Camp JCC wrapped up a successful Winter Break Camp with diverse days, fun, and plenty of good spirit. Activities included gym games, free swim, winter crafts, indoor gaga, Israeli culture with the community ShinShiniot, Alma Ben Chorin and Aya Sever, and a daily...
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Beyond the Bible course explores history not often studied
In Sunday School, it is typical to learn the highlights of the sacred memories of the Jewish people of the Biblical period. Then, it gets a bit fuzzy. After the Bible, what was there? Some rabbis, perhaps? It gets clear again with the modern era, the past quarter...
The Holocaust as reflected in diaries and memoirs, offers a collaborative learning experience
A 10-session intensive course on the Holocaust, The Holocaust as Reflected in Diaries and Memoirs, invited students to dig into the first-person accounts of living through the Holocaust. Diaries and memoirs served as a looking glass into these individuals’ daily...
A workshop through the Journey of Your Name
In a hands-on workshop offered by the Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, community members explored the meaning of their name through a mystical interpretation of the aleph bet. Josh Baum, illustrator of Malka’s Notebook: A...
PJ Library in Tidewater’s January Sunday Fun Day
The Simon Family JCC was filled to the brim with children and their families during the January Sunday Fun Day on Jan. 8. Some made winter-themed crafts, others played interactive inflatable sports games, and all enjoyed spending time with friends, new and old, from...
Tidewater Jewish Foundation earns recognition for its prudent management of invested funds
As investment stewards, Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s Investment Committee recognizes its fiduciary responsibility to oversee the investment of the community’s assets and continues to review TJF’s Investment Policy Statement (IPS) and evaluate its implementation....
New kindergarten program at SIA will focus on younger students
Strelitz International Academy plans to launch a new transitional kindergarten program for eligible new and re-enrolling students for the upcoming school year. The SIA TK program is designed for students old enough for kindergarten, but who need an extra year to...
Be A Reader is roaring back into schools
The BeAR program started 2022 with plenty of questions, as volunteers were still not permitted in the schools. Calls to BeAR schools with offers to help resulted in many schools requesting supplies, reading and writing games, and books. They also asked for the BeAR...
Nadiv meets to discuss Jewish values ahead of giving circle donation
The men’s giving circle through YAD, Nadiv, gathered at the home of Dr. Alan and Jody Wagner on Wednesday, December 7 to discuss the Jewish values that matter to each member of the group—values such as education, community, Jewish peoplehood, saving lives, and others....
“Locked In” on fun
The first “Middle School Lock-In” in many years was hosted at the Simon Family JCC on a Saturday evening in November with 24 teens and tweens from across Tidewater’s Jewish community. Camp JCC counselors, lifeguards, and Alma Ben Chorin, one of Tidewater’s...
We’re going to Israel this Purim! Want to come?
March 1–9, 2023 After a COVID-driven moratorium, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is re-igniting its Missions Program for next March. Led by mission chairs Laura and Fred Gross, the trip will include an exciting “Purim in Tel Aviv” experience. Starting in...
Security while out and about: some timely reminders
All training is perishable and should be refreshed at least annually. As we move into the next round of holidays, this is a timely reminder. It is during this next period when auto burglaries, robberies, and residential burglaries increase. When you leave a location,...
Fishing Derby reels in fun…and fish
After a COVID-induced one-year absence, the Simon Family JCC Catch-and-Release Fishing Derby was held Sunday, May 23 on the Sandler Family Campus. This was the fourth time the Derby was held on Lake Sandler, but the first time it was held in the spring, which may have...
In Jewish Heritage Month proclamation, Biden recognizes Emhoff and Schumer— and the rise of anti-Semitism
WASHINGTON (JTA)—In his proclamation marking Jewish American Heritage Month, President Joe Biden cited the precedents set by prominent Jews in politics this year and condemned the nation’s spike in anti-Semitism in recent years. Biden recognized Douglas Emhoff and...
UJFT’S Arts + Ideas has a new dynamic duo
The Arts + Ideas department of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC has a new professional team working on arts programming for the Jewish community—presenting some of the most exciting programs taking place in the region. Jill Grossman is the...
Virtual auction of Lorraine Fink’s donated works reaps funds for visual arts programming
The traditional in-person experience of art might have temporarily receded into the past, but for local artist Lorraine Fink, not even a pandemic could keep her art from the community she loves. Last month, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC...
