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“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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
We all carry certain books with us long after childhood ends. They sit quietly on the shelves of our memory; dog-eared, underlined, loved, while shaping who we become and teaching us how to dream. Some stories came easily. Others were challenging, the kind where you...
If you’re feeling ready to beat the summer heat poolside, you’re in luck. The Metzger Outdoor Aquatic Center opened on Saturday, June 6, marking the start of the Simon Family JCC’s seven-day-a-week summer pool season.The outdoor pool opens daily at 11:30 am, closing...
What does it mean to age with dignity? Sometimes, it means having transportation to the grocery store or a doctor’s appointment. Sometimes, it means sharing a meal with friends, participating in a wellness program, or simply feeling connected to a community. Often,...
Reflections on leadership, legacy, and the future of Jewish Tidewater Two years have flown by. My term as chair of Tidewater Jewish Foundation is nearing its end. I have served with some of the most dedicated board members and staff anyone can ever be privileged to...
Earlier this year, Hampton Roads Association for Commercial Real Astate presented Skip Sacks with the 2026 F. Craig Read Service Award in recognition of “his exceptional service and long-standing commitment to the organization and the commercial real estate...