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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...
YAD’s Beachside Social event was a huge success. New people, people who haven’t been to an event in years, people who aren’t new to the area, but are new to the Young Adult Division of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, as well as loyal ‘YADians,’ attended....
Toras Chaim held its annual dinner at B’nai Israel Congregation on Monday, June 3, honoring Amy and Kevin Lefcoe with the Gesher award for building bridges in community and education. The Lefcoes have been involved with the Jewish community on so many different levels...
Still going strong! Last year, Hadassah focused practically an entire issue of its magazine on ‘The Art of Aging.’ The idea being, of course, that age is just a number. It’s possible, according to nearly every article in that issue, to ‘grow older, without getting...
I am so excited to announce the birth, pun intended, of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s new initiative, Shalom Baby! When I gave birth to my son, Yuvi, two years ago, I was living in North Carolina in a new city and didn’t know a single person. Luckily, my...
Thousands from across Tidewater joined the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus to celebrate Israel’s 71st year on a bright, sun-filled day. Israel Fest 2019 was packed with authentic Israeli food, music,...
The 33rd day of the Omer was celebrated this year with beautiful weather and people from all congregations together at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus. As in past years, DJ Silver provided celebratory Israeli and Jewish tunes...
Celebrated on the third Sunday in June, Father’s Day was made a permanent national holiday by, you’ll never guess, President Richard Nixon, in 1972. Who knew? Father’s Day is usually filled with cards, gifts, and cookouts…though some dads get lucky and, like most moms...
This past Memorial Day, my family and I went to a few of the local Jewish cemeteries in Tidewater to place American Flags on the graves of those who have, “borne the brunt of battle.” Ever since we moved to the area, some seven years ago, we have made this a family...
The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s month-long 2019 Elie Wiesel Visual Arts exhibit officially closed on May 31. The annual Elie Wiesel Competitions for students include visual arts and writing. TowneBank and the Simon Family...
One of the many interesting aspects of compiling this Business section each year is the vastly different areas that comprise the businesses we profile. They can be large or small, start-ups or long-time family-owned establishments, virtual or brick and mortar,...
While the books are gone and events have paused, the memories still remain from a busy month of reading and events during the Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival at the Simon Family JCC. The book festival ran October 30–December 2 and brought hundreds of...
Where would I stay? What should I wear? Will I have to sit separately from my friends? Can we stay in groups? Is it okay to take pictures? These were just some of the questions that were asked prior to this year’s Shabbos project in Norfolk. Community members,...
“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...
(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...
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...
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,...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Israel Today’s first ever artist-in-residence, Hanoch Piven, took Tidewater by storm with more than 40 events over his two-week visit, engaging more than 1,500 people from both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Piven held workshops at the United Jewish Federation...
What ingredients made this year’s Super Sunday so successful? Community members of all ages volunteering? More than 215 individual gifts pledged to the 2019 campaign? Social action projects teaching kids Tikkun Olam? The answer, of course, is all of these and more. On...
The annual celebration of Jewish writers, books, and ideas, Simon Family JCC’s Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival, provides an opportunity to engage with talented authors about their latest books. The month-long Festival also offers the latest titles...
Extreme heat and humidity did not keep golfers and volunteers from supporting the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Konikoff Center of Learning’s 30th Annual Golf Tournament, also known as The Bob Josephberg Classic. With a heat index in the upper 90’s, the golfers toughed...
With so much to celebrate—its sanctuary’s 100th anniversary and the congregation’s upcoming 175th anniversary—Ohef Sholom Temple rededicated the synagogue’s sanctuary on Saturday, Oct. 13. After a processional with clergy, past presidents carrying the temple’s Torahs,...