WASHINGTON (JTA)—Yair Lapid got what he wanted out of his Washington visit: the word “every,” instead of “other.” During Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s first meeting with President Biden in August, Bennett was happy with what he heard: the American...
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Navy has three rabbis stationed in Tidewater
Three rabbis walk into a bar. One Reform, one Conservative, one Orthodox. The story is significantly less funny than you might imagine. While, in general, rabbis tend to be pretty funny people when you get them together in social settings, this was a business meeting....
FIDF Virginia Chapter meets, celebrates, and hears from Israeli military leaders
American athletes have won a total of 2,673 medals in the history of the Olympics, so the chances of meeting an American medal winner is low, but not impossible. Given that Israeli athletes have won only 13 medals, what are the chances of meeting an Israeli medal...
29 years of helping local Jewish children and teens
Jewish Family Service received this thank you note from an 11-year-old girl after Hanukkah last year: Dear JFS Helpers: Thank you for including me in the Chanukah gift drive. I live with my grandma and she and I have to watch how we spend money. My grandma surprised...
How to leverage giving opportunities at TJF
As the end of 2021 approaches, there’s a greater sense of normality: people are returning to society and the workplace. Yet, millions of people across the globe are still being impacted by COVID-19. Still, there is a silver lining: according to Giving USA 2021, a...

New novel, The Serpent Papers, focuses on Vietnam War
The Serpent Papers by Jeff Schnader, an area author and professor of medicine, is set on Columbia University’s campus amidst protests against the Vietnam War. This is the first book written about Columbia’s 1972 demonstrations. For the Vietnam War generation, the war...

All Jewish teens are invited to join BBYO
Tidewater BBYO invites all area Jewish teens to get involved. BBYO provides teens in eighth through 12th grades the opportunity to make friends, gain leadership experience, and have fun being Jewish. All BBYO programming is peer led: the teens plan and create...

