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For one special hour before winter break, BeAR Literacy Project volunteers filled classrooms, libraries, and cafeterias with holiday cheer and the magic of reading. Students were treated to a whirlwind of fun that celebrated the joy of books and included festive story...
Among the many ways – classes, gym workouts, personal trainers – it offers to help members stay fit, the Simon Family JCC is adding another alternative: virtual personal training. In this option, participants and trainers work remotely via a digital platform, allowing...
Courtney Krutoy has joined Tidewater BBYO as its new city director.“After a long search, we have found the right person who has BBYO knowledge, a dedication to this role, and who is excited to jump in,” says Lauren Revenson, regional director, BBYO’s Eastern...
This past November in Washington, DC, a small group of colleagues and lay leaders from our Jewish community joined thousands of Jewish leaders from around the world at the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) General Assembly (GA).Personally, I drew much...
The fragile yet formidable Chanukah candles We tenderly lit, daringly defy the suffocating Darkness around us and in us, Soothing and softening, we pray, all who Their magic of evoked memories of elation And trepidation with oil – dripping levivot (Potato...
If you free associate on the word “Hanukkah,” it is likely that among your first mental images will be a Hanukkiyah – maybe a craft project, the work of your own Sunday School-age hands? Or the family’s customary menorah when you were a child? Or an inheritance...
Light up the holiday by attending one or more of these community-oriented experiences. With some events geared for children and others for adults, some in Virginia Beach and others in Norfolk, plenty of options are available to celebrate Hanukkah with community. Chag...
Love may be a universal theme, but the way it is portrayed can vary profoundly from one work to another. This is evident in the series Nobody Wants This and the film Transmitzvah. Both productions, available on Netflix, revolve around dilemmas involving Judaism,...
Career exploration workshop: Wednesday, January 15, Sandler Family Campus Summer employment workshop: Wednesday, February 19, Sandler Family Campus Interested in the Hampton Roads job market or in returning home for a career opportunity? Through a new...
Jewish News continues to gather and present some basic facts to equip readers with the confidence needed to engage in conversation about Israel and antisemitism. • Israel’s government is a parliamentary democracy and has three branches: executive, legislative,...
Some say it’s never too early to learn about generosity and tzedakah. That seems to be a prevailing philosophy for Alyson Gross and Michael Yaary, parents of two-year-old Asher. Instead of gifts for his recent birthday party, the Strelitz International Academy...
Sitting in a movie theater, watching a favorite show, or listening to the radio, most Jewish people can’t help but chuckle when Hebrew or Yiddish vernacular is heard, as if they’re the only listener privy to this inside joke. But how, and when, did the phrase “mazel...
In honor of his 50 years in the rabbinate, Rabbi Israel Zoberman has received numerous local, state, and federal recognitions for this milestone achievement.A member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Rabbi Zoberman received an Honorary Life Membership for...
Hundreds of orthodox Jewish families rented homes in the Sandbridge section of Virginia Beach for the duration of this year’s eight-day Passover holiday. Families from outside of Virginia brought their traditions and kosher meals to Sandbridge, with 10 synagogues...
Community members gathered in the beautifully decorated Marty Einhorn Pavilion on the Sandler Family Campus on the evening of May 16 for an Israeli Chef’s Table Experience with visiting Israeli chef, Yaniv Cohen. With his love and extensive knowledge of spices, Chef...
The Be A Reader (BeAR) literacy project, dedicated to fostering a love of reading among 2nd grade students in Norfolk and Virginia Beach’s Title I schools, hosted an end-of-year appreciation luncheon for its mentors last month.Gail Flax, BeAR chair, welcomed everyone...
• 26 Iyar (Hebrew date for this issue of Jewish News) – Israel’s Six Day war began in 1967. (fushionglobal.org) • During the third quarter of 2023, Palestinians working in Israel brought back roughly $1 billion in income. In the fourth quarter, that was around $79...
The 2024 Yom Hashoah Commemoration honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, as well as liberators and righteous gentiles, brought the community together around awareness, sadness, honor, hope, and the understanding that each day it is possible to choose to...
The Simon Family JCC hosted its annual Catch and Release Fishing Derby on Sunday, May 5. Nearly 100 anglers of all ages tried their luck at the pond, which was stocked with bass, catfish, and bluegill. The largest catch of the day, according to Tom Edwards, athletics...
Who doesn’t love a good cheesecake?!? For a group of people who are between 75 and 90% lactose intolerant, we must have a lot of chutzpah because we clearly won’t be denied our love of all things dairy. When I moved to Israel, I was actually shocked...
Given our experience as retired American military leaders, we are very concerned about the security impacts of increasingly strained U.S.-Israel ties as Israel becomes a growing source of domestic division. We therefore feel compelled to declare that a strong Israel...
At the risk of sounding cliché – it seems like yesterday. I joined Jewish Family Service of Tidewater in September of 2003 as the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community was under construction. What an honor to attend my first Simcha...
Jewish News is gathering and presenting some basic facts to equip readers during this difficult time with the confidence needed to engage in conversation about Israel and antisemitism. GenocideThis word is being used by protestors on campuses to describe Israel’s...
One of the crown jewels of the Sandler Family Campus sports a blue shirt and an easy smile – on a daily basis. Cecilio Brathwaite, better known as “Jaime” (pronounced Hymie for a Jewish reference), has been employed by the Tidewater Jewish community for 42 years,...
Those of us who attend major civic events, Jews and some non-Jews alike, wait for it. When a minister delivers the invocation, it is often with some religious fervor and a beseeching to the Savior “in whose name we pray.” But at the Hampton Roads Chamber’s recent...
During the Virginia Beach School Board meeting (via a consent agenda) last month, a Resolution was adopted in support of Jewish American Heritage Month, which takes place each year in May. The Resolution was read by Shannon Kendrick School, a member of the School...
The idea of a central Tidewater Jewish community campus had to start somewhere. That place might be traced to Charlotte, N.C. when a then 39-year-old Art Sandler, who was serving as president of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, visited that community and saw...
Twenty years ago, Andrew Fink was instrumental in the land acquisition, construction, and completion of the Sandler Family Campus. His involvement with the Campus continues today as he serves on several committees and boards. Jewish News: You were instrumental in the...
The epitome of distinguished and versatile leaders, it was no surprise that Bobby Copeland and Bob Josephberg took on the roles of co-chairs of the Simcha Campaign. As co-chairs, all aspects of the Sandler Family Campus project – fundraising, design, construction,...
The Simon Family JCC is an invaluable resource for many people, especially for those who frequent the aquatic and fitness areas. Several longtime members explain their commitment to exercise and how joining the JCC has improved their physical and mental well-being.And...
Developing a marketing campaign for the fundraising of the largest infrastructure endeavor Tidewater’s Jewish community had ever attempted was a huge undertaking. Without hesitation, the challenge was met with creativity, collaboration, and commitment.The committee...
One afternoon in 2014, as Lorraine Fink took down her art show at the Leon Family Gallery on the Sandler Family Campus and loaded it into her car, she was drawn by “a silent vibrant cry from a small mountain of metal and plastic at the edge of the loading dock,”...