Food is always a Jewish topic, and every Shabbat and Jewish holiday are new opportunities to overindulge.Maimonides famously says (Deot 4:15) that overeating is unhealthy and everyone knows that keeping healthy makes good sense. But to what extent is a healthy body,...
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David Leon’s visit to Israel conjures up memories from 1974
David Leon, president of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, first travelled to Israel 50 years ago on the first commercial flight from the United States after the Yom Kippur War. This past March, he was on United Airline’s first flight to Israel following the...
National Senior Health and Fitness Day 2024
Adults over the age of 55 visited the Simon Family JCC to celebrate National Senior Health and Fitness Day on Wednesday, May 29. The day was filled with fun, laughter, health, and fitness – deeming it a huge success.Vendors from all over Tidewater offered information...
Aviva Pembroke: Finding new ways to provide more care, to more seniors, over more years
As several major construction phases are wrapping up, much excitement is in the air regarding the completion of Aviva Pembroke. With an anticipated opening date of early October, prospective residents and neighbors within the Pembroke area are preparing for the...
Strelitz International Academy Mitzvah Club shines at beach cleanup
The sun shone brightly on Sunday, June 2 as students and their families from the Strelitz International Academy Mitzvah Club gathered at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for a beach cleanup event that blended service with fun.The day began with laughter as children...
Two new rabbis have Tidewater roots
Rabbi Madeline Torop Budman and Rabbi Aaron David Torop Budman were ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion on Saturday, June 1. The ordination took place at the historic Plum Street Temple, a 158-year-old landmark in Cincinnati, Ohio. A Norfolk...
Local arts leaders unite to combat antisemitism
In a time of unprecedented antisemitism, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater organized a workshop on combatting antisemitism in the arts. The event, held on Wednesday, May 15 at the Chrysler Museum of Art, focused on creating a more inclusive and welcoming...
PJ Library’s Military Parent Connector Program is busy building bonds
Proud to support Jewish military families, PJ Library is piloting a new Military Parent Connector program in partnership with the JWB – Jewish Chaplains Council and United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Although Parent Connectors have been in PJ Library...
Jewish Tidewater’s Graduates
This year’s graduation season began with plenty for Jewish Tidewater’s graduates and their families to celebrate.Graduations provide time to recognize achievements, formally bid goodbye to a treasured educational institution, and move on to life’s next chapter. And...
Unity and pride: Tidewater comes together for Yom Ha’Atzmaut
The annual Tidewater community Yom Ha'Atzmaut gathering, held this year on Sunday, May 19 on the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus, was a vibrant recognition of Israel’s independence. The atmosphere was electric, as close to 2,000 community members were adorned in...
See something, say something. But please don’t touch it.
Last month, Virginia Beach neighborhoods were again littered with antisemitic propaganda on fliers dropped by a national neo-Nazi hate group, the Goyim Defense League. These flyers, though not signaling a violent threat, are designed to harass, incite fear and...
Friendships continue for Shalom Children’s Center alumni
When Max and Emma Bernstein married this spring, more than 15 friends from their days at Newport Avenue’s Jewish Community Center’s Shalom Children’s Center attended the wedding. The friends all met at the JCC preschool 25 years ago and later went to Hebrew Academy of...
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...
Virginia’s Attorney General’s letter to UVA board calls for moral clarity
On Friday, March 1, Attorney General Jason Miyares wrote the UVA Board of Visitors about a student led BDS referendum at the school. The complete text of the letter follows: I write to you today with grave concern about the recent student-led referendum at 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...
Local teens attend BBYO International Convention
Members of Tidewater’s two BBYO chapters – Old Dominion AZA and Simcha BBG – attended last month’s BBYO International Convention in Orlando, Fla.
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...
Cultivating young philanthropists: TJF’s B’nai Tzedek Youth Philanthropy Program
Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s B'nai Tzedek Youth Philanthropy Program instills the value of giving as early as birth. This innovative program teaches children and teenagers about philanthropy and how to actively participate in the process, shaping them into the...
February is Heart Month: Tune it up!
The heart is the engine that circulates oxygen throughout the blood stream to keep the body vital. A continuous engine, the heart can run for more than 100 years without stopping. With an electrical current that’s not plugged into a wall, the heart is a self-contained...
Brith Sholom happenings
More than 100 members of Brith Sholom gather at the Simon Family JCC on the first Sunday of each month to enjoy camaraderie, wonderful brunches, interesting speakers, and a variety of entertainment. The Independent Order of Brith Sholom (Covenant of Peace) was founded...
Blazing Saddles marks a half-century of hilarity — and controversy
Stephen Silver(JTA) — The phrase “that movie could never be made today” has probably been said more about Blazing Saddles than any other movie in history. Mel Brooks’ spoof of Hollywood Westerns is full of the N-word and racial and ethnic jokes, and gay stereotypes...
Empowering students on rising antisemitism and misinformation about Israel
Rising antisemitism after the October 7 attacks in Israel was the impetus for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Konikoff Center for Learning and Jewish Community Relations Council to organize Empowering Students, a three-part series designed to help participants...
Student Glow Run sparks spirit and dollars
Strelitz International Academy began 2024 with an event that boosted school spirit as well as inspired students and families to participate in fundraising for the school. The first Strelitz International Academy Glow Run, which took place on January 19, served as the...
Shabbat at Home: Nurturing family ties through rituals and creativity
Despite it being a Tuesday, the spirit of Shabbat was alive and thriving at the Sandler Family Campus on January 23, as families gathered for a Shabbat at Home event. The second in a five-part series that explores ways to build ritual and tradition into Friday nights,...
Early Years 3 class ‘hunts bears’
Students in Lavette Ricks’ Early Years 3 class at Strelitz International Academy were inspired by Michael Rosen’s story, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt to go on their own ‘bear hunt’ at school. So, Ricks brought the story to life and created the experience for her...