Other News

On July 12, I hopped on a nine-and-a-half-hour plane ride with two of my best friends and 41 other teens to visit the land of Israel for 22 days. I always knew that visiting Israel would shift my perspective on being Jewish, but being able to experience that change...

Who would have thought 18 months ago, that we would still be speaking about COVID-19 as we approach another Jewish New Year? With our nation and world, we continue to combat the virus. But now we fight in a stronger position—with vaccinations—as we pivot daily and...

Elka Mednick As summer comes to a close and the High Holidays approach, annual concerns regarding conflicts between the academic calendar and the holidays are brought to the forefront. This year, the usual first day of school for public school students, the day after...

Compiled by Ronnie Jacobs Cohen, Shalom Tidewater Editor’s note: This listing is current as of Wednesday, August 18. Due to the evolving nature of COVID-19, it is advised to check with congregations to learn specific protocols for attending High Holiday Services,...

 Robin Ford As another potentially challenging school year is about to start, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Be a Reader (BeAR) program is gearing up for 2021–22. The program’s volunteers and staff hope to be able...

Thomas Mills Tidewater Jewish Foundation awarded a $7,500 Community Impact Grant in March to Toras Chaim to renovate their auditorium. Serving Tidewater’s Jewish community for almost 20 years, the school has undergone an extensive beautification project. Renovations...

Michelle Fenley Two special groups of Camp JCC campers demonstrated this summer that joy can be found through doing mitzvot. Despite the limitations that COVID‑19 placed on summer experiences, the two oldest groups of campers at the Simon Family JCC’s summer camp...

Earlier this summer, 14 members of the Simon Family Jewish Community Center participated in the Sprint 8 Cardio Challenge. “I wanted to challenge our members to change how they’re doing cardiovascular exercise with a clinically tested workout that provided real...

Lisa Richmon The pandemic surges and lulls before it rises again, but attacks on Israeli peace remains a front burner issue that never lets up. United Jewish Federation of Tidewater continues its partnership with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, known...

Emily Burack (JTA)—The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are finally happening, a full year after they were planned. And yes, they’re still being called the 2020 Olympics, even though they’re happening in 2021. The Jewish athletes competing this year—and there are many—are the...

Rabbi Adam Ruditsky Beth Sholom Village is not just a long-term care facility or rehab, an assisted living or memory care, but it is a dwelling place for Jewish life. At least that was so for Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, z’’l, who said: “A test of a people is how it...

  Temple Israel participated in another successful Mitzvah of the Month in June by conducting a Jewish Family Service food drive titled, “Bare Necessities.” Members of the congregation donated money, food, and products that families need to survive the summer....

Amanda Gladstone, recipient of the Stein Family College Scholarship in 2014, has one semester left at Virginia Tech and radiates enthusiasm when she talks about her experience there. To say she loves Virginia Tech would be an understatement. A senior in marketing, she...

Taking action to help others is not new for Caleb Peck. His mom, Stephanie, tells the story of when Caleb was three years old he saw a homeless person and was genuinely concerned about why there wasn’t a place for him to live. He used to say that when he grows up he...

Back in December when I was reading Jewish News (not much of a surprise there, I know!), an image in the advertisement for the Gift Shop at Decorum caught my attention. It was of a small book, Little Book of Jewish Appetizers. I had one within a few days. The book...

NEW YORK (JTA)—During a combative news conference in early August, White House adviser Stephen Miller told reporters that the United States should prioritize immigrants who speak English. “Does the applicant speak English?” Miller asked, describing a bill to reduce...

Though the Jewish community in South Korea is small, Jews visiting the country to compete in or watch the Winter Olympic Games won’t have to skimp on kosher food or Shabbat programming. The country’s Chabad emissary is setting up a pop-up restaurant in Pyeongchang...

While many people were busy preparing turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Konikoff Center of Learning and the Strelitz Early Childhood Education Center celebrated the time-honored tradition of Grandparents’ Day on Wednesday, Nov. 22....

On the second night of Hanukkah, December 13, more than 150 children and adults gathered at the Sandler Family Campus to celebrate the Festival of Lights. The 5th annual Latkepalooza, co-sponsored by the Simon Family Jewish Community Center and PJ Library, included...

When talking with Erinn and Dr. Felix Portnoy, the commitment and love they have for the Jewish community is obvious. As parents of very young children, they feel compelled to step up and provide for the Jewish future of the next generation, and are thrilled to be...

For almost a quarter-century, about 20 Jews in Tidewater have engaged in a beloved Christmas tradition: serving Christmas dinner at a homeless shelter in Norfolk. For at least 20 years, they ensured that residents of the Dwelling Place, an emergency shelter that has...

There’s a new rabbi in town. Just before Hanukkah, Virginia Beach native Rabbi Zalman Margolin moved from Brooklyn with his wife Bracha and their two children to expand Chabad of Tidewater with a new presence near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. “We are delighted to...

NEW YORK (JTA)—It wasn’t long after Nahum Amir began working for Delta Airlines as a mechanic that he says his manager started calling him “the Jewish guy.” Then Amir says the manager accused him and other Jews of “killing kids in Gaza.” During the same period, Yaron...

Year-end is often the most opportune time to consider financial and tax planning strategies. As this article is being written, Congress and the White House are negotiating significant changes in the tax laws that could, if enacted, impact financial strategies and...