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This past spring, the Young Adult Division (YAD) of the United Jewish Federation rolled out a program that’s now rolling fast on its own. Since March, the Federation has offered four Shabbat dinners for young Jewish adults that are hosted by community members. Thanks...
Summer is full of passion, so it is particularly fitting that Tu b’Av takes place during this warm season, this year on August 1. Sort of the “Jewish Valentine’s Day,” Tu b’Av is historically a grape harvest festival during which matchmaking was encouraged and love...
Nearly $650,000 in scholarship donations were secured for the 2022-2023 school year through Tidewater Jewish Foundation, an approved scholarship foundation under the Virginia Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credits program. These funds have supported families...
At Tidewater’s celebration of Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, visitors to the Sandler Family Campus’ Fleischmann Lounge saw a collage of photographs, news articles, and scanned documents telling a 150-year-old story. Through a partnership with...
Maimonides, or the Rambam, lived from 1138 until 1204, and remains one of the most prolific Torah scholars of all time, as well as a noted physician whose treatises on such conditions as asthma, diabetes, hepatitis, and pneumonia influenced future generations of...
According to the World Health Organization, 55 million people are experiencing dementia worldwide in 2023. Symptoms include memory loss, anxiety, personality changes, and difficulty performing familiar tasks. Caregivers are often unprepared to handle the onset of...
Varied activities in various spaces at the Simon Family Jewish Community Center provide seniors a range of options for meetings, creativity, volunteering, learning, dining, socializing, and even a bit of competition. The Fleischmann Lounge, for example, is a vibrant,...
The newest space at the Sandler Family Campus, the Fleischmann Lounge, is a bright open area named in memory of a sweet and unassuming gentleman, Joe Fleischmann, who was active in the JCC Senior’s club, quietly participating in its activities. “Mr. Joe” loved...
The men of NADIV gathered on June 28 for their annual summer cookout at the home of Troy Ingram. The event of networking, enjoyment, and recapping a year of philanthropy together was held on a perfect summer evening. NADIV’s kickoff event for their 2024 campaign year...
A wonderful celebration for the Tidewater Chavurah’s 25th anniversary was held at Vino’s Italian Bistro in Kempsville on June 11. Some founding members joined the celebration, which included a video retrospective of people and events during those years. A “synagogue...
Attorney General Jason Miyares announced the members of his Antisemitism Task Force earlier this month. The members were chosen through an application process and are from the Office of the Attorney General employees, law enforcement, educators, and leaders in...
Cyber-crime is a growing national and global concern. In fact, according to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), one in three homes in the United States have a computer infected with malicious software, 65% of Americans who went online...
The new tradition of Sunday Fun Day continued this fall as PJ Library in Tidewater welcomed families to the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community on September 12 for an afternoon of field games, music, and ice cream. Families with...
Collectors, family, friends, and mentors gathered from across the country—and globe—to honor artist Lorraine Fink during a reception celebrating Then, Now, & Looking Forward: Lorraine Fink Retrospective. The reception was held via Zoom on Sunday, Sept. 12. As a...
Farm to table has become accessible to Beth Sholom Village by way of a very futuristic-looking farm. The “farms” are in towers that resemble modern art sculptures. The crops can be seen in the beautiful six-foot case that emits a warm light and varying hues of green....
Tidewater families raising Jewish children will now have more opportunities to participate in Jewish life, thanks to a grant recently awarded to United Jewish Federation of Tidewater by PJ Library®, the flagship program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that provides...
Forty families gathered by the pool at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus to welcome Shabbat on Friday, August 27. Hosted by PJ Library in Tidewater, in partnership with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Adult Division, the night began with pool games,...
On July 12, I hopped on a nine-and-a-half-hour plane ride with two of my best friends and 41 other teens to visit the land of Israel for 22 days. I always knew that visiting Israel would shift my perspective on being Jewish, but being able to experience that change...
Who would have thought 18 months ago, that we would still be speaking about COVID-19 as we approach another Jewish New Year? With our nation and world, we continue to combat the virus. But now we fight in a stronger position—with vaccinations—as we pivot daily and...
Elka Mednick As summer comes to a close and the High Holidays approach, annual concerns regarding conflicts between the academic calendar and the holidays are brought to the forefront. This year, the usual first day of school for public school students, the day after...
Compiled by Ronnie Jacobs Cohen, Shalom Tidewater Editor’s note: This listing is current as of Wednesday, August 18. Due to the evolving nature of COVID-19, it is advised to check with congregations to learn specific protocols for attending High Holiday Services,...
Robin Ford As another potentially challenging school year is about to start, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Be a Reader (BeAR) program is gearing up for 2021–22. The program’s volunteers and staff hope to be able...
Thomas Mills Tidewater Jewish Foundation awarded a $7,500 Community Impact Grant in March to Toras Chaim to renovate their auditorium. Serving Tidewater’s Jewish community for almost 20 years, the school has undergone an extensive beautification project. Renovations...
Michelle Fenley Two special groups of Camp JCC campers demonstrated this summer that joy can be found through doing mitzvot. Despite the limitations that COVID‑19 placed on summer experiences, the two oldest groups of campers at the Simon Family JCC’s summer camp...
Earlier this summer, 14 members of the Simon Family Jewish Community Center participated in the Sprint 8 Cardio Challenge. “I wanted to challenge our members to change how they’re doing cardiovascular exercise with a clinically tested workout that provided real...
Lisa Richmon The pandemic surges and lulls before it rises again, but attacks on Israeli peace remains a front burner issue that never lets up. United Jewish Federation of Tidewater continues its partnership with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, known...
Emily Burack (JTA)—The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are finally happening, a full year after they were planned. And yes, they’re still being called the 2020 Olympics, even though they’re happening in 2021. The Jewish athletes competing this year—and there are many—are the...
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky Beth Sholom Village is not just a long-term care facility or rehab, an assisted living or memory care, but it is a dwelling place for Jewish life. At least that was so for Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, z’’l, who said: “A test of a people is how it...
Temple Israel participated in another successful Mitzvah of the Month in June by conducting a Jewish Family Service food drive titled, “Bare Necessities.” Members of the congregation donated money, food, and products that families need to survive the summer....
Taglit-Birthright Israel is proving it can survive a bout of logistics hiccups such as those presented when tourist travel in and out of Israel is prohibited. Trips may get canceled or re-scheduled, but what’s immune to change is the program’s Why. Existing to connect...
(JTA)–Pro-Palestinian activists were swarming the social media comments sections of Ben & Jerry’s to demand the company boycott Israel. In response, Ben & Jerry’s appears to have indeed entered a boycott—of social media itself. The international ice cream...
Ben Sales (JTA)—Meet America’s Jews: They’re older, more educated, richer, and less religious, on average, than the rest of the country. They’re overwhelmingly white, though Jews under 30 are more diverse. Most of them care about Israel, though one in 10 support the...