Mazel Tov

Mazel Tov to Beth and Nathan Jaffe on the birth of their first grandchild, Carrington Lee Lewis (Carrie), born July 17. The proud parents are Zach and Courtney Lewis of Virginia Beach. An extended mazel-tov to first-time great grandparents, Joan and Bob Cohen.

Beth and Barry Dorsk, Anthony and Grace Baschetta, and David Moy on the birth of their granddaughter, Lilly Gray Dorsk, born December 2, 2018 to parents, Chad and Maria, and big sister, Layla Rose Dorsk. Great grandparents are Barbara Krampf and Peggy Dorsk, Jack...

Achievement Skip Sacks, who received the 2019 Robert M. Stanton Real Estate Teaching Award from Old Dominion University’s Strome College of Business. The award was presented by Jeff Tanner, dean of the Strome College of Business in recognition of Sack’s role as an...

Achievement Lisa Bertini of Bertini Law, who was named Top 50 Women Lawyers in the 2019 Virginia Super Lawyers edition for 2019. This is the fifth year she has been honored with this distinction. Bertini has also been named again to the Top 100 Lawyers in all of...

Kaitlyn Oelsner joined Tidewater Jewish Foundation last month as its new development associate/LIFE & LEGACY™ coordinator. Oelsner recently moved to Virginia Beach from California after receiving her bachelor of science degree from Cal Polytech and her master of...

Achievement Julius Miller, MD FACP, who was awarded Senior Fellow of Hospital Medicine at the Society of Hospital Medicine meeting held in Washington, DC on March 25. Miller is also being recognized by the American College of Physicians Virginia Chapter with the 2018...

B’nai Mitzvah Isabella Rose Leon will become a Bat Mitzvah on March 23, 2019 at Congregation Beth El. She is the daughter of Lisa and David Leon and the sister of Emily. Isabella is the granddaughter of Dr. Abraham and Lynn Finkel of Schenectady, N.Y., and of Arnold...

Jerome Blackman, MD, professor of Psychiatry at EVMS, was recently appointed Distinguished Professor of Mental Health At Shanxi Medical University in Taiyuan, China, and appointed chair of the North American Teachers Group for Lingyu International Psychology Center...

Mazel Tov to Norman David Soroko on becoming president of the board of directors of the Jewish Museum and Cultural Center in Portsmouth. Soroko served as executive vice president for four years. He also serves as program chairman for fundraising. In March, 2018, he...

Mazel Tov to Pamela Herod, daughter of Zena Herod, on receiving her Doctoral degree from Augusta University/Medical College of Georgia on December 14. Herod’s current research has been adopted by a large health system in the southeast and is focused on improving the...

Mazel Tov to Madeline Budman on her acceptance to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for rabbinic ordination. A 2018 graduate of Georgetown University, she is a member of Ohef Sholom Temple and is currently employed at Washington Hebrew Congregation...

Aaron Brenner and Kate Belleman on their engagement. Aaron is the son of Janet Peck and Jeff Kramer, and Martin and Pam Brenner. He is the grandson of Nancy and Stanley Peck, and Ramona and Lawrence Brenner. Kate is the daughter of Nancy and Scott Belleman of...

Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman on the insertion of his article on his summer trip to Poland, Lithuania, and Israel, along with Charlottesville’s tragic events, into the Congressional Record by Congressman Scott Taylor.

Harriett and Harvey Eluto on the B’nai mitzvah of the grandchildren, Ryan and Natalie Kaskawitz, Saturday, August 12, at Temple Beth Or in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Alan and Sallie Shapiro on the B’nai mitzvah of their grandchildren, Jacob and Michaela Shapiro, Saturday, August 5, at Beth Sholom Temple in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Rona and Chazzan David Proser on the birth of their new granddaughter, Kenna Ruby Malinow. Kenna is the daughter of Maura Proser and Josh Malinow, and was born in Denver.

