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Poised and charming and offering insightful discussions, Jessica Fechtor, a guest author and speaker for the Beyond the Book Festival, established immediate rapport with her audience while reading from her book, Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me...
Beginning with a pop and a fizz, the Society of Professional’s Pour wine event gathered local Jewish professionals and friends at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront on Sunday, March 5. Overlooking the ocean, participants were led through progressive Kosher food and...
April 13, 2007 At the recent B’nai B’rith Youth Organization’s International Convention held in Houston, Texas, Virginia Council BBYO received an International Programming Award for the Lost Boys of the Sundan program held last fall. April 11, 1997 In an article by...
April 3, 2017, Passover Section
There is a midrash that, when standing at Sinai to receive the Torah, each person received their own personal revelation but responded in one voice, saying, “Na’aseh v’nishma”—“We will do and we will hear.” It is in that exquisite moment that we became one People....
As if Israel Today’s Mishy Harman’s performance wasn’t captivating enough, the event last month also included a presentation by Sheena Jeffers and Jennifer Chapman, founders of Story Exchange, a community engagement project aimed at sharing human experiences via art....
Mitch Albom, author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven, once wrote, “There’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking.” Mishy Harman, the...
The fifth commandment is clear. “Honor your father and mother,” as is the reason, according to the Torah (Exodus, Chapter 20). “So that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your G-d gives you.” If that’s true, then we all gained a few more years on this...
Thursday, March 30, 5:45 pm The Westin, Virginia Beach Town Center Created in the spring of 2015 as a constructive response to the racial violence and civil unrest that took place in Ferguson and Baltimore, Hands United Building Bridges is comprised of Jewish,...
March 20, 2017 Camp Section
Sporting a street-smart bravado and phosphorescent red hair topped with a black fedora, little could hide Samantha Montgomery’s (a.k.a. Princess Shaw) raw edgy talent and endearing awkward vulnerability. The special guest and singer songwriter received a standing...
Baltimore native Marty Mandelberg moved to Norfolk in June 2005 with his wife, Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg. He immediately went to work at PayDay. For Ohef Sholom Temple’s Religious School, he became the eighth grade teacher, focusing on the Holocaust. He also began...
David Makovsky uses sports metaphors when he speaks to audiences. Some football, but mostly baseball. When it comes to uprisings, tensions, conflicts, and wars in the Middle East, Makovsky, an expert in that region of the world, says we’re only in the first, or at...
It is always so exciting to see first graders receive their Siddurim at Hebrew Academy of Tidewater’s annual spring Siddur presentation. This year was no different, with parents beaming—some with tears of joy —as their child eagerly walked across the stage to be...
A silver lining to the United States government’s budget sequestration came to an event sponsored by the Maimonides and Business & Legal Societies of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater on Sunday, May 19. A group of 20 Jewish community members were able to...
The Jewish Federations of North America is partnering with Catholic Charities to manage a distribution site for relief supplies in Norman, Oklahoma for residents hit by last month’s devastating tornado. That is only part of the wider Jewish Federations relief effort...
Sabrina Furlough chose to enter a painting rather than a work of prose or poetry in this year’s Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Elie Wiesel Writing and Visual Arts competitions. Yet, when asked to supply an artist’s statement with...
Just before Purim, Charlene Cohen and Ilana Benson, sisters as well as friends, attended United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Ezine program, “Who is your Esther?” Moderated by Farideh Goldin, director of Old Dominion University’s Institute for Jewish Studies and...
Monday, June 3, 6 pm Every other year, the leadership and staff of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater come together to celebrate accomplishments, honor leaders, and chart the future. The Biennial meeting, taking place this year at the Sandler Family Campus, is...
Friday, June 7 Members of Kempsville Conservative Synagogue and Temple Israel are not sure if anyone remembers exactly how their “programming partnership” began. They do remember that Sharon Grossman, then president of Temple Israel, and Alene Jo Kaufman, then...
Monday, June 10 The Simon Family JCC’s Presidents’ Cup Tournament, which will take place this year at Heron Ridge Golf Club in Virginia Beach, has existed since the 1980s, but was renamed the Presidents’ Cup two years ago to honor past JCC presidents. The Golf...
The emphasis placed on Jewish learning in Tidewater was evident both in the number of people honored and the crowd that attended the Jewish Education Night ceremony on April 30. Professional, volunteer and youth educators were honored at the annual event, presented by...
For many who knew David Krohn as the boy who loved to sing with his father Rabbi/Cantor Philip Krohn* at Gomley Chesed Congregation, the man they heard at the Simon Family JCC on Saturday, May 11 was a delightful reminder. “David was always comfortable singing in...
How do Jews dispose of materials containing the name of G-d? Shaimot (articles with G-d’s name) are kept in a safe, special place in the synagogue or community called a Genizah. Once a ‘critical mass’ of material accumulates, a grave is opened in a Jewish cemetery and...
When speaking up for Israel, remember the ABCs: Answering the claim, Bridging to give perspective, and Closing, with YOUR message. These and other techniques for effectively educating others about Israel were included onscreen and reinforced on a handout given to...
The Holocaust Commission and the Business and Legal Society of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater were partners in the reception and presentation of the profound and illuminating exhibit “Lawyers without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany Under the Third Reich”...
From packaging soup kits to making hospital bears, “Mitzvah in Motion” had the congregation at Ohef Sholom Temple abuzz with outreach activities throughout the morning of Sunday, April 21. Two hundred and fifteen Religious School students, from pre-K through...
At a tribute dinner on Sunday, April 28 in Washington DC, I sat with Holocaust Commission members Deb Segaloff and Marilyn Ashe, and her husband Michel, a child survivor from Paris, and applauded the presentation of this year’s U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Elie...
BOSTON (JTA)—Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was awarded the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Giffords, who has become an advocate for stricter gun control after being shot in the head in 2011, was recognized for the courage she has...
On Thursday, May 9, the Women’s Cabinet of the UJFT held its biennial Spring Installation Luncheon to thank and recognize the members of the Women’s Cabinet whose terms of service were complete and to welcome new cabinet members. In Honorary Cabinet member Ann...
NEW YORK (JTA)—With its tradition of dairy meals, Shavuot is one of my favorite holidays. Arriving later in the spring—an ideal time to find delicious fruits, herbs and vegetables—it’s perfect for using fresh and seasonal ingredients. The four dishes I have selected...
Last month, fourth and fifth graders at Hebrew Academy of Tidewater were privileged to hear Alfred Dreyfus tell his story of survival during the Shoah. With his son Mark, he told the students that instead of hearing a story of horror and death camps, they were going...