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Happiness was overflowing on Sunday, November 6 as current and former members of Congregation Beth Chaverim gathered at the Sandler Family Campus to celebrate the congregation’s 40th anniversary with food, drink, an abundance of hugs, smiles, laughter, and memoires....
Coastal Virginia Magazine presented the publication’s annual Giving Back Awards at a ceremony last month at MOCA in Virginia Beach. Tidewater Jewish Foundation was one of the 15 nonprofit organizations and seven businesses of various sizes and visions that were...
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...
Type A attorney turned artist: Valerie White’s latest passion is painting, but husband Matt White just might show her up. Valerie puts her whole heart into everything she does: law (let’s become a partner), yoga (let’s do teacher training), real estate (let’s make it...
On the perfectly sunny morning of September 14, Strelitz International Academy’s 33rd Annual Golf Tournament, affectionately known as the Bob Josephberg Classic, took place on the Bayville Golf Club course. The Bob Josephberg Classic is SIA’s biggest fundraiser. This...
(JTA)—When U.S. airspace closed as a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, 38 planes were grounded in Gander, Newfoundland, stranding nearly 7,000 international travelers “on the northeast tip of North America.” So begins the story of Come...
Hurricane Ida has torn through much of the Gulf Coast, leaving survivors devastated by its damage. Roofs have blown off buildings, homes and businesses are severely flooded, while power lines are down and phone service and electricity are out for hundreds of thousands...
Sunday, September 12, Sandler Family Campus Each year, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Super Sunday marks the biggest day of impact for Tidewater’s Jewish community. Hundreds of community members participate by answering the call from dozens of...
Sunday, October 3 and Monday October 4 This year’s Milton Mickey Kramer’s Scholar in Residence Fund of the Congregation Beth El Foundation’s Tidewater Together will bring mental illness and addiction out of the shadows and consider ways that Tidewater’s...
Dear Readers, A recent JTA piece by Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein began, “Over the past year, I have led efforts to teach, guide and coach rabbis and other clergy of every Jewish denomination. We have worked with over 500 individual members of the clergy, serving hundreds...
More than 80 people attended Sababa Social Club’s party at the pool. The inaugural event brought friends together —following the past year and a half apart. Sara Jo Rubin, Sababa Social Club’s chairperson, says, “It was wonderful to see so many old friends, as well as...
Dear Readers, The High Holidays are about to arrive and I’m not certain that most of us are fully prepared to greet them. Uncertainty over COVID-19 lingers and might be even more so than in 2020, since at this time last year, we knew that the majority of congregations...
In preparation for Rosh Hashanah and the start of school, local Jewish educators share their learnings and longings for an academic and spiritual refresh. By nature, educators are positive people. Guarded optimism is a precious currency going in, out—and back into a...
The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Cabinet, led by co-chairs Barbara Dudley and Mona Flax, kicked-off the 2022 campaign year by going to camp…at the Simon Family JCC. On a beautiful (albeit rather warm) afternoon, members of the Women’s Cabinet...
SIA becomes first official Primary Years IB Programme in Tidewater Carin Simon After two years of candidacy, Strelitz International Academy (SIA) received full authorization this month as an International Baccalaureate® World School Primary Years Programme. For more...
For two busy years starting in 1986, a young Doron Kissinger Kaynar and his family made their home in Norfolk while serving as the shaliah at the Jewish Community Center of Tidewater on Newport Ave. Thirty-five years later, Kissinger Kaynar traveled from Israel...
When Byron Harrell walked into his first Hineni leadership fellowship event in 2017, he was a rising star financial advisor at Davenport & Co. He was familiar with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, having gifted money, knowing that it was dispersed to various...
Like so many other events planned in 2020, Ohef Sholom Temple’s Mitzvah Day had to be postponed in April of last year. Planning for the big day was already underway when everything seemed to come to an abrupt halt. One of the projects scheduled for Mitzvah Day was the...
The National Museum of American Jewish History held its inaugural Only in America® Hometown Hero contest earlier this summer. Tidewater’s Pam Blais was among the nominees and ultimately selected as the first ever Hometown Hero in the Museum’s Ed Snider Only in...
Jody Wagner As we begin to emerge from the upheaval of this past year, many of us are reflecting on our goals and values. For me, it’s the importance of participating in the Jewish community and supporting Jewish causes. I was raised in the tight-knit community of...
Carin Simon, Admissions Director As the Strelitz International Academy graduates ascended the stage on June 8, 2021 for their special graduation ceremony, parents and supporters cheered with joy. The 2020–2021 school year commenced with an unsettled beginning of the...
Shower with Appreciation was the theme of this year’s Jewish Family Service Employee Appreciation Celebration held on June 16. JFS pays tribute each year to its employees and honors those reaching specific levels of longevity. “Last year, during the pandemic,...
Young Adult Division (YAD) donors to United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Annual Campaign made their way to Harbor Park to see the Norfolk Tides take on the Gwinnett Stripers on Sunday, June 27. The young adults enjoyed the game, were thanked for their past...