Other News

On January 14, 2022, the UJFT Community campaign stood at $4,595,000 from 1,000 individual gifts. This total is about $88,000 ahead of where the campaign stood on the same day last year. And even better: there are a good number of potential gifts still “out there” in...

The word kosher is associated with dietary provisions one chooses to follow in support of deeply held religious beliefs. The role of the VAAD (Hampton Roads’ kosher supervisory resource) is instinctively tethered to Jews’ freedom to enjoy kosher meals in restaurants,...

Now in its 29th year, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater’s Annual Hanukkah outreach programs helped local Jewish families in financial need. Because of safety concerns with COVID-19, families received assorted gift cards for each child, along with a small bag filled...

Leaders at Kehillat Bet Hamidrash/Kempsville Conservative Synagogue worked on 2020 High Holiday plans for more than two months to create a safe and meaningful holiday experience for their congregants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, on September 18, just as Rosh...

Tender at the Bone is the title of a memoir by Jewish food icon Ruth Reichl. It doubles as a culinary storyteller’s nod to the alchemy of ingredients that make the Soup Love, an Amy Markman original. Fueled by a foodie father, and a healer’s heart, Markman re-imagined...

Nearly 30 Jewish teens came together for an afternoon at the movies on Sunday, December 12. The teens, ranging from sixth through 12th graders, represented OSTY, BBYO, and many area synagogues. Everyone enjoyed popcorn, refills of soft drinks, making new friends,...

For Temple Israel, in many ways, 2021 went out with a bang. From collecting more than $3,880 in gift cards for needy children in the community to collecting school supplies for children at Granby Elementary School, which netted more than $8,500, a summer Jewish Family...

Starting in 2022, the Stein Family College Scholarship will offer up to $20,000 a year for four years, according to Tidewater Jewish Foundation. This $80,000 scholarship opportunity makes it the largest scholarship in Jewish Tidewater. Awarded to Jewish students in...

Volunteers with Tidewater Chavurah provided a mitzvah for the Judeo Christian Outreach Center’s (JCOC) guests with a warm and filling dinner of chili, salad, cornbread, oranges, and cookies. After months of diligent planning, it paid off as the congregation got...

Make and pay your gift by December 31 to get your 2021 charitable tax deduction As the 2021 calendar year draws to a close, with Hanukkah behind us…and with a winter of “unknowns” fast approaching, now is the time to gather with friends and community members to...

Gaming site creates game-changer for Jewish families and teachers In recent years, there’s been a noticeable downward spiral of students’ attention spans. In 2010, the trend was apparent when Rabbi Dan Roth walked into a classroom of American students in Israel who...

When Jewish Family Service of Tidewater’s nurse’s aide Tiphaney Powell speaks about her clients, she does so with a great deal of respect, love, and admiration. After all, when your clients are two 93-year-old women and a 96-year-old man, a lot of life lessons may be...

I recently returned from leading my 38th Birthright Israel trip. Virginia-based students on this trip were from William and Mary, Christopher Newport University, and Old Dominion University. Students always ask if the trip gets old for me. After all, we go to mostly...

She speaks with a slight, but distinct, accent whose origin I had long suspected, but, given her age and all that implied, been hesitant to ask. One night at dinner, though, I posed the simple question to 95-year-old Elsie Hirsch, “Where are you from?” She looked at...

On April 20, 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed May to be Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM). The announcement was the crowning achievement in an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders. Their dedication resulted in...

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...

(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...

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...