The Conservative community gathered last month at Temple Emanuel to celebrate the second night of Shavuot with a Kabbalat Shabbat service, a simple but delicious dinner, and a communal Shavuot-teach from its rabbis and cantor. More than 50 people from all four...
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History, archives, and events at Jewish Museum & Culture Center
The only site of its type in Tidewater, the Jewish Museum & Culture Center (JMCC) is housed in a former synagogue, Chevra T’helim, a building constructed more than 100 years ago in Portsmouth. The original congregation was established in the early 20th century by...
Biden plan to combat antisemitism demands reforms across the executive branch and beyond
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Joe Biden unveiled a multifaceted and broad strategy to combat antisemitism in the United States that reaches from basketball courts to farming communities, from college campuses to police departments. “We must say clearly and forcefully...
Strelitz International Academy’s fifth graders take lessons to heart
Research, learning, and action were all on display at Strelitz International Academy’s fifth grade exhibit on Tuesday, May 23. Since SIA is an IB® World School, the fifth graders document their learning, research, and action and present it at the Primary Years Program...
Annual Fishing Derby reels ‘em in
More than 75 people were busy having fun casting bait into Lake Sandler for this year’s Fishing Derby on Sunday, May 21. With perfect weather and 40 prizes and raffle items, plenty of smiles were caught along with the fish. The largest fish of the day, a 4 lb., 3 oz....
Jewish institutions awaken to climate crisis, with hundreds pledging action
(JTA) — For a decade starting in 2002, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi devoted herself to pro-Israel advocacy. After that, the Jewish philanthropist and activist from Annapolis, Maryland, went all in to fight for disability rights, working in the field for the next decade....
THE HUMUSIYA: Feeding your roots
They say, “we are what we eat.” Maybe this is because food is more than just the building blocks of our physical body. . .it is also feeds our spirit. It reflects our emotions, “I need something fried today!” our attitude, “I am feeling bold and spicy!” and our...
Yom Hashoah: A time to remember and honor
This year’s Yom Hashoah Commemoration, honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, as well as liberators and righteous gentiles, brought the community together around awareness, sadness, honor, hope, and the understanding that the ordinary can be...
The Pasta-bilities are endless in kindergarten at Strelitz
Setting goals and acquiring new skills are at the heart of kindergarten at Strelitz International Academy. This year, each student in Jamie Baker’s kindergarten class set a goal to accomplish with their classmates’ help. Goals included baking a Barbie cake, making and...
Leah Steerman wins Southern Jewish essay contest
The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience’s 2023 Middle School Essay contest’s first place winner is Leah Steerman of Virginia Beach. With the prompt, “If you were building a Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, which 3 things would you put in it?” MSJE,...
Thelma Carroll: Education trailblazer in the Be A Reader (BeAR) Program
A trailblazer and an active Be A Reader (BeAR) mentor, Thelma Carroll has impacted many lives. In 1960, Carroll applied to and was accepted at Lincoln University, a historically black university in Pennsylvania. She majored in English and graduated in 1964 with...
Virginia Beach School Board reviews books in school libraries
The Virginia Beach School Board met on Tuesday, April 25, to discuss, among other topics on their agenda, potential changes to the library media centers in each of the division’s schools. Virginia Beach citizens of all backgrounds spoke at the meeting about their...
Parenting (and playing) with sanity
A flurry of family-minded activity took place at the Simon Family JCC on Sunday, November 14. Parents and their children joined PJ Library in Tidewater for a special Sunday Fun Day that included a parenting workshop with Susan G. Groner, author of Parenting with...
Mitzvah Squad is busy at Temple Israel
November was a very big month for the Mitzvah Squad at Temple Israel in Norfolk. The congregation ended October by starting its Jewish Family Service Chanukah Gift Card Drive to benefit underprivilege children. Thanks to Temple Israel’s members, $3,737 in gift cards...
Havdalah with military families of Tidewater brings blessings, gratitude, and fun
Jewish Military Families of Tidewater joined PJ Library in Tidewater for a Havdalah ceremony in celebration of Veteran’s Day at the Simon Family JCC on Saturday, November 13. The Havdalah ceremony was led by Navy Rabbis Yoni Warren and Aaron Kleinman. The families...