Mazel Tov to Jeffrey and Amy Brooke on the graduation of their daughter Chana Brooke from the Graduate Program at Touro College in Manhattan. Chana received her B.A. from Touro in 2015 and her M.S. in education in May of this year. She is also a graduate of BINA...

Mazel Tov to this year’s Congregation Beth El’s J. Samuel Goldback Scholarship recipients: • Elliana Friedman, a rising senior at James Madison University, with hopes of entering a career in public accounting, she has been active in Jewish life locally and at JMU. •...

Katelynn McAraw, 16, a participant in the Better Together Program, recently won its essay contest, earning her $8,000 toward a semester program in Israel. Better Together, a program that unites seniors and teens through monthly lunches and activities, is funded by a...

The Norfolk Forum, the nation’s oldest publicly subscribed speakers’ forum recently elected Jody M. Wagner, as its 2017–18 board president. Wagner is president of Jody’s Popcorn, which she and her husband, Alan Wagner, MD, founded in Virginia Beach in 2005. Wagner...

At its annual meeting on June 21 (see article on page 27), Beth Sholom Village honored several employees who have been with the organization for 30 or more years. They include: Carolyn Tolman, Lana Chapman, Carolyn Dukes and Mary Parker.

Elizabeth Block Rosenberg on her graduation from Yale University’s graduate school of management with an MBA. Liz recently moved to Dallas to pursue her career. She is the daughter of Paul and Stefan Rosenberg and an alum of Kempsville High School and UVa.

Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Loiterman, Toras Chaim’s principal, was recenlty invited to become a member of Virginia’s Equitable Services Workgroup by Christopher Kelly, EdD. Kelly is the equitable services ombudsman in the Office of Program Administration and Accountability...

Brandon Terkeltaub and David Calliott on successfully passing the Certified Financial Planner™ exam and becoming CFP® practitioners. This certification is held by only 20% of financial advisors and takes over a year of preparation. These two young community leaders...

Mr. and Mrs. David Balaban of Virginia Beach on the engagement of their son, Jody Michael Balaban to Erin Ashley McGrattan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel T. McGrattan Jr., also of Virginia Beach. Ms. McGrattan, a graduate of Bishop Sullivan Catholic High and...

Rabbi Israel Zoberman with Martin Culqreth, Special Agent in Charge, of the FBI’s Norfolk field office. Rabbi Zoberman addressed the Hampton Roads FBI community on the historical Jewish experience.

Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman for having his article on Holocaust Remembrance and the 69th anniversary of the State of Israel inserted into the Congressional Record by Congressman Scott Taylor.

Katelynn McAraw, winner of the Better Together Program essay contest. A sophomore, Katelynn participated in the pilot year of Better Together, a lunch and learn series with Ohef Sholom Temple teens and seniors from Beth Sholom Village. She wrote about her experiences...

Rabbi Israel Zoberman joined Mayor Alan P. Krasnoff and the citizens of Chesapeake on Thursday, May 4 at the city’s National Day of Prayer program. Rabbi Zoberman shared a heartfelt message of Hope and Prayer for Unity.

Morris Benjamin Panitz and Elana Havusha Panitz on the birth of their daughter, Ziva Liora, in Jerusalem on Feb, 1, 2017. The grandparents are Yosi and Suzie Havusha, of Los Angeles, and Rabbi Michael and Sheila Panitz of Norfolk.

Keano Rich and Evan Allen, 10th graders at Ocean Lakes Math and Science Academy and members of Ohef Sholom Temple, who won first place in the Computer Science senior division for their project on neural networks at the regional Tidewater Science and Engineering Fair...

Dr. David M. Pariser of Pariser Dermatology Specialists in Norfolk, who was awarded the Gold Medal from the American Academy of Dermatology at its annual meeting in Florida. A practicing dermatologist for more than 40 years, Pariser is the senior physician of Pariser...