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Kiddish is 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! Noa Hanna DratchBorn January 9,...
Elections for Tidewater BBYO chapters took place on Saturday, May 10. The positions of president; vice president, programming; and vice president, membership are elected for a school-year term, while the other three positions are elected for fall and spring terms....
Kate-Lynn Cipolla has joined United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s full-time professional staff as assistant camp director at Camp JCC.Cipolla is a familiar face on the Sandler Family Campus, having spent more than eight years serving in a...
Graduations are a time to recognize achievements, formally bid farewell to a valued educational institution, prepare for the next steps along life’s journey, and of course, to celebrate! Jewish Tidewater has much to applaud with its graduates – the awards, impressive...
“Love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage. It’s an institute you can’t disparage.”Frank Sinatra first sang these Sammy Cahn lyrics in the 1955 television production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.Here, in Tidewater, several couples celebrating special...
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...
Benjamin and Allie Fues-Yarow on the birth of their daughter, Lennon Mae Fues-Yarow, on October 14, 2024. The family lives in Arlington, Va.Proud grandparents are Rick and Debi Yarow of Norfolk and Eric and Liza Fues and Heather McAfee of Bethesda, Md.Proud...
Anyone who’s worked alongside Karen Jaffe on committee or in community leadership will confirm: Karen Jaffe is special. A much-admired leader in the Tidewater Jewish community, Jaffe has been a role model for her family, friends, and an entire generation of emerging...
Some say it’s never too early to learn about generosity and tzedakah. That seems to be a prevailing philosophy for Alyson Gross and Michael Yaary, parents of two-year-old Asher. Instead of gifts for his recent birthday party, the Strelitz International Academy...
Lenny Brooke 90 years old The former owner of Southern Packing Corporation, Lenny Brooke has been married to Ellie for 63 years and is nearly as active as ever. His son, Jeffrey Brooke says, “Even now after my father has turned 90, he still calls on a few customers...
Lorraine Fink 100 years old The oldest in this esteemed group, Lorriane Fink manages to find humor in almost every situation – at her 99th birthday, for example, she suggested the cake be turned upside down to make her 66! She’s an award-winning artist, a...
Elizabeth (Liz) Dovrat successfully defended her doctoral thesis on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.Dovrat has been a student in the Doctoral Programme in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning at Lancaster University, UK for the past 4 1/2 years. The title of her thesis...
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...
Rachel and David Abraham are excited to announce the engagement of their daughter Anne Louise to Alex Brandon Peljovich. Anne attended James Madison University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology. She is employed by the American Association for...
Graduation season began again this year with plenty for Jewish Tidewater’s graduates and their families to celebrate, and Jewish News celebrated plenty with 34 graduates from high schools, colleges, and myriad graduate programs in the June 12, 2023 edition. Here, we...
Created in 2004 by Ohef Sholom Temple’s board of directors, the award honors a board member whose “outstanding service and contributions to Ohef Sholom Temple best embodies the qualities of leadership and commitment demonstrated by our beloved Kurt Rosenbach.”
Allison Hechtkopf Whiteman, administrator of The Terrace Assisted Living at Beth Sholom Village, was recently awarded the Administrator of the Year Award by the Virginia Health Care Association and Virginia Center for Assisted Living (VHCA-VCAL). Whiteman has worked...
Mazel Tov to Michael and Mattie Brooke on the birth of a daughter, Brocha. Michael and Mattie were married on August 27, 2020. Michael attended Hebrew Academy of Tidewater, Toras Chaim Yeshiva, and received a bachelor’s degree in Talmudic Studies from Bais Medrash...
Mazel tov to Jeff Flax, who is one of six qualifiers from the United States to qualify in the Masters Golf Division for the Israeli Maccabi Games. Masters is ages 50 and up. The games are in Israel next July. This is his first time playing in the Israeli Maccabi...
Mazel tov to Dr. Amy K. Milligan of Old Dominion University, for being named an associate editor of the new journal, Jewish Folklore and Ethnology, published by Wayne State University Press. The first of its kind in English, JFE is a peer-reviewed annual journal. An...
Originally published in the June 28, 2021 issue. Mazel Tov to Eric N. Schloss, of Saltzberg & Schloss, who became the 68th president of the Maryland Association for Justice (MAJ). With 1,200 members, the MAJ is the largest Specialty Bar Association in Maryland....
Originally published in the June 14, 2021 issue. Mazel Tov to Pam Blais on her selection as a finalist in the Hometown Hero category of the National Museum of American Jewish History's Only in America Gallery/Hall of Fame for her work in feeding and caring for...
Originally published in the June 14, 2021 issue. Mazel Tov to Zach and Courtney Lewis on the birth of their son, William David Lewis, born on April 18. His excited big sister is Carrington. Paternal grandparents Beth and Nathan Jaffe, great-grandparents Joan and Bob...
Originally published in the May 31, 2021 issue. Mazel tov to Dr. Julie Forman-Kay, on being named a Fellow of the highly prestigious Royal Society. The Royal Society’s fundamental purpose is to recognize, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage...
Originally published in the May 31, 2021 issue. Mazel tov to Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg on receiving her Honorary Doctorate on Thursday, May 27 from Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion for 25 years in the rabbinate.
Originally published in the May 31, 2021 issue. Mazel tov to Rabbi Israel Zoberman for having Congresswoman Elaine G. Luria insert his article on the 73rd anniversary of the State of Israel into the Congressional Record. In addition, Congressman A. Donald McEachin...
Originally published in the May 31, 2021 issue. Mazel tov to Avi and Chana Horowitz on the birth of their daughter. Chana’s parents are Amy and Jeffrey Brooke and her grandparents are Bina and Herb Zukerman and Elli and Leonard Brooke. Avi’s mother is Linda...
Originally published in the March 8, 2021 issue. Lisa Richmon In 2020, Carin Joffe Simon and husband Mike Simon planned the first Tidewater virtual Bar Mitzvah for their son, Nate. When Betty Ann Levin watched the event, which was livestreamed on Facebook from their...
Originally published in the March 8, 2021 issue. Lisa Richmon If you think the new sitcom, Call Your Mother is about children avoiding their mothers during the pandemic, you would be half right. The show, starring Kyra Sedgwick, is based, however, on life after the...