“Last call for the pushke!” That’s a phrase one can expect to hear every Friday night in the minyan room at Temple Israel, just as reliably as the psalm for Shabbat or the shema. It’s a tradition with a long history that recently passed a milestone. There have been...
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The Jewish women who won midterm elections
(JTA)—The 2018 midterm elections were hailed as a victory for gender parity, as an unprecedented number of women won bids to serve in Congress. More than 100 women were elected to serve in the House of representatives and the Senate, according to final vote tallies...
Women come together to celebrate a successful campaign
The Women’s Division of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater held its annual Lion Tikva Chai Luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 1 to celebrate its newest milestone givers. And, there was a lot to celebrate. Headlining the event was author, lecturer, and performer Erin...
Challah Bake is as much about camaraderie as it’s about the bread
The Great Big Challah Bake was a huge success as more than 120 women got together to bake challah as part of the International Shabbos project. The event took place last month at the Sandler Family Campus. Along with the ingredients and supplies that were provided,...
Happy Hanukkah
For the past couple of months, I’ve been hearing, “Hanukkah is so early this year!” Yet, according to the Hebrew calendar, Hanukkah is showing up perfectly on time—on the 25th of Kislev. For those of us who live by the Gregorian calendar, however, the Festival of...
Beth Sholom Village celebrates residents’ art work, welcomes new Sensory Room for memory patients, raises funds for Alzheimer’s research, and hosts annual Mah Jongg event
Beth Sholom Village residents, staff, volunteers, and friends have been busy since Labor Day with a host of activities. In September, staff, family members and friends raised $10,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association through bake sales, pie throwing contests, potato and...
Beyond Duty
Gordon Robertson, chief executive officer, The Christian Broadcasting Network; Betty Ann Levin, executive vice president, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater; Benjamin Krasna, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Israel; and Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño, executive vice...
Area Jewish cemeteries need and receive care
After the Revolutionary War, numerous Jewish families moved to Tidewater to take advantage of the tremendous economic opportunities and central location that made this region so attractive. The emergence of these Jewish communities resulted in a variety of...
Healing Service and Town Hall meeting
Ohef Sholom Temple held a healing service and town hall meeting on Monday, October 29. Approximately 500 people attended the service. Many who spoke during the town hall portion of the evening represented other faith communities. They expressed condolences and...
Salute to Tidewater Jewish Military Connections
More than most every other corner of the nation, we in Tidewater understand and appreciate those who serve in the United States Military. If we don’t have family members who have served, we certainly have friends and neighbors who have. And, so, Veteran’s Day is a day...
Grandparents: Got any advice?
Be ready for the best part of being a parent, grandparenting. Now you’ll finally know what it means to be adored—and to be absolutely, completely, and helplessly in love! —Betsy and Ed Karotkin Jane Isay, author of Unconditional Love: A Guide to Navigating the Joys...
Pop-up bookstore open at Simon Family JCC
With the Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in full swing, more than 100 different books by prominent and emerging authors are now available in a pop-up bookstore in the Simon Family JCC’s Copeland Cardo. Works from the genres of...
Talking about the Virginia Israel Advisory Board
When a group of Tidewater advocates traveled to Richmond for Date with the State, or Jewish Advocacy Day, last month, one of the main topics discussed with area General Assembly members was the Virginia Israel Advisory Board. The Community Relations Council of the...
Jacob Jerry Kantor: Bringing compassion to leadership
As he backs out of his driveway, Jerry Kantor stops to help a neighbor with a flat tire and asks, “Is there anything that I can do to help you?” and he really means it. With a sense of compassion, Kantor’s volunteerism focuses on the health and welfare of the elderly...
Israel Today Forum focuses on diplomacy
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 7 pm The Oxford English Dictionary defines diplomacy as: the profession, activity or skill of managing international relations, typically by a country’s representatives abroad. Wherever, whenever, and however he can, Neil Lazarus epitomizes the...
Survivors remembered at encore screening of Holocaust documentary
The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater partnered with Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach to host an encore presentation of the 63-minute documentary, What We Carry (in its entirety), on Jan. 6. Featuring the stories of local...
Film Festival’s opening night
The opening night of the 20th Anniversary of the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma* and Howard Laderberg, took place at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, Jan. 19. Several speakers introduced the festival, including Scott Katz,...
