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Love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:19) In May of 1939, the S.S. St. Louis reached the shore of Miami, Fla. On board the ship were 937 Jewish European refugees, including two-year-old Joachim Hirsch. All of them had applied...
When most people think about celebrating a big occasion, they think parties and trips. But when Brad Bangel and his sister, Nancy Bangel, were considering how to mark their parents’ 70th anniversary, they went into a totally different direction. They thought Torah....
Laderberg Lane, honoring Alma and Howard Laderberg (of blessed memory) was formally dedicated on Monday, July 22. The walking trail that surrounds the pond basin at the Sandler Family Campus, was made possible by the couple’s generosity and their after-lifetime gift...
Food sustains us while stories about food and family delight and save us. On June 24, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater held its third annual One Night, where Culinary Institute of Virginia College of Culinary Arts of ECPI University, James Beard award winning...
Beth Sholom Village has a new president. On June 19 at BSV’s annual meeting, Matthew Weinstein, president of Managed Networks of America, assumed the presidency, as attorney Stuart Nachman became the immediate past president. Lawrence Siegel, first vice-president;...
With a theme of “Honoring Our Past, Envisioning Our Future,” Jewish Family Service of Tidewater (JFS) held its 64th Biennial Meeting on June 17. At the meeting, JFS installed Ellen Rosenblum as the president for 2019–2021, thanked Jeff Cooper for serving as president...
Richmond, Va.—On behalf of the Virginia House of Delegates, Speaker Kirk Cox has named Bill Nusbaum to the Virginia Israel Advisory Board (VIAB). Nusbaum is an attorney with Williams Mullen. VIAB is a government agency that helps Israeli companies locate and grow...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg donates $9,000 to Israeli schools teaching Arabic and Hebrew Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she is donating $9,000 to a network of bilingual Hebrew and Arabic schools in Israel. The grant to schools operated by Hand in Hand comes...
Local BBYO members were recently elected to serve on Virginia Council’s board. They are:
Rabbi Murray Ezring doesn’t hold a grudge. But he does get even. Thirty-one years after he was a candidate to be the rabbi of Congregation Beth El in Norfolk, he is returning to Beth El to serve as an interim replacement for Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz, the man who...
The Emerging Philanthropists Council was established with a Fund created at Tidewater Jewish Foundation to help Jewish teens learn about philanthropy by conducting their own grants process. In its first year, the EPC learned about tzedakah and how to think about...
The theme throughout the evening was awareness, but as the stories unfolded, an even stronger message came through: organ donation is LOVE. The Thursday, May 16 program, “Organ Donation: The Gift of Life” featured keynote speaker Janet S. Wright, MD FACC, acting...
On Sunday, May 12 we celebrate Mother’s Day—honoring moms, grandmothers, and, in fact, all important women in our lives…including, in my case, daughters! Our first article is an interview with Bill Hearst about his inspiring and always gracious mom, Helen Gifford, of...
If Rabbi Joseph Telushkin could change America in just one way, he would start at home with the words that parents speak to their children. Many children earn praise for things like academic achievement, athletics, artistic performance, and even their physical...
The Tidewater Jewish Foundation (TJF) recently celebrated a successful second year of its LIFE & LEGACY program. During the community celebration in March, one set of donors, Alyssa and Jonathan Muhlendorf, shared their reasons for giving. The following is an...
Hineni, HERE I AM! For those who don’t know, Hineni!, is the young leadership program of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Designed 10 years ago to build and nourish leaders, Hineni! is a highly successful program that takes place on alternate years. Hineni!...
Tidewater’s young Jewish adults showed up ready to party at YAD’s Purim party on Saturday, March, 23. It took no time for the popular ‘DJ Richard’ to get the party going with dance hits, games, and glow necklaces as young adults celebrated the festive holiday. This...
This is an open thank you letter to our community, the Tidewater Jewish community, for its unwavering support and care for Jewish communities around the world. This care takes into account our strong values of tikkun olam, the concept of leaving the world a better...
Dear Readers, Passover is in the air. The kinda light, kinda panic feeling arrives each year along with the blossoms and warmer temps. The sense that something good, something unifying, uplifting, and yes, even that something happy is about to take place, comes with...
Community gathers to celebrate second year of the LIFE & LEGACY™ program Tidewater Jewish Foundation (TJF) honored its community partners and donors at the 2nd annual LIFE & LEGACY event on Monday, March 18. The evening celebrated the success of the...
Its dark and cold, and practically the middle of the night. It’s 4:30 am on Wednesday, January 16 and this morning, I’m standing with a group of eight others, ready to embark on a journey unlike any other I’ve experienced. To be honest, as we load the minibus, which...
WASHINGTON—In a speech on the House Floor on Thursday, March 7, Congresswoman Elaine Luria (VA-02), a 20-year Navy veteran, spoke in support of a House resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry. The resolution passed later that day, 407–23. A...
Among Brith Sholom’s many activities, the club often features informative and engaging speakers at its meetings. Jerry Sandler, program chairman, has arranged speakers from such places as the F.B.I, the Virginian-Pilot, and the Red Cross. And, Congresswoman Elaine...
Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Simon Family JCC, and community partners’ latest Israel Today expert, visited Tidewater February 19–21, where he spoke to more than 1,100 people. The senior vice...
Camp provides a time and space for fun, as well as for development of confidence and new skills—all in a protected and caring environment. In fact, studies consistently demonstrate the long-term benefits of a summer camp experience for both campers and counselors....
Bertram and Gladys Aaron Endowed Professorship in Jewish Studies Dr. Richard Freund, a prominent archaeologist, historian, and explorer, has been appointed to a new position at Christopher Newport University where he will lead Judaic Studies and build strong ties with...
Forty delegates from Tidewater boarded a bus on the morning of February 6, making their way to Richmond for Virginia’s annual Jewish Advocacy Day with the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Nearly 200 delegates from Tidewater,...
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,...