Southeastern Virginia: Chesapeake • Norfolk • Portsmouth • Suffolk • Virginia Beach
Archives
Whenever a mission participant returns from Israel, their first and often fondest memories are of their tour guide. And for the past 10 plus years, Tidewater’s exclusive Israel tour guide has been the amazing Zalman Spivak, a unique combination of many fine skills and...
The eight-day holiday of Passover begins this year with First Night Seder on Saturday, April 12 and continues through sundown on April 20. Many people observe the holiday by including favorite family recipes and traditions into their Seders. Others introduce current...
Nadiv, the young professional men’s fundraising group for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, held a social event on Monday, Feb. 17 at Q-Masters Billiards in Virginia Beach.More than 25 men in their 20s, 30s, and 40s attended – some were Nadiv ‘regulars,’ while...
Community members gathered on Thursday, Feb. 25 for a poignant ceremony led by Tidewater’s Shinshinim, Danielle Hartman and Emily Patyuk, to commemorate more than 500 days of war in Israel and to honor the countless lives lost since October 7, 2023. The ceremony also...
The 32nd Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film overcame a chilly beginning to deliver a week of outstanding films and vibrant community spirit across Virginia Beach and Norfolk.After a strong start on Sunday, Feb.16 with the Israeli film, Running on Sand, the...
Deep learning and spirited conversation took place when Abigail Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer led a thought-provoking discussion at It Takes Two to Torah. Hosted by the Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, the event earlier this...
For the Kass family, giving back is more than just a value — it’s a responsibility. When their son Jonah was preparing for his Bar Mitzvah, Melissa and Aaron Kass knew they wanted to instill the importance of community and responsibility. The B’nai Tzedek: Youth...
Local folk musician Bob Zentz was bestowed a 2025 Music Lifetime Achievement Award from Veer Magazine during a ceremony at Elevation 27 last month. With a career that includes nearly every aspect of music – as a writer, performer, retailer, manager, mentor – Zentz has...
Thursday, March 27, 6:30 - 8 pm • The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center Each year, Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities awards its prestigious Humanitarian award to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the promotion of respect...
Partaking in BBYO’s International Convention 2025 was truly an experience I will never forget. The annual gathering took place this year over President’s Day Weekend in Denver, Col.From listening to the incredible speakers to dancing and singing with my friends at the...
Carin Simon, Strelitz International Academy’s director of development, and Ally St. Pierre, SIA’s admissions manager, recently attended the 2025 Prizmah Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. This gathering brought together Jewish day school leaders from across the...
The holiday of Purim begins this year on Thursday, March 13.Plenty of opportunities exist in Tidewater to participate in Purim festivities to commemorate Haman’s failed plot to destroy the Jews of Persia.The reading of the Megillah, Purim Carnivals, Purim Parties, and...
Almost 40 men – sons, brothers, fathers, and grandfathers came together on Thursday, August 22, for what has become an annual tradition, the Men’s Major Gifts Luncheon for the 2025 Annual Community Campaign. The event was chaired by John Strelitz and Jay Klebanoff,...
Seven members of the Team Virginia Beach delegation to the JCC Maccabi Games & Access 2024 arrived on August 5 at the Houston airport at 1 am – delayed but excited for the upcoming competitions. More than 1,700 teens from across the globe convened in this Texan...
Several members of Old Dominion University’s Hillel attended Congressman Bobby Scott’s 43rd Annual Labor Day Cookout in Newport News. Amy K. Milligan, PhD, ODU’s Batten Endowed Associate Professor of Jewish Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies, director, Institute...
New and familiar faces flooded the Metzger Outdoor Aquatic Center water park and splash pad at the Simon Family JCC for the annual End of Summer Shabbat and Pool Party, hosted by PJ Library in Tidewater, UJFT’s Young Adult Division, and the Tidewater ShinShinim....
Tidewater Jewish Foundation recently named Aryeh Litt the 2024 Feldman Family Medical and Health Professions Scholarship recipient. Currently pur- suing a degree in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling at Hofstra University, Litt’s mission is to serve others. Litt's...
Another successful summer concluded last month for Camp JCC. More than 230 campers attended this year – from Hampton Roads, as well as from California, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington DC, and Richmond In addition, families relocating to Hampton Roads...
Jewish News has compiled a list of High Holiday services taking place at local synagogues for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Contact synagogues for information about babysitting, live-stream, and Zoom services. B’nai Israel Congregation...
An independent school serving students from infants and toddlers through kindergarten and then to 5th grade, Strelitz International Academy recently earned full accreditation from the Virginia Association of Independent Schools.Founded in 1973, VAIS is the leader in...
Fifty years ago this month, 16 teens from Tidewater were experiencing a trip of a lifetime. . . their first to Israel. The month-long adventure was just after 1973’s Yom Kippur War, adding to these teens’ acute awareness of politics and news.It’s not such a surprise...
After a tumultuous journey of delays and lots of preparation, my family touched down in beautiful Lisbon, Portugal. We were met by family from all over the world. Relatives reunited from South Africa, Israel, the UK, and Florida around a delicious dinner spread at...
Visiting five of New York City’s buzzing foodie hotspots to indulge in an exclusively curated tasting menu of Israeli delights, was a treat we won’t soon forget.The Israeli food tour ranged from sumptuous Yemenite soup dumplings to fire-roasted and creamy cool...
Joanna and I had the chance to visit our daughter Yael, who was in Israel this summer.It was our first chance to visit Israel since October 7th, and we were left inspired by the resiliency of Israeli society. The experience gave us a recharge for what has been a...
I spent 12 days of my summer at Sababa Sleepaway, a Jewish camp at the beach.Sababa is located on the campus of Old Dominion University. Jewish kids from all over the country come to Sababa to learn about the beach and discover Judaism through nature.Almost every day...
The Women’s Division of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater held its first “Girl’s Night Out” on Thursday, July 25 at the Sandler Family Campus.Members of the Women’s Philanthropy committee were asked to each bring a friend or two to the event. The result was a...
The Shabbat@Home dinner on Friday, June 7 was a heartwarming culmination of a year-long series of learning sessions presented by the Konikoff Center for Learning and PJ Library of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, in partnership with Ignite757. The series...
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) can be a popular vehicle for retirement planning, offering a reliable way to save for the future while enjoying tax advantages. Effectively managing an IRA, however, requires understanding its benefits and partnering with the...
ShinShinim are exceptional Israeli high school graduates who postpone their mandatory military service to serve as cultural ambassadors in Jewish communities around the world. These young emissaries are chosen through a rigorous selection process that evaluates their...
Nadiv capped off another terrific year of Jewish philanthropy, social action, and networking during a social at the Virginia Beach home of Bonnie and David Brand on Tuesday, May 14. This past programming year (which ran from August 2023 to May 2024), Nadiv...
Susan Donn has no plans to slow down. “I am enormously busy, but I don’t know what I do!” she laughs, explaining how this 82-year-old occupies her days. After a long career as a commercial interior designer, and an attorney-husband who still works full-time,...
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Pa., Nancy and Jay Lazier did not cross paths, even though their mothers knew each other through Hadassah. Not until a Hillel mixer at University of Michigan, where Nancy was a freshman and Jay, a sophomore, did they meet. “We were too young...