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...
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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...
Rabbi Michael Panitz: Historian and film buff
A casual movie-goer until his mid-30s, Rabbi Michael Panitz, PhD, found that the invention of the VHS allowed him to enjoy films at home—and he began to study them. At the same time, he realized that films on Jewish subjects would be very useful in his work as a rabbi...
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...
Jewish Family Service’s disability programs take place all year
Programs focusing on including and enriching the lives of those with various forms of disabilities or special needs are a big part of Jewish Family Service’s work. For more than 25 years, for example, Jewish Family Service has collaborated with the Jewish Community...
Disability with dignity
In order to best serve a community’s diverse needs, accountability and awareness co-exist with Kavod, the Hebrew term that translates to concepts of dignity, honor and respect. February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month. The community’s commitment to...
Generous donors help Jewish Family Service assist 229 locals during Hanukkah
Now in its 27th year, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater’s Chanukah Gift program annually helps local Jewish families in financial need with gifts and gift cards for those with children and teens, and with VISA gift cards for those without children. The community...
JCC Youth Basketball League tribute Sofia Ruiz Konikoff
For decades, the Simon Family JCC Youth Basketball League has mixed sportsmanship and athletic skill building with fun and friendship. The league is open to children of all faiths from kindergarten to 5th grade. The 2020 JCC Youth Basketball League season is dedicated...
BurgerIM opens in Norfolk
The Israeli burger chain, BurgerIM recently opened two locations in Norfolk, one just outside the Norfolk Premium Outlet mall and one on West 25th St. Burgerim, by the way, is the plural of burger in Hebrew. Started in Tel Aviv, the chain is expanding throughout the...
Kitchen Barn: Still crazy busy after all these years
Walk into Kitchen Barn in Virginia Beach, home to 100,000 kitchen gadgets and five full lines of cookware, and you’ll be greeted by a warm and friendly face with a head full of knowledge. The broad smile might belong to Annmarie King whose thick salt and pepper hair...
Dear Virginia Beach City Public School Jewish Community Families
I’m writing to share with you news that the first day of school in the 2021–2022 academic year will be September 7. This of course coincides with the first day of Rosh Hashanah, marking the Jewish New Year, the beginning of the holiest time of the year for the Jewish...
Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s LIFE & LEGACY continues growth
In three years of the LIFE & LEGACY program, spearheaded by Tidewater Jewish Foundation, 530 new commitments have been made for a total of $20,208,740 in endowed gifts to support the Jewish community’s future. Consider: • More than $4 million in endowed gifts to...
Community Campaign looks to finish strong…and early!
The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s 2020 Community Campaign—came out of the gate strong once again this year. As this article goes to print, the campaign total stands at $4.43 million from more than 1,000 individual donors—well on its way to a successful...
Why I give…
To help maintain a spiritual home Hilary Truman Life & Legacy Donor Temple Emanuel became a home I didn’t know I was looking for. The first time I came, I came to support my best friend. My daughter enjoyed the atmosphere and the people, so I came with my friend a...
BINA on the go!!!!
December was a very busy month for BINA High School students. While many students are enrolled in dual curriculum college courses with Virginia Wesleyan University and were occupied with their heavy course load, this did not stop them from enjoying additional...
Second Annual Chinese Community Buffet
Make Kosher Chinese food, and they will come…; In New York City or even in Tidewater, scoring a reservation at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day, is well, like a miracle. No miracles needed for reservations at the Chinese Community Dinner at Beth Sholom Village....
My Interview with Yaakov Katz, the Jerusalem Post’s editor-In-chief
Yaakov Katz, editor-In-chief of the Jerusalem Post, educated and enlightened our community as part of the 2019–2020 Israel Today series. Katz is author of Shadow Strike: Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power. He shared his message over...
Spiritual late bloomer goes digging to discover what was ‘here all along’
Former Obama White House speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz came to Temple Emanuel to sign books and share what she learned on her post-White House Jewish journey on Sunday, December 8. The Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival and the Milton “Mickey” Kramer...
Iran has retaliated against Jewish targets before. But the Soleimani killing isn’t changing Jewish security around the world.
JERUSALEM (JTA)—On March 17, 1992, a suicide bomber drove a truck into the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 and injuring hundreds of others. Two years later, in the same city, on July 18, 1994, another bomber drove a truck into the AMIA Jewish center,...
Virginia’s first female, first Jewish Speaker: Eileen Filler-Corn
Diversity across the Commonwealth. Diversity in the House. Eileen Filler-Corn’s historical new role as the Commonwealth of Virginia’s first woman and first Jewish Speaker of the House of Delegates is big news, locally, nationally, and even in Israel. Since November,...
A resolution over Iran splits a tight group of moderate Jewish lawmakers
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Max Rose, Elissa Slotkin and Elaine Luria are the Jewish third of the “Gang of Nine,” moderate Democrats in the House with national security backgrounds from swing districts. It’s a tight group, as described by Politico last year: The nine Democrats...