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...
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Torah Live breathes new life into education
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...
The Hurrah Players are back in action!
With 38 years of experience teaching the performing arts, The Hurrah Players, Virginia’s Leading Family Theatre Company, is thrilled to be back in-person with its students. From jazz to musical theater to camera acting, Hurrah Players students learn it all. Learning...
Brith Sholom: In-person again
Brith Sholom members have been patiently waiting for the time that they would be able to resume their monthly brunches in person. After all, it has been more than 20 months since they were able to be together and enjoy the camaraderie they looked forward to each...
New medical director for Freda H. Gordon Hospice and Palliative Care
The vision at Freda H. Gordon Hospice and Palliative Care is to reimagine what life with a serious illness can hold—providing patient-centered, holistic, and inclusive care to all eligible patients and their loved ones. As the organization soon enters its 10th year of...
A November “taste” of BBYO
November was a delicious month for Tidewater BBYO Teens. Despite the postponement of the annual Fall Fest due to rain, the cooler weather did not dampen the teens’ spirits with two fun food related events. On Sunday, November 14, 20 teens gathered for a Pizza Bake...
FIDF supporters welcome and hear from IDF Naval officers
Some 40 Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) supporters gathered last month at an event hosted by Betsy and Ed Karotkin and Rabbi Ron Koas to welcome and meet with visiting Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Naval officers from Ashdod Naval Base. The officers were...
Tidewater Chavurah celebrates Hanukkah
Tidewater Chavurah celebrated Hanukkah on the eighth night. While it was lovely seeing the fully lighted menorahs, the best part was getting together in person. The latkes were the stars of the show, but all of the food contributed to a great meal.
Immigration attorney sought to help the stranger
This past year, the Ohef Sholom Temple Immigration Committee and Commonwealth Catholic Charities conducted a community-wide needs assessment and discovered an almost shocking and complete absence of affordable legal services for poor immigrants in Tidewater....
This unique Hanukkah program celebrates a world of Jewish miracles
Ten years ago, Illya Buzunov never could have imagined that one day he’d be teaching Jews around the world how to prepare potato latkes. Until 2014, the Ukraine native didn’t even know he was Jewish. But that’s exactly what Buzunov, 24, will be doing on November...
TJF’s refreshed donor portal makes it easier to access and give online
Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s online donor portal recently received a visual upgrade. The update, which went live last month, aims to make the donor portal more accessible and straightforward for users. “We at TJF are committed to a positive donor experience. In...
Making Hampton Roads a more equitable community for all
What is racial equity? The phrase has been in the news, in communities, and in corporations with increasing attention of late. Simply put, racial equity means acknowledging that racism exists, working together to fix problems caused by discrimination, ensuring People...
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...
TJF grants support wide range of projects for local agencies
The Tidewater Jewish Federation Grants process was created to have an impact on the Tidewater Jewish and general community by providing funding for new and innovative projects that focus on the social, welfare, health, education, community relations, and cultural...
Scholar highlights Jewish traditions on beer and horseradish
Most people would think twice before mixing horseradish and beer. However, Josh Kulp, the rosh (head) of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, covered both topics during his weekend visit to Norfolk in March as scholar-in-residence for Congregation Beth El and Temple...
Eyal Rob lectures, spins in Tidewater
Co-founder of Israel’s first music television channel, Israeli journalist, culture critic, and DJ, Eyal Rob brought the Tel Aviv music scene to Tidewater last month. His visit concluded the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s...
Not your parents’ Science Fair
For anyone who ever wondered if a Yeti coffee cup really does keep coffee hotter than other competing cups, Shayna Friedman, a fourth-grade student at Hebrew Academy of Tidewater, answered this question through her Science Fair project. On Thursday, April 17, Hebrew...
Natalie Portman explains why she won’t accept prize in Israel: It’s about Netanyahu
Natalie Portman said she wouldn’t attend a prize ceremony in Israel because of her feelings about its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and “atrocities” committed on his watch, but emphasized that she would not shun Israel itself. The Jerusalem-born director and...
RBG filmmakers hope to inspire Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s millennial fans
NEW YORK (JTA)—One of the first scenes in a new documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsburg features the Supreme Court associate justice, then 84, vigorously lifting weights, doing leg exercises and holding herself in a plank position. The much buzzed-about workout routine...
Color Run to Color War
On Sunday, April 29, BINA students turned the field at the Simon Family JCC into a new form of a rainbow. The girls had a Color Run to raise money to use for conventions and programs with other communities. Most of the student body (along with a few future students)...
Lessons quickly learned from What We Carry
The following letter was sent last month to Elena Baum, director of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Holocaust Commission: I am writing to you from Princess Anne Middle School. I am a school counselor here and wanted to reach out to you to thank you personally...
Israel Story enthralls Tidewater audience
In May 1967, the world heard the song Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, Jerusalem of Gold, for the first time as Shuli Nathan stood on stage and sang the words written by Naomi Shemer. At the time, the Old City of Jerusalem was still under control of the Jordanians, and the...
Holly Berger Markhoff art at Stravitz Galleries Through May
A contemporary mixed media artist known for her emotive figurative and expressionist paintings, Holly Berger Markhoff’s stunning paintings are now on exhibit at Richard Stravitz Sculpture & Fine Art Galleries in Virginia Beach. Influenced by the elongated figures...
Yom Hashoah moves the community
This year’s Yom Hashoah Commemoration, honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, as well as liberators and righteous gentiles, brought the community together around not just awareness and sadness, but honor and hope for the future. Yom Hashoah co-chair Elka...
Harry Graber Retirement
Never too young to learn about Passover
At the Strelitz Early Childhood Education Center, Passover learning includes all of the children. In the infant program, for example, one child, attracted by a dimpled faux matzah ball, crawled to an eye-level poster with matzah balls attached by Velcro… and pulled...