First Person: New book provides an interactive manual of important life skills
Your Journey Beyond Breast Cancer: Tools for the Road Louise B. Lubin, PhD Every woman remembers the moment she heard, “You have breast cancer.” These words begin a long winding journey with potential roadblocks and detours. Wherever one may be on their cancer...
Memorial Service at BSV remembers those departed since last year
It is a Jewish custom to remember family members and friends on the anniversary of their passing. A memorial prayer is recited, a candle is lit, and donation is often given in memoriam. After not gathering in person for more than one year, Beth Sholom Village held a...
Weddings 2021: Happy ever after, hitches and all
The 2020–21 wedding theme is a mix of Suspend Disbelief and Hello Fantastical. For three recently married couples, snookered by the pandemic and forced to alter their original dream wedding plans dramatically, getting the last laugh was extra sweet. Erin Leon and...
Bittersweet blessings for Paul Turok’s growing family
Paul Len Turok was born to count many blessings: Building a sweet life with Vivian (Viv); moving from South Africa to Virginia at just the right time; feeling embraced by the local Jewish community; raising two healthy children with good souls and great hair; and...
PJ Library in Tidewater’s Pizza in the Hut: a Sukkot celebration
Tidewater families gathered in the sukkah on the Sandler Family Campus for a Sukkot celebration on Sunday, September 19. The path to the sukkah featured a life-sized book walk of images from The Harvest Blessings by Amy Meltzer, a PJ Library author. In the sukkah,...
HAT graduates Class of 2018
A heartwarming graduation ceremony for Hebrew Academy of Tidewater’s Class of 2018 took place on Tuesday, June 5. Almost all of the graduating class had attended the school since they were toddlers, so it was a bittersweet finale to their wonderful years at HAT. The...
Senior Living
June 25, 2018 Senior Living
TJF participates in national LIFE & LEGACY™ conference
In early June, I had the pleasure of joining Lawrence Steingold, Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s incoming board chair, as well as Scott Kaplan, TJF president and CEO, and Sallie Williams, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s marketing director, along with colleagues...
Three Jewish teens plan travel to Israel with grants from Simon Family Passport to Israel program
Shelby Brown, Mattisyahu Loiterman, and Audrey Peck—three Tidewater teens—will head to Israel with the support of a grant from Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s Simon Family Passport to Israel program. Brown, a rising senior at Norfolk Academy, will spend three weeks in...
Why it really bugs me when you misspell my name
(Kveller via JTA)— Earlier this year, my son’s elementary school hosted its winter band and choral concert. While waiting for the fifth- and sixth grade musicians to finish tuning their instruments, I scanned the brightly colored program to find my son’s name...
Why Democrats and Republicans are fighting over the Jerusalem embassy bash
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A fight over who was and wasn’t invited to the U.S. Embassy dedication in Jerusalem last month is becoming yet another battle in the war between Republicans and Democrats over Israel. Top Jewish Democrats in Congress are suggesting the embassy bash...
Beth Sholom Rehab “Gets it right the first time”
The last thing anyone wants to hear after surgery or any other procedure that requires post-op rehabilitation, is that it is necessary to return to the hospital for more treatment. Today, neither does the rehab facility. The healthcare landscape is evolving from a...
Retirement celebration planned for Harry Graber
Thursday, June 14, 6 pm, Sandler Family Campus A festive celebration honoring Harry Graber for his decades of service to Tidewater’s Jewish community will take place this week. Months in the planning, the event promises to be meaningful, memorable, and entertaining....
A trip of a lifetime: A father and his daughters in Israel
Everyone has a hero. For me, it’s my dad, S. Beryl Adler. From extraordinary tomato gardener to dedicated flounder fisherman to champion gelato eater to ODU founding father (Monarch Magazine winter 2016), the man has always held my heart. So, when we had lunch...
Father’s Day
June 11, 2018, Father's Day
Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s team: positioned to “grow” the community’s future
Though small and mighty, the professional staff of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation is well equipped to help strengthen Tidewater’s Jewish community. The team is led by Scott Kaplan, president and CEO, who moved to the area with his family in 2014. In less than four...
Toras Chaim Dinner 2018 honors Rabbi Loiterman
More than 130 people celebrated 16 years of Toras Chaim at a dinner held on Sunday, May 13. The evening also honored Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Loiterman, the school’s principal, for his 10 years of selfless devotion to Toras Chaim. The evening began with a social cocktail...
A Mother’s Day celebration at Beth Sholom
Many mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers among the residents at the Berger-Goldrich Skilled Care Center and the Terrace Assisted Living facility, were honored by Beth Sholom Village on Mother’s Day with a special brunch. After guests ate, the new A’Bisl...
Community set to honor Harry Graber
Thursday, June 14, 6 pm, Sandler Family Campus After serving as United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s executive vice president for 15 years, Harry Graber is set to retire on June 30. In addition to his service at UJFT, Graber was Jewish Family Service’s executive...
One Night raises funds, delights diners
The Simon Family JCC held its signature fundraising event, One Night, on Tuesday, April 24. Hosted by Baker’s Crust Artisan Kitchen, 132 guests gathered for a night of outstanding Israeli cuisine, community, and philanthropy. This year’s guest chef, sponsored by the...
YAD’s momME time provides Tidewater moms with entryway to community and a much-needed break
The momME time program through the Young Adult Division of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, was launched in 2016 as a way to bring Tidewater moms together to bond, relax, and engage with the community; completely kid-free. From the start it has been a huge...
Health Care
Health Care, May 28, 2018
Lucie Waldman awarded Stein Family College Scholarship from Tidewater Jewish Foundation
The annual Stein Family College Scholarship of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation was awarded this month to Lucie Waldman, a soon-to-be graduate of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach. Lucie is the 10th recipient of the four-year scholarship provided to a Jewish...
Lag B’Omer’s fire lights up a fun celebration
The Tidewater Jewish community was fired up on Thursday, May 3 for its annual Lag B’Omer Bash. This year’s event, hosted by the Simon Family JCC, the Young Adult Division of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, and Chabad of Tidewater, attracted nearly 200...
The value of burying books
The ceremony began on a sunny spring morning beside a single dugout grave and a pile of dirt. On Sunday, April 15, 15 middle schoolers from Ohef Sholom Temple buried 1,000 worn-out prayer books in the Tree of Life section at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk. Everyone...