Southeastern Virginia: Chesapeake • Norfolk • Portsmouth • Suffolk • Virginia Beach
Archives
With several workshops and discussions on contemporary Judaica, graphic artist Hillel Smith lectured, inspired, encouraged, and produced art during his mid-February visit. Smith led a lunch discussion on his book, Parsha Posters, as a part of the Simon Family JCC’s...
Moments before writing this, I gave Scott Kaplan, president and CEO of Tidewater Jewish Foundation, an enthusiastic “Mazel Tov!” on hiring a new development associate and LIFE & LEGACY coordinator. “So?” you may ask. The point is, we say “Mazel Tov!” for many...
In a first ever joint event, the Norfolk and Virginia Beach Forums came together, and with the Holocaust Commission, brought the powerful message of Father Patrick Desbois to Tidewater. The idea to bring this internationally known scholar and humanitarian to Tidewater...
The 26th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg and Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi was “one of the most successful in the 26-year history of the festival,” according to Mark Robbins, Film Festival screening committee...
Ever wonder why Tidewater and the Jewish community have so many active retirees and busy seniors? We all know that our weather is mild (everything is relative, I know, as I’m always checking temps in Boston, DC, and points south), getting from place to place is easy,...
As part of its 100th Anniversary Giving Campaign, Kaufman & Canoles donated $500 to Jewish Family Service of Tidewater. Each week in 2019, the law firm’s employees are selecting a charity to receive the donation, and JFS was chosen as one of the initial...
Wednesday, February 20, 7:30 pm Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus, Free As part of the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and community partners’ annual Israel Today series, Jonathan Schanzer, the senior vice president for...
Food connects people,” says Dalit Gvirtsman, a co-founder of Cooking Up, an international network of food classes. “Food is love,” she continues. Gvirtsman might have a point. After all, consider how many dates, celebrations, and even interviews take place at...
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism staff welcomed members of the 116th Congress to Washington on Thursday, January 3. Incoming Jewish members were also delivered babkas. Congresswoman Elaine Luria, representing Virginia’s 2nd district, was welcomed on her...
On Christmas Day, more than 100 people gathered in the Pincus Paul Social Hall inside Beth Sholom Village for an afternoon of kosher Chinese food, camaraderie, and laughter. Plates were filled with egg rolls, beef and broccoli, and lo mein. Meanwhile, local comedian...
Is this time different? While those of us who have been investing for decades have experienced many tumultuous markets, each and every time volatility strikes, so does fear. I’ve learned a lot about investor behavior through the years, and I know how closely emotion...
Members of the legal, business, academic, Jewish and greater communities gathered on April 11 at Old Dominion University for a reception and panel discussion of the exhibit, Lawyers without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich. More than 200 people...
Decades have passed since Leslie Legum and Connie Golden first met one another at Belvoir Terrace, a summer camp for girls in Lennox, Mass. But as the two women pore over a treasured trove of faded camp programs, tattered pictures and a 12-page letter Golden wrote...
Sunday, April 14, 7 pm An Israeli Holocaust survivor forbidden by his granddaughter to mention his experiences in the war during her engagement party, collapses with a stroke when she yells at him to remain quiet. A Jewish woman struggles unsuccessfully to find the...
As the media was covering President Obama’s visit to Israel on March 20, a group of community members gathered that night at Temple Emanuel in Virginia Beach to discuss the role the media plays in shaping negative opinions about Israel. The synagogue hosted the third...
I don’t know what made me more proud. Hearing how strong Hillel has become at my alma mater, the University of Virginia, or the fact that my nephew was the one delivering the good news. Rabbi Jake Rubin, son of my brother, came to Norfolk at the invitation of Hillel...
Jill Sava joins the Simon Family JCC as its new director of the children and family department, which includes directing Summer Camp, Kids Connection, the Before and After School Program, and the Babysitting department. The sixth of seven children in a very close-knit...
Over bowls of matzoh ball soup and glasses of sweet, Kosher wine, almost 80 faith leaders and representatives of Tidewater’s many religious affiliations gathered at the Simon Family Jewish Community Center on March 19 for a pre-Passover seder. The Community Relations...
Betsy Oasis Karotkin and her daughter, Jennifer Karotkin Adut both treasure their Jewish heritage. As mother and daughter, their stories are intertwined, and yet their journeys are completely different. “Life, like art, is full of surprises,” says Karotkin. An artist...
Beginnings is the Simon Family JCC’s full day program for babies six weeks through 2½ years. Its youngest charges (six weeks–approximately 16 months old) have recently moved to a new, more spacious area to accommodate more babies and anticipated demand. Thanks to a...
Julia Child often laughed about her experience being raised as a child on tuna noodle casserole in Southern California. It wasn’t until she was in her 20s and sat down to her first Parisian meal that she knew in her heart that she was actually French. Myself, I didn’t...
None of the nearly 40 women who attended the Jewish Women’s Salon live event “Who’s Your Esther,” on Feb. 17 knew what to expect when they arrived at 10 am. By the time the event ended at 11:45 am, though, the resounding cries of “Is it really over?” and “You must do...
The response to the 2013 Tidewater Women’s Outreach Seder, held at the Simon Family JCC on March 17, was evident before the first bite of egg matzoh crossed a lipsticked mouth. Women from all affiliations and backgrounds made reservations early, and the Seder drew...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it’s safe to say, haven’t always been the best of friends. The leaders of two closely allied countries, they’ve have had a relationship described more often as tense than anything else. But...
“Ice cream and cake, ice cream and cake...” are the words repeated throughout the video that Joel Nied put together as an invitation to his son’s fifth birthday party. The short, which is extremely entertaining, has clarity, energy, rhythm and packs a punch, much like...
Neil Lazarus barely uttered the word “diplomacy” during his whirlwind two-day visit to Tidewater on Feb. 13 and 14. Yet the prolific speaker demonstrated diplomacy in a variety of ways, through his informational discussions at area schools and a church, in his...
Entering the multi-purpose room at the Sandler Family Campus on the evening of Feb. 7, there was little indication that a lesson was being taught by the smiling man at the door who was extending his hand and offering a personal, “Welcome. It’s so good to see you.” The...
For more than 15 years, the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater has offered area schools a professional, multimedia show that culturally enriches, historically educates and socially motivates students about the Holocaust and all...
The growing collaboration between an Israeli entrepreneur, an American businessman and a Virginia agency seemed like a great topic for several of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s affinity groups to explore. The Business & Legal Society of the UJFT could...
Long before the Sandler Family Campus opened, in the days when there was no “Town Center” or even Lynnhaven Mall, Jewish families living in central Virginia Beach had a choice to make if they wanted to go to shul: they could drive to Norfolk, or they could drive to...
Four of the five students who attended the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) High School Summit in October met to put their new skills to the test on Friday, Feb. 1. Representative Scott Rigell opened his office and engaged the students in discussion on...