Every week on Shabbat, we pray for peace—for our loved ones, for our world, and especially our extended Jewish family in Ukraine. Beginning this month through April, we’re ensuring 700 to 800 Jews from various cities in Ukraine will share in the peace of a 12-day...
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A Bluffer’s guide to the wine list
We have all been there. You are in a fine restaurant with a good looking date (in some cases your spouse), and the waiter or steward presents you with a wine list. It may be a small card. It may be the size of a book. What do you do? Many folks in this situation will...
Tidewater’s seventh annual Great Big Challah Bake serves up lessons and fun
Women of all ages spent an evening in November at B’nai Israel Congregation celebrating the Jewish tradition of preparing for Shabbat and the spiritual joys of making challah. A partnership between B’nai Israel and the Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish...
Jewish Book Festival wraps up First Half of Season
Four engaging authors presenting on a variety of topics were featured in the first half of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in November and December. Italian cookbook author Benedetta...
Temple Israel honors police officers at Law Enforcement Appreciation Shabbat
It wasn’t long ago that no one could have imagined needing armed guards to conduct Shabbat services. Accustomed to hearing about that kind of thing in Europe, it wasn’t thought possible here—not in the U.S.A. That thinking was wrong. For Temple Israel, the “it can’t...
Camp JCC Winter Camp wraps with happy campers
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...
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...
Kerri Cohen joins UJFT/Simon Family JCC as development associate
Kerri Cohen recently joined United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the Simon Family JCC as a development associate. Born and raised in Suffolk, Va. she has also lived in Texas, Mexico, and Massachusetts. Cohen holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership...
As Genesis Prize goes to a vote, its impact on Jewish causes grows
Doron Almog, a former head of the Israeli Defense Forces’ Southern Command, was one of the heroes of Israel’s 1976 hostage rescue operation in Entebbe, Uganda, and winner of the 2016 Israel Prize for lifetime achievement. But the thing he says he’s most proud of is...
On Rosh Hashanah call, Trump tells American Jews ‘We love your country’ and asks for their vote
WASHINGTON (JTA)—President Donald Trump spent much of his 20-minute call with American Jewish leaders making the case for more American Jews to vote for him. He closed by repeating a line that has raised their eyebrows before. “We really appreciate you,” Trump said as...
Saying goodbye.
Terminal agitation. That is the hospice verbiage for the loud moans my mom was making from the bed in Sonya’s Margate home. The mattress she occupied was the very one she had slept on for many married years with my father, now of blessed memory. Though she would die...
Ushering in 5781—Resilient Together
It is still hard to believe how much our world has changed in the last six months. How many times have we heard ‘unprecedented,’ and the ‘new normal?’ How many times have we heard the word ‘resilience?’ I happen to believe that ‘resilience’ perfectly describes our...
High Holiday Services in Jewish Tidewater 5781
Shalom Tidewater Beth Sholom Village www.bethsholomvillage.com 757-420-2512 In-person services for Beth Sholom Village residents only. Residents will be appropriately socially distanced apart, with two services per day to accommodate all residents in a safe manner....
Elie Wiesel Competition 2020
The arrival of the novel coronavirus brought many unexpected changes. One area that was not changed, however, was the amount of and timing of the entries for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Holocaust Commission’s Elie Wiesel Competition. The deadline was just...
A world of change in JAFI’s Project Ten program
What if United Jewish Federation of Tidewater could fund one Jewish agency that developed one sustainable-development volunteer program for hundreds of young Jews to perform Tikkun Olam in a dozen countries around the world? It can and it does. Jewish Agency for...
Area congregations dig deep in search of safe and spiritually sound High Holiday services
From Reform to ultra-Orthodox and everything in between, Tidewater congregations in pursuit of prayer, have advanced more technologically in the last few months than in 30 years. Prior to 2020, rabbis and temple executives had no reason to believe they would become...
Shalom Baby! Shalom Tidewater!
Shalom Ya’ll! Two programs at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater are designed to say ‘welcome’ with a ‘Jewish Southern-hospitality flair. Shalom Baby is a project that welcomes babies to the Jewish community and Shalom Tidewater welcomes Jewish people moving to the...
The Neighborhood Harvest delivers on its promise to deliver and disrupt
Don’t call John Stein a disruptor. Those who know him best describe Stein as a gentle soul who avoids self-promotion and harsh words. The Baker’s Crust and Neighborhood Harvest CEO they see is always ready to rally behind an innovative food product or service that...
LEGAL PROFILE: Leonard (“Lenny”) J. Weinstein
Firm: Clayton, McKay & Bailey, PC Specialty: Intellectual Property–Patent and Trademark Prosecution and Litigation Education: 2002 BS Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology 2012 JD, George Washington University Law School Family: Wife, Luisa...
LEGAL PROFILE: Valerie Brodsky White
Firm: Retired from private law practice; “In-House Counsel” for Matval Enterprises, LLC, our real estate investment business that I set up with my husband, Matthew. Specialty: Practiced Immigration Law for 17 years; then worked part-time in Real Estate Law in our...
LEGAL PROFILE: Igor A. Vaserfirer
Firm: Stokes Law Group, PLC–a business and real estate boutique Specialty: Corporate/Commercial Real Estate Leasing and Development Education: William & Mary/Villanova University School of Law Family: Herbert, my Yorkie Jewish Organizations: YAD Cabinet, Nadiv...
How and where the Democrats and Republicans are trying to woo Jewish swing voters
WASHINGTON (JTA)—One thing we know about elections is that Jewish voters can make a difference. Take Florida: The Sunshine State’s Jewish voters helped deliver its critical electoral votes to Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Problematic ballots in heavily Jewish Broward...
Hot dogs are the greatest American Jewish food. Here’s why.
American Jewish food is most typically defined as pastrami sandwiches, chocolate babka or bagels and lox. But I am here to argue that the greatest American Jewish food may actually be the humble hot dog. No dish better embodies the totality of the American Jewish...
With a nod to Carl Reiner, My Favorite Year recalls the infancy of TV sketch comedy
Social distancing and staying inside is hard. Thankfully, accessing good things to watch during this time is not. This is another installation of a column on Jewish movies and TV shows to stream in quarantine. My Favorite Year Available for rent: Amazon Prime, Apple...
Community Relations Council
Recent weeks have been extremely difficult for our country. The Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is appalled and angered by the death of George Floyd at the hands of officers in the Minneapolis Police Department. Our...
The Joy of the J – You can’t keep a good senior down
When the Simon Family JCC opened on Monday, June 8, seniors bounced back in real numbers. Even with the necessary implemented regulations and other logistics, “overjoyed” was the overall response. In particular, Silver Sneaker students say they are thrilled to be...
Mystery Wine Night a huge hit for YAD during quarantine
A Zoom chat room of Young Adult Division (YAD) members was filled with clinking glasses, generous pours, and lots of laughter on Thursday, May 21. That’s because YAD hosted its first-ever, Mystery Wine Night. YADians conducted blind taste tests of four wines and...