Isaac and Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik visited Tidewater for three days last month through the Milton “Mickey” Kramer Scholar-in-Residence Fund of the Congregation Beth El Foundation’s Tidewater Together Series. This in-person series was a follow-up to the variety...
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Simon Family JCC Seniors Club redefines the perfect summer picnic
The Simon Family JCC Seniors Club figured out how to beat-the-heat at its July meeting. Stifling summer heat? Not with this group! The Seniors Club enjoyed an indoor picnic of kosher hamburgers and hot dogs (with all the fixins’), friends, and karaoke. JCC’s Yolanda...
Hadran Alach—We will return to you
No one likes to say goodbye. Teachers like to keep students connected. Learners like to keep the material in focus. Jews want to keep the traditions alive. “Hadran Alach”—We shall return to you; the opening words of a special tefillah (prayer) recited upon completing...
David Proser assumes helm of Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis and Cantors
David Proser, cantor at Kempsville Conservative Synagogue, Kehillat Bet Hamidrash, has recently been chosen to lead the Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis and Cantors as president. The organization’s mission, according to Proser, is to provide an opportunity for local...
Beth El’s Patricia Sarah Ashkenazi Religious School has new director
Sharon Serbin recently joined Congregation Beth El as its new director of the Patricia Sarah Ashkenazi Religious School (PSARS). Serbin arrives in Tidewater from Pittsburgh, Pa., where she has worked in Jewish education for the past 30-plus years. An esteemed...
Actor in Steven Levenson/Jason Alexander production If I Forget has Tidewater connection
Previews began July 20 at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles for the new play If I Forget, and a young actor with ties to Virginia Beach is playing the part of Joey. Jacob Zelonky, who has been in the Broadway tour of Billy Elliot, is one of three children of Barb...
In first speech as Israeli prime minister, Yair Lapid calls to stem extremism in politics
(JTA)—Yair Lapid might only be Israel’s interim prime minister, but he appears to be determined to maximize the position in the four months he is guaranteed to occupy it. In a speech delivered Saturday, July 2, Lapid laid out a set of beliefs that he said bind...
Leading Orthodox groups cheered the end of Roe v. Wade. Many Orthodox women are panicking.
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Pam Scheininger and J. David Bleich have this much in common: They are Orthodox Jews who are preoccupied with Jewish ethics and teach at New York City law schools. But when Scheininger looks at an American map, she sees 16 states where Orthodox Jewish...
Opinion: Why an orthodox Jewish organization welcomed the end of Roe vs. Wade
(JTA)—Agudath Israel of America, the national Orthodox Jewish organization for which I work, welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade. Predictably, we were immediately cast into an “enemy” or “ally” box, depending on who was doing the casting. The...
Supreme Court decision on coach’s prayer throws doubt on a 30-year-old victory for a Jewish family
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Seattle-area football coach who lost his job after leading prayers on the field following his team’s victories, in a decision that could have ramifications for Jews in public schools and the military. A number of...
‘Shattered in an instant’: Illinois Rep. Brad Schneider describes the scene of the July 4 Highland Park shooting
(JTA)—Brad Schneider knows from Chicagoland July 4 parades. The Jewish Democratic congressman has been working them since 2011, when he started running for his first term in Illinois’ 10th district. He packs five parades in on the day, and he can rattle off the...
Globetrotting with Edie Weiss
Edie Weiss has embraced a life of travel and learned volumes about archeology, food, fashion, and how people relate to one another as a global community. A retired self-employed CPA, she shares what she’s learned about seeing the world and soaking it all in. Jewish...
Purim around town
Purim begins at sunset on Monday, March 9 Tidewater is fortunate to have many great Purim events taking place this year. Check some of them out here. Sunday, March 8, 10:30 am A Totally Rad Purim Carnival Ohef Sholom Temple 530 Raleigh Ave, Norfolk...
Virginia Festival of Jewish Film’s BIG Saturday Night with Israel Today’s Israeli photographer Amos Nachoum
Saturday, February 22, 8 pm, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts Tickets $35 or under 21, FREE with RSVP (required) The Big Saturday Night Celebration of Jewish Film and Champagne Reception is in memory of Patricia Ashkenazi The BIG Saturday Night Celebration of...
Retirement in Style
Dear Readers, Sleeping in. Long walks. Exotic trips. For some, these are the dreams, and perhaps even the realities of retirement. Creating new businesses. Volunteering. International moves. For some, these are the dreams…and realities of retirement. Different doors...
Time is running out! Take the Jewish Tidewater survey ASAP.
Survey closes February 29 In just about 15 minutes you can let Tidewater’s organized Jewish community know what you think works and what doesn’t and what you’d like to see more or less of. And, you can do it anonymously for absolutely no cost from the comfort of your...
