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Moses Ezekiel’s Botanical Garden artist statues

Moses Ezekiel’s Botanical Garden artist statues

Sunday, December 14, at 2 pm Chrysler Museum of Art Samantha Baskind, PhD., distinguished professor of Art History at Cleveland State University, will speak on The Remarkable Journey of Moses Ezekiel's Norfolk Botanical Garden Artist Statues.    Sir Moses...

 Jewish Artists of the Past

 Jewish Artists of the Past

Legacy 2025 L’ Dor V’Dor – From Generation to Generation Grand opening: Saturday, December 6, 6:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus Henri Matisse, Ben Shan, and Jacques Lipchitz were the names mentioned by Mia Laufer, PhD, the Irene Leach curator of European Art for the...

Monthly Volunteer Days launch to support Jewish Tidewater

Monthly Volunteer Days launch to support Jewish Tidewater

Begins Friday, November 21• 10 am - 3 pm, Sandler Family Campus United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is launching a new initiative to bring community members together: Monthly Volunteer Days. Volunteers will gather once a month to take part in meaningful hands-on...

Help needed to feed neighbors for Thanksgiving

Help needed to feed neighbors for Thanksgiving

As food prices continue to rise and benefits such as SNAP decrease, more neighbors are struggling to put meals on the table. In fact, Jewish Family Service’s Food Pantry has seen a significant increase in visitors—people who never imagined they would need to ask for...

Shabbat Project returns to Tidewater

Shabbat Project returns to Tidewater

Annual project celebrates Shabbat, community, and unity Thursday, Nov. 13 – Saturday, Nov. 15, B’nai Israel\The Shabbat Project is an international grassroots movement that brings together Jews from all walks of life and all levels of observance to keep one Shabbat –...

Halva and Heritage: Secrets of Sesame

Halva and Heritage: Secrets of Sesame

Thursday, Nov. 20, 7:30 pm Sandler Family  Who doesn’t love a good story and a good nosh? United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival will serve up both when Rachel Simons takes the stage at the Simon Family JCC for...

And they’re off! BeAR leapsinto the 2025–2026 school year

And they’re off! BeAR leapsinto the 2025–2026 school year

Schools across Norfolk and Virginia Beach are roaring to life as the Be A Reader Literacy Project kicks off another year with mentors meeting their new second-grade students – young readers who can use an extra boost of confidence and encouragement to help them...

Liel Leibovitz brings the Talmud to Tidewater with wisdom and wit

Thursday, April 3, 7:30 pm • Sandler Family Campus United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Konikoff Center for Learning will welcome Liel Leibovitz, author and journalist, as he discusses his latest book, How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice...

Yom Hashoah: Community Holocaust Commemoration

Wednesday, April 23, 6:45 pm Ohef Sholom Temple The Holocaust Commission of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s annual Holocaust Day Remembrance, Yom Hashoah, will take place next month. The event is open to the community.The commemoration will feature survivor...

Israeli Chef’s Table Experience with Chef Moshe Basson

An extraordinary culinary journey is planned with the second annual Israeli Chef’s Table Experience – part of the community’s Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) celebration, presented by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.Chef Moshe Basson, founder of...

Broken Vessels, Restored Souls: Ceramics in Jewish Mysticism and Art

Sunday, March 30, 12:30 – 2:30 pm, Torggler Center at Christopher Newport University In Judaism’s mystical traditions, the myth of the ‘breaking of the vessels’ imagines vessels of divine essence shattered at creation, left for humans to find and repair the...

Exploring the afterlife through Jewish perspectives

8-week course begins: Tuesday, April 1 12:30 – 2 pm, Sandler Family Campus What happens after death? It’s a question as old as humanity. For Jews, the answer has never been a singular, fixed doctrine. Instead, Jewish thought has evolved over millennia, offering a...

Comic Robin Fox to perform at Temple Israel’s fundraiser

Sunday, March 30, 1 pm, Temple Israel Temple Israel has been busy scheduling creative programming, including movies, lectures, and guest Shabbat speakers. The season’s highlight will be the congregation’s annual fundraiser – honoring the synagogue’s past presidents...

Ice cream social planned to celebrate Golda Meir Day

Monday, March 17, 5 pm, Simon Family JCC Golda Meir is remembered for many accomplishments – from playing a pivotal role in the founding of the State of Israel to becoming its first, and only, female Prime Minister.In Israel, her legacy now extends to a popular ice...

Kids Night Out: Supreme Pool Party

Saturday, April 26, 5 – 9 pm Sandler Family Campus The last Kids Night Out of the school year will be a special Supreme Pool Party Edition.With lots of beach balls, noodles, and dive toys, this Kids Night Out is sure to end the year with a splash! Kids will hang out...

Tidewater’s Great Jewish Bookshelf welcomes new subscribers

Off to an exciting start, the Great Jewish Bookshelf is engaging readers throughout Tidewater with powerful stories and new ideas. Even though the year is already underway, there’s still time to register for the subscription program. Late registrants can also select...

Applications now open for JELF

Students who seek loans for higher education may now apply to JELF – Jewish Education Loan Fund. The deadline is April 30, 2025.JELF offers 0% interest loans for full-time students from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia (excluding metro...

Celebrate Tu B’Shevat in Tidewater

The Jewish New Year of the Trees, Tu B’Shevat starts on Wednesday, Feb. 12. In the 17th century, Kabbalists created a ritual for the holiday that is similar to a Passover seder. Several options to participate in a modern version of the Tu B’Shevat seder are listed...

The New Christian Zionism: A panel discussion

“You can count on me. I’ll be there.” It was a simple text message, but one that meant a great deal to me.In the last year, I have watched a relationship blossom between ODU Hillel and the Institute for Jewish Life and Interfaith Understanding and Regent University’s...

A History of Hatred:New course explores threat of antisemitism

Six-week course begins Tuesday March 18, 6:45 pm, online In moments of collective astonishment about the state of the world, there’s an underlying awareness that much of what is taking place is not new. Antisemitism has resurfaced with alarming intensity, taking on...

Course empowers learners to advocate for justice

Class begins Tuesday, March 18, online Sometimes called “the longest hatred,” antisemitism has persisted in many forms for more than 2,000 years. It has evolved, taking various forms and adapting to the era’s prevailing social, political, and religious ideologies....