Holocaust Commission
The Holocaust Commission gratefully acknowledges the following White Rose and Red Rose donors from this year’s annual campaigns to raise funds to continue our vital programming. We could not provide the vital educational support we offer to teachers, the military, and...
Simon Family Passport to Israel helps 8 teens head to Israel this summer
Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s Simon Family Passport to Israel will send eight students to Israel after a yearlong program pause due to the pandemic. “With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the world last year, we simply couldn’t have students travel in the summer of...
Elie Wiesel to be the first Jew honored with a bust in the National Cathedral in Washington
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Washington’s National Cathedral, known for its role during presidential inaugurations and other days of national import, is honoring Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace Laureate and Holocaust memoirist with a bust, making him the first Jew to be so honored....
Your Dollars at Work: Remote religion ramps up during pandemic thanks in part to UJFT zooming in with tech support to local synagogues
In the digital-turned-remote age of work and worship, every single dollar makes a difference. Five synagogues in the area received funds from United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund of the Tidewater Jewish Community to upgrade and...
Cantor Elihu Flax retires from Beth Sholom Village
After almost 18 years of serving the spiritual and religious needs of Beth Sholom Village as its director of Religious Services, Cantor Elihu Flax is retiring in July. Cantor Flax became a fixture at BSV, taking an interest in all of the residents who lived there,...
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky joins BSV
Beth Sholom Village is set to welcome Rabbi Adam Ruditsky as its new Religious Cultural Leader. Ordained by the Academy for Jewish Religion of California in Los Angeles, Ruditsky embraces the words of the Kotzker Rebbe, who taught, “a whole heart is a broken heart,”...
Camp JCC is filling fast, spaces are limited
The most common questions that people ask regarding summer camp, says Dave Flagler, Camp JCC director, concerns swimming. “People want to know if swimming will take place,” he says. “’Of course, it will!’ I tell everyone.” Camp JCC, after all, is known for its...
Shalom Tidewater welcomes new neighbors to Jewish Tidewater
Have you met or do you know someone who has recently moved to our community? If so, Shalom Tidewater would love to welcome them on behalf of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the Simon Family JCC. Please direct them to the link on our website,...
Dear Hampton Roads Friends and Family,
As you may have already heard, Rebecca Aleck Koltun, daughter of Virginia Beach native Audrey (Aleck) Koltun and her husband Scott, and the granddaughter of Helen and Warren Aleck, suffered a life-altering, horrific skiing accident on March 13. Rebeca severely...
your dollars at work: Romania Jews enjoy heart-to-heart Passover celebration without face-to-face contact
Like Jews around the globe, Romanian Jews have their own history and reason to be proud to belong to the big family of Bereshit, where they learn together and celebrate Judaism. “As we all turn to preparing for Pesah in our homes, I am proud to share what is taking...
Brith Sholom installs new board
In February, Brith Sholom held their first successful online elections, which were necessary due to the pandemic. The newly elected officers and board members were installed during a Zoom meeting on Sunday, March 7. The installed officers and board members are: Joe...
Grants available for first-time campers to Jewish overnight camps
As the world begins to safely open up, many families are beginning to look for activities for their children this summer. For those considering Jewish overnight camps, the Tidewater Jewish Foundation is partnering with the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s One Happy Camper...
A Time To Mourn From Death to Renewal
Pandemic A dangerous new phenomenon entered our 2020 vision. A novel virus would forever change our lives and our times. Marching us from spring and falling into autumn without even looking. Dementia Her normal eccentricity quickly magnified into the bizarre. Storing...
TJF Thanks Legacy Donors
Today, we honor and thank our Legacy donors, who have committed themselves to the future of the Tidewater Jewish community. Your gift(s) will help meet the challenges and needs our community faces for generations to come. Thank you. View TJF Life & Legacy list.
Yeshivas Aish Kodesh brings students to Norfolk and sends them out in the world, fully prepared
Yeshivas Aish Kodesh Talmudical Academy of Norfolk is a four-year high school for Jewish boys, offering a dual curriculum of Judaic Studies, along with a complete General Studies program —in a religious environment. The pride and joy of the YAK staff is the...
Grant helps feed the hungry
Jewish Family Service received a grant from Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation in the amount of $2,500 to purchase food for members of the community who might otherwise go hungry.