Anti-Semitism: Why Today?
Excerpted from Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg’s sermon at Ohef Sholom Temple on February 7, 2020. As if the fear of the coronavirus isn’t enough, the Anti-Defamation League reports that extremists are promoting conspiracy theories blaming (guess who?) the Jews. February...
White supremacists distributed more propaganda in 2019 but held fewer events, ADL says
One flyer reads “Holocaust = fake news.” Another says “America is not for sale.” And another: “Diversity destroys nations.” These are just a few of the 2,713 pieces of propaganda distributed in the United States by white supremacist groups in 2019, according to...
Disability with dignity
In recognition of February as Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusivity Month, this is the second of a two-piece spotlight on the community’s awareness and actions on behalf of people with disabilities. For Tidewater’s Jewish agencies, congregations, and buildings,...
Retirement works for Lois and Barry Einhorn
Spending two hours and 36 minutes interviewing community activists Lois and Barry Einhorn about ‘retirement’ at The Talbot on Granby isn’t just enlightening and educational, it is like watching two improv masters. Preparing for my first meeting with two equally...
At Gerald’s Ice Cream Bar, a retired dentist lives his ice cream-making dream
Retired dentist Gerald Einhorn loves making homemade ice cream. The warmth he feels just eating ice cream is connected to childhood memories of his father William “Willie” Einhorn. Willie Einhorn was a co-founder of Hebrew Academy of Tidewater, known today as Strelitz...
Volunteers have been the backbone of weekly Shabbat Services at Beth Sholom Village since Day One
It was my grandfather, Hyman Brenner, who roped me in back in 1980. The beloved Lenny Goodman was leading Shabbat services each Saturday at Beth Sholom Home, but he did not read from the Torah. I could, and at the urging of Grandpa, one of the first male residents, I...
JCC retirement reboot: community-centered connectivity meets functional health benefits
The Simon Family JCC and JFit combo package is more than a cultural community center and fully loaded fitness center studio with all kinds of bells and whistles. A beautiful setting, country club perks, yoga, senior programs, festivals, café, and supreme member care...
And on the doorposts of your…house?
After four decades in the Rabbinate, the majority of them spent as the spiritual leader of Conservative congregations in New Jersey and Virginia, Temple Israel’s Rabbi, Dr. Michael Panitz, estimates he’s helped affix mezuzot to the doorposts of literally hundreds of...
Concert for social justice brings communities together
Ohef Sholom Temple saw the climax of its 175th year celebration on Sunday, January 19, with a concert featuring two of the qualities the congregation is most proud of—the vigor of its dedication to social justice through civic outreach, and the joy of music as a fount...
Rabbi Ariel Burger challenges us to carry on Elie Wiesel’s message and legacy
In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Holocaust Commission partnered with The Milton “Mickey” Kramer Scholar-In-Residence Fund of the Congregation Beth El Foundation’s Tidewater Together series to...
Help enrich the community: Take the Jewish Tidewater survey
For the first time in 19 years, Tidewater’s Jewish community is embarking on a community needs assesment. The Jewish Tidewater Survey is designed to gather information to build a stronger, more dynamic Jewish community. The last survey, the 2001 Jewish Community...
Virginia Festival of Jewish Film
The 27th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film is one of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the nation. A dedicated screening committee, led by Mark Robbins and William Laderberg, selected films meant to engage diverse Tidewater audiences—Jewish and...
Charlie Harary: Mentor, parent, friend
Sitting in my car at Norfolk International Airport on Wednesday, January 8, I was a little apprehensive. After months of preparation, I was about to meet the legendary Charlie Harary and drive him to the Simon Family JCC. Harary was visiting Tidewater as part of the...
FIDF’s Virginia Chapter holds inaugural Biking for Soldiers
On a crisp autumn morning, on Sunday, October 27, 15 volunteers began cheering as a caravan of cars—with bike racks on the back—headed for Chickahominy Riverfront Park in Williamsburg. Bikers, of all ages and physical abilities, came out to demonstrate their support...
Rekindle your relationship with food. Reboot your family history.
Filling a room with more than 250 people, Cleveland Clinic’s Chief Wellness Officer, plant-based nutrition advocate, and author of What to Eat When, Dr. Michael Roizen came with a few surprises and a healthy dose of scientific data to back them up. A pre-event warmup...
Terrapin 2.0: Farm-fueled, color-blazed, and fired up
If you ask chef Amy Brandt what makes Terrapin in Virginia Beach the area’s marriage proposal mecca, she’ll propose two main ingredients. “There’s only one restaurant in the area with the intimacy of Terrapin and 100% integrity in everything they do,” says the former...