Tidewater Jewish Foundation awarded a $25,000 Community Impact Grant to Beth Sholom Village for their new comprehensive telehealth initiative in March. “We are very excited to introduce this technology program to our residents, families, and staff,” says Amy...
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BINA bakes for Film Festival
BINA High School collaborated with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater at a recent Virginia Festival of Jewish Film program. The movie’s theme inspired the organizers to want to offer pastries for sale at the event. They contacted BINA High School, and the board...
Gifting stock…what you need to know
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s donors paying their campaign pledge balances—or making a donation with appreciated stock (an excellent tax savings way to pay)—should contact Patty Malone, UJFT Campaign administrative assistant, at pmalone@ujft.org or...
JCRC responds
Among the five core issues for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Jewish Community Relations Council, the first listed on its website is: Combating antisemitism, bigotry, and racism. In response to the increase in antisemitic incidents, in addition to the JCRC’s...
It’s always a good time to say thank you
It is important to thank members of Congress who have spoken in support of Israel’s right to self-defense and condemned Hamas rocket attacks. This is an opportunity to let Congressional leaders know that their support for Israel matters and is appreciated. Several...
Anti-Semitic acts in US soared 80% in a month, Jewish security group reports
(JTA)—The organization that advises U.S. Jewish communities on security matters says it recorded an 80% spike in anti-Semitic acts in the last month amid Israel’s 11-day war with Hamas. One of the causes, according to the Secure Community Network, was disinformation...
Reaching out to the homeless
The pandemic has presented unfathomable difficulties for Norfolk’s homeless population. With every bed in local shelters full, street homeless-ness has roughly doubled, according to Sarah Paige Fuller, director of Norfolk’s Community Services Board. This thought hit...
Why I signed the Jewish Future Pledge: Danny Rubin
My son, Niv, knows the layout of the Simon Family JCC like the back of his hand. He’s only five, but can already point out the best kickballs on the white-top behind the building, the dogleg on the 6th hole of the mini-golf course, and how to reach max speed on the...
A fond farewell to Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s Kaitlyn Oelsner
After two years of serving the Tidewater Jewish community, Kaitlyn Oelsner, Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s director of Philanthropy, is leaving the organization. “I’ve decided to put a pause on my professional career to fully focus on being a mom,” says Oelsner, who is...
Women’s Cabinet Spring event offers unexpected inspiration
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Cabinet held its first ever virtual Spring Lunch and Installation on May 13. Mona Flax, Cabinet chair, having completed a two-year term in office, made the unusual announcement that she would not be stepping down as...
Bringing To Life back to life
The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is in the process of updating To Life: Stories of Courage and Survival, a collection of 67 personal stories published in 2002. With most of the individuals in the book now deceased, the Commission...
Fishing Derby reels in fun…and fish
After a COVID-induced one-year absence, the Simon Family JCC Catch-and-Release Fishing Derby was held Sunday, May 23 on the Sandler Family Campus. This was the fourth time the Derby was held on Lake Sandler, but the first time it was held in the spring, which may have...
New York Times best selling author, Julie Lythcott-Haims inspires at first Tidewater Learning Connection
Stress and anxiety. It’s everywhere. Parents see it in their kids. Kids see it in their parents. From before they are even born, parents worry about their kids walking, talking, reading, taking the right classes, getting into the right classes…it never ends. “Not only...
Camp
2018 Summer Camp, March 26, 2018
Ohef Sholom Temple recognizes and thanks Soup Kitchen community partner
For more than eight years, Ohef Sholom Temple has opened its doors on the last Monday of every month for its Soup Kitchen, regularly serving approximately 75 guests. Dorianne Villani and her cadre of congregant and community volunteers prepare and serve a hot,...
Choosing to lead at AIPAC Policy Conference 2018
Earlier this month I attended my sixth American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference. Once again, the conference exceeded my expectations, bringing community and student activists from all 50 states together to learn about and advocate for issues...
