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This year’s Yom Hashoah Commemoration, honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, as well as liberators and righteous gentiles, was the first in-person gathering for the purpose since 2019. After cancelling the public commemoration in 2020 and having a...
Karina Filonenko evacuated from Ukraine to Poland with her two children just after the start of the war. A challenge for each person who lived in Ukraine after February 24, is to ‘stay alive.’ Could you ever expect that in the 21st century, the word “genocide” will be...
The annual Stein Family College Scholarship of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation is awarded this year to Leia Morrissey, a soon-to-be graduate of Granby High School in Norfolk. Morrissey is the 15th recipient of the four-year scholarship, which provides up to $20,000...
Muscle and Fitness magazine’s Mr. Health and Fitness competition is underway with the Simon Family JCC’s Tom Purcell a strong competitor. Purcell, the JCC’s Wellness and Fitness director, says “My goal each day is to help others obtain good health.” A 56-year-old...
Since its inception in 2011, Beth Sholom Village’s The Janet Gordon Annual Mah Jongg Event and Luncheon never missed a year…until COVID-19 hit. An event that Mah Jongg playing women have looked forward to and enjoyed, it has evolved from a tournament with competitive...
More than 40 seniors enjoyed matzah and music as they celebrated Passover at a festive community Seder at the Simon Family JCC on Tuesday, April 12. Chazzan David Proser of KBH Synagogue led a beautiful model Seder with the musical accompaniment of Dave Flagler, JCC’s...
The Tidewater Ukraine Emergency Fund has raised and distributed more than $280,000 as of Tuesday, April 19. The money has been sent to United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s overseas partner agencies, the American-Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and Jewish...
Words matter. So do images. We see and feel the impact of words and images in cascading form in this age of technology driven social and journalistic media. As we were reminded at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, people, nations, and institutions pay the price when...
To do a job well, one must have the proper tools. A carpenter might need a specific saw for a type of wood to be cut, a photographer might need a special lens to capture a tiny creature, and educators need the most up-to-date information and methods to teach and...
What one (or two) thing(s)—of the probably many—have you learned from your mom? We posed the question to several women, and not surprisingly, their responses are filled with respect, admiration, love, and even some humor. How fortunate these women are to have had such...
A live recording of “the universe’s leading Jewish podcast” had everyone laughing at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art on Thursday, April 7. The Unorthodox podcast team visited the “Paris of the mid-Atlantic,” as Tidewater was referred to by host Liel Lebovitz,...
The severity of the war in Ukraine, its inhumane treatment of civilians, and devasting destruction, is apparent to anyone watching or reading the news. What is not found in the main-stream media, however, is that at the start of the war, Ukraine was home to more than...
Kids Connection and Camp JCC kids received Goody Buckets earlier this month “to lift their spirits and let them know that we’re thinking about them,” says Sarah Cooper, Simon Family JCC’s Kids Connection Before & After School Program manager.
Make no mistake. At times like this, when record numbers of jobs are lost, restaurants are closed, hospitals are beyond capacity, social isolation is the ‘safe’ choice, and no live fundraising events can be scheduled for the foreseeable future, Jewish Family Service...
At BBYO International Convention 2020 in Dallas, Texas, more than 3,000 teen leaders from 45 countries joined together for five days of leadership development, community building, and celebration. From...
The Class of 2020 may be without a traditional graduation ceremony, but they shouldn’t be without recognition. Jewish News wants to honor Jewish Tidewater’s 2020 graduates so that they get at least some of the acknowledgment they have earned and deserve. High School,...
The distressing effect of COVID-19 on overworked health care professionals at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital (SPAH) roused more than sympathy. It led to an outbreak of grassroot organizers like Pam Moss Blais. Blais, a former Emergency Department (ED) nurse didn’t...
Kol Yisroel Aravim Zeh b’zeh. All Jews are responsible for one another. COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund of the Tidewater Jewish Community opened earlier this month in response to growing anticipated needs of the community—for local agencies and institutions, as well as...
Stay connected with Jewish Tidewater through virtual resources, classes, programs, services, and each other. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical doors may be temporarily closed, but Jewish agencies, schools, and synagogues are all virtually open. At JewishVa.org,...
In ways both similar and different, Jewish summer camp and Jewish bubbes create a space for kids to grow up feeling good about being Jewish. The Jewish bubbe is fun, free, and a little twisted: She sees no harm in spoiling her grandkids with chocolate chip pancakes...
In a time of unquestionable uncertainty, one thing is certain, the students at Strelitz International Academy continue to learn, engage, and connect virtually with their classmates and teachers since school went online on March 16. Early in March, when no one would...
What is Passover without a plague? This year, an 11th plague! Passover is also called the second New Year. It often arrives at the same time as Nowrooz, New Day, the spring holiday that is celebrated in Iran, my country of birth. Judaism draws numerous customs from...
Even before COVID-19, social media has proved itself to both—a cause of, and cure for—social isolation. Then Facebook Live and Zoom zoomed in to save the world. You know the world has changed when the social editor for the New York Times travel section issues the...
Projections about COVID-19’s impact on the nation’s health, economic, and emotional wellbeing evolve daily as the virus spreads through large cities and small towns. Last month, the White House coronavirus coordinator predicted that the pandemic could kill as many as...
Passover gets props as one of the most universally celebrated holidays on the Hebrew calendar. Even disengaged and unaffiliated Jews find their way to the Seder table once a year. What is it about Passover that attracts Jews of all stripes, and arouses wonder in...
For decades, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s partnership with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, known as JDC, has been an integral component of the Federation’s global outreach. JDC was founded in 1914, during World War 1, as the first Jewish...
Great stories have the power to fuel and feed people. Epic ones grab your attention and hold it until your mind’s altered and your heart’s pounding. That lust for transformation never dies and was the driving force behind the 2020 Virginia Festival of Jewish Film....
On February 5, I joined more than 40 fellow early morning risers and got on a bus to Richmond for Virginia’s annual Jewish Advocacy Day with the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Nearly 200 advocates from Tidewater, the...
In the car business, mentors make better models. Early in his career, Charles Barker was fortunate enough to work under a successful businessman in the car industry who inspired him and put him on his path to financial and personal success. Before Charles Barker...