Under the well-organized leadership of Adele Muller and Carol Smith, another Mitzvah was carried out and “is in the books.” A group of Tidewater Chavurah members prepared and fed a nutritious dinner at the Judeo Christian Outreach Center. They served baked rigatoni...
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Rosh Hashanah with the ShinShinim
In Tidewater for a little more than a month, ShinShinim Aya Sever and Alma Ben Chorin are engaging community members of all ages. Since mid-September, the two Israelis have been busy celebrating and teaching about the Jewish holidays, adding an Israeli flair to...
Perspectives on basketball, the Holocaust, and what one author calls “Grace”
Dan Grunfeld: Wednesday, November 2, 7:30 pm By the Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream Dan Grunfeld Triumph Books 262 pages, 2021 The 2022-23 Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival kicks off this...
ESPN documentary focuses on Holocaust and Munich Olympics survivor Shaul Ladany
(JTA)—Frank Saraceno has worked for ESPN since 1994 and has produced hour-long documentaries on some of the biggest stars in sports for the cable channel’s Emmy Award-winning “E:60” series. But he thinks working on the episode that premiered September 20, might have...
Queen Elizabeth mattered. Civil religion explains why.
(JTA)—I am one of those people who gobble up films and television shows about the royal family almost as soon as they come out. And yet, watching The Crown, my thoughts would run like this: “This is great television,” I would say after nearly every episode. “But...
Area religious schools begin year with Israeli flair
Tidewater’s ShinShinim, Aya Sever and Alma Ben Chorin, are adding an Israeli touch to area religious schools this year. Sever will spend three weeks each month during the first semester with Ohef Sholom Temple while Ben Chorin is with Congregation Beth El. They will...
First Person: The impact of learner-centered Israel education
When I was a child in Jewish day school, we passed around the green, metal JNF box, sang Israeli songs, and watched videos about Israel’s beauty. Israel was our homeland, pure and simple. Since then, things have gotten much more complicated. Young Jewish adults do not...
What’s in the new Iran deal, and what’s holding it up?
(JTA)—Last month, the chances that the United States would rejoin the Iran nuclear deal seemed higher than they had been in years. CNN and Reuters reported that Iran had dropped multiple demands in the ongoing negotiations over a new accord that would update the...
Ken Burns’ PBS documentary The U.S. And The Holocaust asks hard questions about how Americans treated Jews and immigrants during wartime
Premier Sunday, September 18, 8 pm, WHRO (JTA) — One of the first people introduced in Ken Burns’ new documentary series about the Holocaust is Otto, a Jewish man seen in the series’ first episode who tries to secure passage to America for his family but gets stymied...
Programs department gets new coordinator
Mia Klein has joined United Jewish Federation of Tidewater as the new programs department coordinator. In her new role, she will work with the directors of Arts + Ideas, Jewish Innovation, and the Jewish Community Relations Council, chief programs officer, and, other...
ShinShinim find a warm welcome in Tidewater
Aya Sever and Alma Ben Chorin, Tidewater’s ShinShiniot, arrived in August and are getting to know the community. Shin Shin is an acronym in Hebrew that means Shnat Sherut—a year of service. Many Israeli teens choose to postpone their military service in the Israel...
2022 Elie Wiesel Writing Competition winner: “Hatred is all too common”
The first place winner in the Holocaust Commission’s Elie Wiesel Writing Competition for her moving and insightful poem about the Holocaust says she doesn’t consider herself a poet at all. “Honestly, I focus a lot on playwriting and screenwriting,” says Avery Britt, a...
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...
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...