Other News

A unique educational experience for the Jewish community took place last month at the Sandler Family Campus. Hosted by Tidewater Jewish Foundation, the event, Grants in Action: Meet & Greet with a Sofer, offered an opportunity to meet a Sofer, learn what they do,...

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...

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...

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, 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...

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...

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...

(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...

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...

(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...

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...

(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...

Avi Eli: Hebrew Hustler In 2011, Avi Eli was the guy with the funny accent hustling Dead Sea products at the mall. Today’s he’s enjoying life in Miami while Mr. Shawarma runs “hands free” and dominates Norfolk’s Middle Eastern street food sector. In 2015, following in...

Democrats flipped both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates on November 5. Days later, Eileen Filler-Corn won a competitive race for the top spot in the House, beating out three opponents. Already making history in Virginia as the first Jewish woman minority...

Perhaps it’s not surprising that a Jewish congresswoman begins her talk to a Jewish group with personal references that the audience finds quite familiar. So it was with 2nd District Representative Elaine Luria who spoke to the Temple Israel Sisterhood on November 10....

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The first public hearings in the Trump impeachment inquiry began this month with quite a splash. A bunch of Jewish actors are at play in this drama, and we’ve covered some before: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is caught in the middle...

(JTA)—Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced this month that the United States will no longer consider Israeli Jewish settlements in the West Bank to be illegal. Here’s an explainer about what the settlements are, how they are viewed in Israel and around the world,...

A range of activities are always on the calendar at Beth Sholom Village—some for health, and some for fun. Residents at BSV, for example, work with restorative nursing staff six days a week to stay active and prevent falling. Led by CNAs, participants exercise to...

A Jewish Family Service client I was in a domestic abuse situation for a long time. I finally got the courage to leave and move back in with family. I was pregnant at the time. Although my family was able to take me in, they were not prepared for the new costs of...

“It is hard to believe how far we have come with the construction of the Mikvah! So many community members from all over have already come together to support this project. Hoping for continued success!!” says Sarah Lipman. To learn more about the new Mikvah, or to...

Israelis who are concerned about a warming climate have a new tactic: using cut-out photos of the prominent teen climate activist Greta Thunberg to shame their colleagues for using plasticware. In workplaces across Tel Aviv, people are placing pictures of Thunberg,...

(JTA)—Carol Kitman remembers meeting Alexander and Yevgeny Vindman nearly 40 years ago in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The brothers were about 4½ years old and dressed in matching blue sailor outfits with navy caps. Kitman was instantly taken with the twins and asked to...

Jewish Family Service of Tidewater recently gained three new board members. Mazel Tov to the new directors and to JFS for adding these women to the board, as each brings different expertise. Rebecca Tall Fun fact—I have triplets (19-years-old, two boys and a girl)....

Glenn Benson of Bethesda, Maryland, grew up in an ardently Zionist home, the son of South African immigrants who cared deeply for Israel. In high school he attended Jewish day school, participated in a B’nai B’rith Youth Organization summer trip to Israel, visited...

Wonderful, warm, and meaningful High Holiday services were held with Tidewater Chavurah and Congregation Beth Chaverim in the Parrish Hall at Old Donation Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach. Combing the best of both Reform congregations resulted in inspiring services...