Veterans Day activity at Toras Chaim
In honor of Veterans Day, the third and fourth grade class of Joanna Schranz at Toras Chaim School, under the leadership of Rabbi Yonah Lazar, held a special program to recognize the holiday. Craig Schranz a Commander in the United States Navy Reserve (and the...
Israel Today partnered with Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio to showcase flame-worked glass demonstration with visiting artist Dafna Kaffeman
In a first, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Simon Family JCC, Embassy of Israel & Community Partners’ 11th Annual Israel Today Series partnered with the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio to welcome...
COVID-19 vaccines for kids are coming. These rabbis (and their kids) are ready with new prayers.
(JTA)—When Rabbi Lisa Gelber heard that the Food and Drug Administration had approved the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5–11, she couldn’t wait for the moment that her daughter would get the shot. But she also knew her daughter was scared of needles....
Converging holidays provide a chance to reflect and give at TJF
There is something very apropos and meaningful about the convergence of two beautiful holidays, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah—both of which represent a celebration of religious freedom and are centered on the theme of gratitude for the blessings in our lives. As you...
Hanukkah Happenings
Congregation Beth El SIX13, a cappella singing group, in concert at Beth El Sunday, December 5, 4–5:30 pm, in-person and online Congregation Beth El is celebrating its 171st Anniversary and Hanukkah with a concert by the world-renowned male a cappella singing group,...
The Great Big Challah Bake—is back in-person
Tidewater women from five years of age and up gathered at B’nai Israel Congregation in Norfolk for the 7th Annual Great Big Challah Bake on Thursday, October 21. The annual event is part of the global Shabbos Project and a collaboration between B’nai Israel...
Workshop on antisemitism featured national and local experts
Old Dominion University’s Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding, along with Jewish Community Relations Council and the Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater hosted an online workshop to learn about the hidden...
Books for area schools
Each year the Holocaust Commission’s White Rose project donates educational materials to ALL middle and high schools in the area. Commission volunteers finish packing up this year’s books to be delivered to school libraries.
Colin Powell, who brokered the Middle East ‘road map’ to peace, dies at 84
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Colin Powell will be remembered in history as the first Black U.S. national security advisor, the first Black military chief of staff and the first Black secretary of state. He was also the first military chief to speak Yiddish as a second language,...
With Yair Lapid at his side, Blinken uses a word that Israel has been longing to hear on Iran
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Yair Lapid got what he wanted out of his Washington visit: the word “every,” instead of “other.” During Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s first meeting with President Biden in August, Bennett was happy with what he heard: the American...
Navy has three rabbis stationed in Tidewater
Three rabbis walk into a bar. One Reform, one Conservative, one Orthodox. The story is significantly less funny than you might imagine. While, in general, rabbis tend to be pretty funny people when you get them together in social settings, this was a business meeting....
FIDF Virginia Chapter meets, celebrates, and hears from Israeli military leaders
American athletes have won a total of 2,673 medals in the history of the Olympics, so the chances of meeting an American medal winner is low, but not impossible. Given that Israeli athletes have won only 13 medals, what are the chances of meeting an Israeli medal...
29 years of helping local Jewish children and teens
Jewish Family Service received this thank you note from an 11-year-old girl after Hanukkah last year: Dear JFS Helpers: Thank you for including me in the Chanukah gift drive. I live with my grandma and she and I have to watch how we spend money. My grandma surprised...
How to leverage giving opportunities at TJF
As the end of 2021 approaches, there’s a greater sense of normality: people are returning to society and the workplace. Yet, millions of people across the globe are still being impacted by COVID-19. Still, there is a silver lining: according to Giving USA 2021, a...
New novel, The Serpent Papers, focuses on Vietnam War
The Serpent Papers by Jeff Schnader, an area author and professor of medicine, is set on Columbia University’s campus amidst protests against the Vietnam War. This is the first book written about Columbia’s 1972 demonstrations. For the Vietnam War generation, the war...
All Jewish teens are invited to join BBYO
Tidewater BBYO invites all area Jewish teens to get involved. BBYO provides teens in eighth through 12th grades the opportunity to make friends, gain leadership experience, and have fun being Jewish. All BBYO programming is peer led: the teens plan and create...
First Person: New book provides an interactive manual of important life skills
Your Journey Beyond Breast Cancer: Tools for the Road Louise B. Lubin, PhD Every woman remembers the moment she heard, “You have breast cancer.” These words begin a long winding journey with potential roadblocks and detours. Wherever one may be on their cancer...