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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...
Lisa Richmon Few would deny that Jenny Sachs can hold her own. She’s a mom, practicing psychologist, and singer in a five-person band with her husband Matthew, a child and adult psychiatrist. During the pandemic, Sam, their 11-year-old son and only child, was...
Stephanie Peck Ten teen athletes from Tidewater travelled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to participate in the JCC Association of North America’s 41st Maccabi Games last month. Along with Tom Edwards, athletics director for the Simon Family JCC, these teens braved the...
On Saturday, July 29, I took my seven-year-old twin daughters to the large Gome Junction protest, the northernmost protest against the judicial reforms in Israel. These protests have been occurring for 30 weeks in a row at junctions and in cities across Israel. Since...
Much has changed since Beth Sholom Village opened its doors in 1980, but the tradition of caring has not. Among those changes: The name of the organization changed from Beth Sholom Home of Eastern Virginia, an assisted living community was added in 2004, and services...
The Guide to Jewish Living in Tidewater 2023
Originating in Israel, Gaga is a sport like dodgeball, played in a circular pit where players hit and roll the ball to eliminate opposing players. The Simon Family JCC built its first Gaga pit nearly 10 years ago to entertain students and campers on the Sandler Family...
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...
Thank you to all of the volunteers who attended and participated in United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Super Sunday on September 18. It was a beautiful day under the new Marty Einhorn Pavilion on...
As we prepare for the New Year, 5783, it was wonderful to come together as a community for the dedication of the Marty Einhorn Pavilion at the Sandler Family Campus on Sunday, September 18 (see page 6). Marty joins a list of leaders who are honored through namings on...
The annual Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival begins on November 2 with author Dan Grunfeld (see page 10), kicking off a series of events that will run through June. This year’s festival features 20 authors from around the world and from a variety of...
Virginia Beach’s Larry Adler, culinary faculty lead at Stratford University and a former training professional, has a long history of applying his skills and creativity to bringing food to the next level. For Jewish News readers, Adler shares a few tips...
Strelitz International Academy kicked off the school year on August 22 and unveiled a new five-year strategic plan: SIA Going Forth, Embracing Innovation and Inspiring Global Action. The plan is already underway. A steady growth in enrollment for SIA over the last few...