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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...

Hearts travel from Hawaii to Virginia to Israel

In February, Jewish News featured a story about Aloha Hearts, fused glass ‘worry hearts’ created by Hawaiian Barry Gitelson. These glass hearts have since been distributed to Israeli children in Sderot as part of Youth Futures, a program that assists at-risk children...

Sacks Book Club discusses The Great Partnership

Next meeting: Sunday, June 16, 10 am, Temple Israel The Rabbi Sacks Tidewater Community Book Club continued its journey of Jewish conversation by reviewing The Great Partnership in collaboration with Temple Israel and the Konikoff Center for Learning of the United...

Senator Tim Kaine visits Sandler Family Campus

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine spent a couple of hours at the Sandler Family Campus last month chatting with members of Tidewater’s Jewish community about a host of issues, including Israel’s war with Hamas.

Tidewater: Get ready to be charmed and laugh with Phil Rosenthal

Saturday, April 20, 7 pm, Harrison Opera House He made it clear in Ireland. The same in India. And, of course, in Tel Aviv. Phil Rosenthal of Netflix’s Somebody Feed Phil is Jewish. In a brief phone conversation this week, when asked why he manages to insert being...

Celebrating Moms

Nothing prepares a woman for motherhood, a role which requires on-the-job training. Parenting books and podcasts abound, if she has the time and energy to read and listen; after all, she has just spent the day…cooking, driving, bathing, feeding, hugging, entertaining,...

Barbara Dudley’s story of love, loss, and a path to legacy

“I found her under a rock!” This tongue-in-cheek remark by the late Noel Dudley about his first encounter with his wife, Barbara, set the foundation for a lifelong partnership filled with love, laughter, and an enduring legacy. Sitting on a mountainside rock with her...

Myrna Teck to lead trip this fall to Goniadz, Poland

During a trip to Poland in 2018 to attend a meeting of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, Myrna Teck and her sister visited the shtetl where their grandmother lived in Goniadz. As part of this guided tour, they also visited the abandoned...

Maror and Chazeret: What is the deal?!

There is a phrase from Isaiah that I find particularly relevant these days… “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who present darkness as light and light darkness, who present bitter as sweet and sweet bitter.” (Isaiah 5:20)On Passover, we eat maror and...

Beth El Sisterhood stepped up to “Serve” Joan Nathan

Call them a well “oyled” machine.I am speaking of the quartet of Carol Smith, DeAnne Lindsey, Gina Rose, and Marlene Rossen who (along with Patty Shelanski) lead the unofficial culinary committee of the Congregation Beth El Sisterhood that plans, purchases, cooks, and...

Checking out the Solar Eclipse at the Sandler Family Campus

Some events simply cannot be missed. Apparently, that was the thought when young students at Strelitz International Academy were covered up with proper fashionable paper plates, in addition to the special protective sunglasses, to view the Solar Eclipse on April 8 at...

Be a reporter:Incident Reporting is critical to combating antisemitism

The American Jewish community is facing the most complex and dynamic threat environment in modern history. Christopher Wray, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has warned that antisemitism in the U.S. is rising to historic levels; Jews are the target of...

Governor Glenn Youngkin signs bipartisan hate crime legislation

RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin signed 100 bills, including SB7 and HB18 which safeguard Virginians from unlawful discrimination, hate crimes, and antisemitism on Tuesday, April 2. The Governor also vetoed four bills.“From day one, we have made combating...

Has there ever been a more important time to be in Israel?

Solidarity Trip to Israel: June 18 – 22 United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is now accepting deposits and applications for a Solidarity Trip to Israel. The four-day trip will visit sites in the south of the country to witness the destruction, meet the people, and...

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...