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...
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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...
May is Jewish American Heritage Month
An annual recognition and celebration of the more than 350-year history of Jewish achievements and contributions to the fabric of American life and culture in the United States, Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) is held during the month of May. JAHM was first...
TJF seeks new donors for education tax credit program
Tidewater Jewish Foundation, an approved scholarship foundation under the Virginia Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit (EISTC) Program, is looking for new donors before its current fiscal/program year ends on June 30, 2023. BINA High School, Strelitz...
Don’t miss the Camp JCC experience
With summer right around the corner, Camp JCC is gearing up for another exciting season. Last year’s day camp program was so successful that this year’s spots are filling fast – good news for the camp and an incentive for parents to register children for a summer...
Judy Blume is having a moment. Here’s why Jewish women love her
Two films – one about her and one based on one of her most popular books – are screening now. . . before the summer heats up and more time is spent outside... away from theaters and televisions. (JTA) — As a young teenager growing up in Manhattan, Nina Kauder found it...
Thank you to the generous Israel Fest sponsors!
• Avraham and Karen Ashkenazi • Harbor Group International • ZIM Integrated Shipping Services • AIPAC • United Airlines • Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters • Dominion Energy • Worth Higgins & Associates • Jpixx • Hatcher & Frey Orthodontics • Jewish...
Ukrainian Humanity Center
In the summer of 2022, I took a Holocaust study trip to Poland, which I spoke about at Ohef Sholom and wrote about in the Jewish News. That article closed with the fact that I was working with some of my fellow travelers to “do something” for the Ukrainian mothers and...
Women’s Cabinet Spring event offers unexpected inspiration
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Cabinet held its first ever virtual Spring Lunch and Installation on May 13. Mona Flax, Cabinet chair, having completed a two-year term in office, made the unusual announcement that she would not be stepping down as...
Bringing To Life back to life
The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is in the process of updating To Life: Stories of Courage and Survival, a collection of 67 personal stories published in 2002. With most of the individuals in the book now deceased, the Commission...
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.