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Sukkot – also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths – celebrates the fall harvest and commemorates the Israelites’ 40 years of wandering in the desert after their Exodus from Egypt. The week-long Jewish festival is celebrated by building, dwelling, and...
Sunday, September 14 United Jewish Federation of Tidewater will host its first all-virtual Super Sunday on Sunday, Sept. 14. In a multi-pronged approach to fundraising, volunteers will mail, text, email, and yes, call members of the Tidewater Jewish community to talk...
A year ago, I became chair of Tidewater Jewish Foundation. I am extremely honored to be in this position, especially considering all of those who have previously served in this role. I only hope to fill their shoes while trying to help guide this amazing organization...
Saul Brodsky credits his Jewish faith to his mother, Wendy Einhorn Brodsky. “My mom is genuine about her Jewish identity and practice,” he says when describing the trajectory of his Jewish journey beginning in Norfolk attending Temple Israel to studying at a yeshiva...
For decades, Super Sunday has been a flagship event in the lifecycle of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s community campaign. It’s been a day of community mobilization – bringing volunteers together in a room buzzing with energy, armed with phones, stacks of...
When I began my journey with the Tidewater Jewish Foundation in July 2020, I walked into a world unlike anything we had known. It was the height of the pandemic.Introductions were made over Zoom and relationship-building required more persistence, patience, and heart...
Over the past year, we have had the privilege of creating a second home in Tidewater, through the open arms, hearts, and doors of the amazing people we have met. We eagerly seized the incredible opportunity to engage with everyone we could, knowing that we would learn...
Nearly 400 Jewish leaders representing more than 100 Jewish communities across the nation gathered in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 25 for the United for Security Emergency Leadership Mission to advocate for policies that enhance security for the Jewish...
What do Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, Mel Brooks, Charlie Firestone, Susan and Jim Eilberg, and Alice and David Titus have in common? Aside from the first three not living in Tidewater, all are Jewish, more than 80 years old, active in a variety of pursuits, and...
Graduation is always a meaningful and emotional milestone at Strelitz International Academy. For the fifth-grade students, some of whom have been part of the SIA community since infancy, it marks a moment to reflect on their growth and prepare to spread their wings as...
The FBI and DHS have released several similar announcements in recent years warning of potential attacks motivated by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. In the wake of two violent attacks on Jewish community events in recent weeks, the FBI and Department...
In late May, my wife, Shikma, our two boys, and I visited Israel with the primary goal to see Shikma’s family: her grandma, sister, nieces, aunt, uncle, and cousins.We spent several days in apartments in Ra’anana and Hod HaSharon eating great meals and catching up on...
Cantor Elihu Flax to serve as part-time chaplain • Saturday, May 17, 10 am With a number of its Jewish and even some non-Jewish residents looking on, Cantor Elihu Flax affixed a fully kosher Mezuzah on the front door of Aviva Pembroke senior housing, located at...
Laura Gauld, an educator in Bath, Maine, describes a mother’s role in three, distinct stages. To a young child, a mom is a drill sergeant: “Brush your teeth before bed,” or “Hold my hand when we cross the street.” In the middle years, the mom becomes a manager: “Don’t...
Grace Gilson(JTA) — When she was five years old, Kitty Saks’ home in Vienna was commandeered by the Nazis, leading her family to flee to Brussels, where she was hidden in a convent until the Allies liberated Belgium. Twenty-seven members of her family were killed in...
U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner met with members of Tidewater’s Jewish community last month to discuss a range of issues, including Israel, the state of college campuses, and antisemitism.The former governor and senior senator from Virginia began the conversation by...
Summertime is right around the corner, with camps of every sort – day, overnight, specialty, and general – busy planning an exciting 2025 experience for campers. Whether campers stay close to home or embark on a few weeks away for an overnight experience, many...
My most recent visit to Israel started with Havdalah services in Hostage Square. The weight of October 7 – the loss, the trauma, the sadness – hangs in the air and seeps into your pores. The realization of the challenges Israelis deal with all day, every day, is...
The Konikoff Center for Learning supports Jewish education in a variety of ways in Tidewater. With a goal of nurturing inter-denominational relationships between individuals and synagogues, David Konikoff drives the direction of the Center by sponsoring programming...
The Sandler Family Campus was unrecognizable on Saturday, March 1, as partygoers stepped into Mordechai’s Time Machine for an unforgettable Purim celebration. Immersive décor transported guests across time and space — from a 1920s speakeasy to a garden of Eden. Every...
The Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, Don Leonard Scott Jr., spent a rainy afternoon last month with members of Jewish Tidewater at the home of Laura and Fred Gross. His recent trip to Israel with AIPAC was the focus of the conversation.Jeff Breit, a law...
My alarm went off on January 28 at 5:30 am. I was already up… It was at least 25 years since I had been a part of the Jewish Community Relations Council’s United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s team visiting our Virginia legislators to highlight the issues of...
“Love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage. It’s an institute you can’t disparage.”Frank Sinatra first sang these Sammy Cahn lyrics in the 1955 television production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.Here, in Tidewater, several couples celebrating special...
Editor’s note: The release of hostages held in Gaza is a developing story. At press time, the number of hostages remaining in Gaza is 79, of whom 23 are set for release during the current ceasefire; 35 are thought to be living. These three articles are just a sample...
A shared meal can lead to a good laugh, a lifelong romance, or a future business venture – and sometimes, all those things and more. ❦ For these eight couples, first dates that included peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, COVID dating, and dancing at the top of...
One of the nation’s longest-running Jewish film festivals, the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg, entertains, educates, and engages the Tidewater community by presenting world-class films, repertory cinema, and programs that...
(JTA) — Daniel Sher’s voice broke as he related the latest to members of his Pacific Palisades synagogue. Kehillat Israel had just sent a message saying that its building had so far survived the devastating Palisades Fire, but, the associate rabbi noted, so much had...
The calendars we live by help to define us. If your New Year is January 1, that says something about you. If it is 1 Tishre, it indicates that you have a different perspective on our life journey through the corridors of time. If it is both…. as is probably the case...
Albert, Stephen, and David Konikoff’s father, Arthur, was an architect, but “because we couldn’t draw or use our hands so well, we went into dentistry!” says Albert, the oldest of four siblings. The brothers also have a sister, Sharon Berger.Now, after decades of...
Anyone who’s worked alongside Karen Jaffe on committee or in community leadership will confirm: Karen Jaffe is special. A much-admired leader in the Tidewater Jewish community, Jaffe has been a role model for her family, friends, and an entire generation of emerging...
The center piece of a Jewish gambling game, dreidels are almost as important to Hanukkah as Hanukkiahs and latkes. Each of the four sides of the spinning top contain a specific letter: Nun, Gimel, Hei, Shin (or Po if in Israel). The letters represent the phrase: A...
More than 150 members of the 21-and-over Tidewater Jewish community and beyond gathered for Frozen Flames, a celebration of heritage, community, and inspiration on Saturday, Dec. 7. Held at the new Perry Glass Studio at the Chrysler Museum of Art, the event was a...