The Jews of “Boynton Beach, Virginia”
Every Autumn, congregants from area synagogues leave Tidewater for a different kind of “Promised Land”—the land flowing with orange juice and sun-tan lotion. The minyanim are a little bit smaller, and cherished neighbors are absent for a season. This past summer at...
Temple Emanuel uses grant to enrich the entire community
With its frayed cover and sticky note tabs sticking out from a number of pages, Gary Takakin’s copy of The Spirituality of Welcoming: How to Transform Your Congregation into a Sacred Community by Dr. Ron Wolfson is testimony to the number of times the book has been...
Janet Weinstein Mercadante: The value of giving
As an investment advisor and partner with the firm, The Alcaraz Mercadante West Investment Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, Janet Mercadante takes the responsibility of investing her clients’ money very seriously. For 22 years, she has helped people plan for their...
Birthright Israel leaves lasting, positive impressions on young travelers
Three weeks ago, 20 Jewish college students and young adults from Tidewater left for an opportunity that they may never have again; one that simply was too good to turn down. They were treated to a 10-day, (almost) all-expenses paid, laidback, virtually pressure-free...
When Jews need help, Tidewater responds
More than two months have passed since Hurricane Sandy brought heavy rain, high winds and flooding to the east coast of the United States. For Tidewater residents, the storm marked another near-miss in the yearly threatening roster of storms, and the memory of its...
Get to know Scott Katz, Simon Family JCC Center director
Scott Katz officially started as center director of the Simon Family JCC on Wednesday, Jan. 2. Jewish Community Centers have been part of Katz’s life since his teenage days in Baltimore. “I became involved with the JCC through BBYO. I then began working at the JCC in...
Community partners contribute to successful speaker series
From beneath a superimposed Israeli flag, startling blue eyes stare forward with bold intensity. Without blatantly saying it in words, the poster for the 2012- 2013 Israel Today speaker series, displayed in Tidewater Jewish agencies, synagogues and the Simon Family...
Hava Nagila film chronicles song’s journey from shtetl to cliche
NEW YORK (JTA)—You’re at a wedding or bar mitzvah, mingling at the bar or catching up with a distant relative, when you hear it—the opening notes of a familiar tune that as if by some invisible force carries you and other guests to the dance floor for the rousing...
YAD celebrates Chanukah with a Sushi-Sake-Latke party
An Asian fusion twist on a traditional Chanukah party, Sushi-Sake-Latke was the Young Adult Division of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s biggest event of the year. Held on Saturday, Dec. 1 in the Cardo on the Sandler Family Campus, more than 180 people...
Beth El brings N.Y. speaker series to Tidewater
Say the words, “92nd Street Y” to someone who’s moved to Tidewater from New York or New Jersey. Chances are, eyes will brighten with a knowing look, and a sigh, or sound of longing, may follow. An abundant and expansive calendar of cultural, educational and community...
Super Sunday Committee makes an investment in community
When creating the theme for this year's Super Sunday fundraising phone-a-thon, the young Jewish community leaders on the steering committee opted to toss out the cutesy and sporty ideas of the past. The 10 Super Sunday committee members instead chose a concept that...
Thank you for a great 2012
While it is hard to believe we’re wrapping up another calendar year, it is easy to recall that Jewish News reported on a lot of news and activity in 2012. In fact, we printed more pages than ever. Trips to Israel and Cuba, the elections, unrest in the Middle East,...
Lee and Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival
Lee and Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival Sponsors The Simon Family JCC thanks all the Book Festival sponsors for making another successful season possible: Beth and Nathan Jaffe Karen Jaffe Monarch Bank Altmeyer Funeral Homes Barnes and Noble Beth Sholom...
Super Sunday committee dedicated to becoming super leaders
Agenda items that should be listed (in no particular order) for scheduled meetings of the 2013 Super Sunday steering committee: excitement, inspiration, motivation, and innovation. Gone is the order of previous years’ meetings, when the committee would visit various...
Hebrew Academy holds mock presidential debate, rally and election
In an effort to engage students in learning about the presidential election, Hebrew Academy held its own mock presidential debate and rally on Monday, Nov. 5. Organized by Lorna Legum, Hebrew Academy librarian and media specialist, the debate featured HAT’s fifth...