Big prizes, big fun at Beth El’s annual Ben Gordon Family Bingo Night
Four players went home Saturday night, Feb. 10, with large, smart TVs, including Cantor Elihu Flax, who beamed over his 55-inch television that marked the midpoint game of Congregation Beth El’s 19th annual Ben Gordon Family Bingo Night. But the TV winners and many...
Manicures and Mitzvahs highlights Dress for Success
Beth El Sisterhood hosted Manicures and Mitzvahs at Changes Salon Thursday, Feb. 8 in support of Dress for Success. Twenty women enjoyed pampering, socializing, and a delicious food spread. Francesca Litow says it was a “Wonderful opportunity to pamper ourselves,...
Teens bond with seniors in Better Together Program
Though Leia Morrissey is in eighth grade, she knows she can make friends with anyone at any age. It’s a skill she picked up by participating in Better Together, a program that brings teens from area synagogues together with seniors at Beth Sholom Village. Now in its...
Gefilte fish and the bathtub
One of my favorite memories of Passover is hearing my grandfather tell stories about how his mother used to make the gefilte fish. I assumed like all families that they just went to the store and bought theirs. He explained to me that on the morning of Passover my...
Making it fun and meaningful for the younger generation
Every year I am reminded of the enthusiastic and spirited seders we had in South Africa with our extended family. Most of these family members are now dispersed around the world. We have five grandsons for whom I create fun and meaningful seders. This includes...
Our burnt Haggadah, gefilte fish that attracted neighbors, and puppets
My family has incorporated different Haggadot versions over the years, but we are always sure to use my Grandpa Jack’s original Haggadah, which has a burnt cover from when he nodded off during the seder and accidentally singed the book edges in the table candles. I...
Passover
March 5, 2018
A Great Passover Memory
Only one?? Impossible! I have so many great Passover memories because it has always been my favorite holiday, starting as a child sitting around my Aunt Florence’s dining room table in Baltimore with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins on my father’s side. I can’t...
Kibbutz seders were fun!
Every year for Passover, my family would drive 90 minutes to attend a seder at my aunt and uncle’s kibbutz. They lived on Kibbutz Beth Alpha, near Jordan, and we lived in Haifa. Hundreds of people attended, filling many long tables. The kibbutz created their own...
Grants available for first time campers to Jewish overnight camps
Elijah Arnowitz is a seventh grader who is already dreaming about camp this summer, which will be his fifth, at Camp Ramah New England. “It’s torturous to think about it because I miss it so much!” Elijah says. What does he like about camp? “Bunk activities, Shabbat...
Jewish camp in Hungary is first introduction to Judaism for some campers
Every summer, 1,500 Jewish campers from more than 20 countries attend Camp Szarvas in Hungary. Funded in part by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the camp’s mission is to create an opportunity for young Jews from around the world to meet,...
A national audience for What We Carry
Close to 200 people interested in seeing the three newest films of survivor Alfred Dreyfus, liberator William Jucksch, and rescuer Dame Mary Barraco, attended a screening last December at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. These first-hand...
Florida school shooting’s Jewish victims remembered for their kindness
( JTA)—They volunteered. They played soccer. They went to camp. They were sweet, mature, and easygoing. They were just beginning their lives, or helping others on their way. And one may have died so that others could live. Jewish students and staff were among the 17...
Aaron David Miller discusses the future of the Middle East
For Aaron David Miller, any opportunity to get out of Washington is appreciated, but on Monday, Feb. 12, the treat was for the Tidewater Jewish community. In a packed room, Miller, the vice president of New Initiatives at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for...
A Letter to My Campers After Parkland
This post was originally published in Bossier Magazine, and on the Religious Action Center’s and Union for Reform Judaism’s blogs. It is republished here with the author’s permission. To: G4A, G3B, the Tsofim unit, and all of URJ Camp Coleman: After 17 people were...
VCIC to honor William L. Nusbaum with Humanitarian Award
Thursday, March 22, 5:45 pm The Westin, Virginia Beach Town Center The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities has selected William L. Nusbaum to receive a prestigious Humanitarian Award at their 54th annual dinner this month. The Tidewater chapter of VCIC will...