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Liz Dovrat Where to start? How do you describe the terror, horror, and devastation of the last few days? It feels similar to how I processed the first shutdown of COVID-19, but with a knot of terror and sadness. My internal dialogue from the first day or two: My...
Carin Simon It was another hole in one event for the Strelitz International Academy’s 35th Annual Golf Tournament, affectionately known as the Bob Josephberg Classic. The tournament took place on Wednesday, August 30 at the Virginia Beach National Golf Club. The Bob...
Betty Ann Levin It is strange preparing for the new year while it still feels like the middle of summer outside, but like all things, that will soon change. I will be grateful for the cooler weather as we embark on 5784, a year which will continue to bring change to...
Todd Holcomb Members of Nadiv, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Adult Division men’s giving circle, gathered at the Downtown Norfolk home of Jeff Chernitzer on Wednesday, Sept. 6 to kick off a new year of philanthropy, networking, and community service...
High Holidays 5784 September 2023
Jewish News staff report Sukkot begins at sundown on Sept. 29, five days after observing Yom Kippur. During this Jewish autumn festival, many families, congregations, and schools build a sukkah, a temporary structure with three walls and an organic roof that provides...
Elana McGovern The theme of this year’s United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Super Sunday Community Phone-a-Thon and Campaign Kickoff could not have been more fitting: “Today, Tomorrow, Always.” This was on the minds of almost 60 volunteers who manned the phones at...
Happy 5784! Rosh Hashanah Section September 2023
Jewish News staff report A group of Jewish philanthropists created Birthright Israel in 1999 with the goal of giving every eligible young Jewish adult around the world the opportunity to visit Israel. The 10-day, mostly free trip aims to motivate young people to...
Stephanie Peck While many area synagogues hire off-duty police officers or sheriff’s deputies during High Holiday services, Michael Goldsmith, regional security advisor for Secure Community Network, emphasizes the role each congregant plays in recognizing and...
Stephanie Peck At first glance, Rabbi Shlomo Eisenberg, B’nai Israel Congregation’s new rabbi, looks like a yeshiva student. Tall and lean, he has a generous smile and a warm welcome. After a few minutes of conversation, however, his composure and focus suggest a...
How often in life is something worth a two-year wait? The Holocaust Commission proved this can absolutely be true. Sponsored by Bank of America and originally scheduled for October of 2020, then postponed twice by the pandemic, Tom Dugan came to town last month with...
Dear Readers, The late, notably irreverent comedian Lenny Bruce once quipped that most Jewish holidays are “observed” rather than celebrated, including Hanukkah. Perhaps when Bruce performed that particular shtick back in 1961 that joke was accurate…Jews solemnly lit...
Eitan Altshuler shares his version and twists on a dessert recipe not widely used in America for Hanukkah Beyond the classics, there are more than a few days over Hanukkah to enjoy a variety of fried foods. The Jews of India like to celebrate by making Gulab Jamun, a...
The food Pantry, operated by Jewish Family Service of Tidewater, was recently expanded by about one-third its size. Prior to its expansion, JFS had two smaller pantries: one for the general community, and the “Milk and Honey” program for Jewish individuals. These two...
Israel expert Joe Perlov took Tidewater by storm with more than a dozen events over the course of just a few days—engaging with hundreds of people from both the Jewish and general community. Though Perlov focuses on the changing map of Israel, from the 23 border...
In a whirlwind stopover, en route to the JFNA General Assembly in Chicago, Karina Sokolowska, JDC’s (the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) country director for Poland, gave a series of...
Dear Readers, It seems we just finished shaking the lulav for Sukkot and unrolling the Torah for Simcha Torah and here we are in mid-November preparing to set our Thanksgiving tables! And, for some of us, in addition to thoughts of turkey and sweet potatoes, we’ve got...
Chanukah Extravaganza: Sunday, December 18, 4 pm, Mt. Trashmore According to Rabbi Aron Margolin, director of Chabad Tidewater, in the Hanukkah story, the small army of Maccabees fought for the right to worship God freely. “The purpose of the menorah is to...
Freemason Street Baptist Church and Ohef Sholom Temple have more things in common than may meet the eye: bringing the community together, breaking bread, giving thanks, and observing their faith in prayer and song for an impressive 95 years. As the story goes,...
Established by five area families in 1982, Congregation Beth Chaverim is “House of Friends” in Hebrew. Initially, the group began meeting in each other’s homes, and as they grew, started meeting in local churches. With the community’s support, the growing congregation...
With Veterans Day coinciding with Erev Shabbat for Parashat Vayera (Genesis 18-22), I wanted to share a word of Torah (d’var Torah) that bridges the two events. Parashat Vayera is, after all, full of passages that capture the imagination and ignite the Jewish soul!...
What do you get when you put a truly special Israeli artist in front of a room full of amazing Jewish women leaders? A thoughtful discussion on the “art” of community building. Such was the case at the...
My first full-time job as an editor was with Tidewater Virginian, a business magazine published by the area Chambers of Commerce. There, I was introduced to the complex world of business and its many facets and stories—so many stories. Like those multiple story...
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Mission to Israel—March 1–9, 2023 Information Session Thursday, November 10, 6:30 pm Sandler Family Campus Experience an unforgettable week with friends and community and enjoy Israel in the spring. Four nights in Jerusalem, two...
Sunday, November 20, 12–2 pm It’s really extraordinary. Why would a group of New Yorkers help Virginians build a new mikvah in Ghent? The answer: because, they understood the need. In 2019, after years of dealing with Ghent’s outdated mikvah, ground was broken for a...
The dedication of the Marty Einhorn Pavilion took place on the practically perfect morning of Sunday, September 18. Jazz sounds of the Jimmy Masters Trio welcomed guests, lunch was served, and the...
The Jewish Community Relations Council posed a series of questions to the candidates running for Virginia’s Second Congressional District: Congresswoman Elaine Luria and State Senator Jen Kiggans. Their responses follow. JCRC strives to motivate, educate, and advocate...
In the summer of 2020, my family had to cancel a trip to Israel due to the pandemic. I was disappointed that I wasn't going to experience Israel with my family, but I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to go with my second family, Capital Camps. I have...
Dear Readers, It happens to all of us. For some, more often than others. The reasons vary…it might be time to write a will, purchase a home, or establish a trust. Or, maybe a traffic accident (or violation) occurs, a dispute with neighbors brews, or an employment...
Laws and regulatory issues impact everyone—from private citizen to business owner, from employee to retiree, and it seems everybody in between. In this special section, Jewish News surveys a few local attorneys to find out what’s trending, what’s coming, and how to...