviva Pembroke Opening set for October

As the opening of Aviva Pembroke gets closer, excitement continues to build within the community. Operated by Beth Sholom Village, Aviva Pembroke plans to be open this October. The already strong demand for Aviva Pembroke underscores the appeal of its amenities,...

Annie Sandler receives award in Romania

While in Bucharest, Romania with JDC earlier this year, Annie Sandler was recognized by the Romanian government with Romania’s “Grand Officer of the National Order for Merit.”The ceremony took place on International Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27. Sandler was...