Sunday, April 30, 1-4 pm, Sandler Family Campus On May 14, 1948, Jewish communities in Tidewater and around the world rea-lized their dream of securing a state that ensures Jewish safety and security. In the 75 years since then, Israel has become a beacon of...
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Born to play Rachmaninoff: Pianist Olga Kern
Sunday, May 7, 2:30 pm, Sandler Center She was born to play Rachmaninoff” may seem trite, a well-worn phrase used to describe an artist with an extraordinary gift for interpreting the works of that composer. But for pianist Olga Kern, her first experience with...
Cantor Elihu Flax to receive award
Sunday, May 7, 10 am Rodef Sholom, Newport News Beth El Men's Club's Blue Yarmulke Person-of-the-Year is Cantor Elihu Flax. He, along with the honorees from Temple Israel in Norfolk and Rodef Shalom in Newport News, will be honored at a brunch followed by the award...

The PhotoHouse: Israel’s past, present, and future at 75 years
Screening of Life in Stills: Wednesday, April 26, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus As the adage goes, a picture tells a thousand words. How many stories could be written, then, from millions of photographic negatives? The PhotoHouse, founded in Tel Aviv in 1940 by Rudi...
Annual Janet Gordon Mah Jongg event benefits Beth Sholom Village
Sunday, April 23, 11 am, Sandler Family Campus The most common thing you may have heard about the 2023 Janet Gordon Mah Jongg Day & Luncheon in support of Beth Sholom Village? The tournament is back! After a 3.5-year hiatus, the event planning committee is...
An Evening of Reflection and Remembrance
2023 Holocaust Day of Remembrance Sunday, April 16, 6:45 pm Temple Israel, 7255 Granby Street, Norfolk Yom Hashoah, a time to remember and reflect on the Holocaust, will take place in Tidewater on Sunday, April 16 at Temple Israel in Norfolk. The entire community is...
Women’s activism in New Orleans: Staking claims and crossing boundaries with Dr. Anne Gessler
Thursday, April 20, 7:30 pm, Zoom Old Dominion University’s Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, and ODU’s Women’s Studies present a talk by Anne Gessler, PhD. Gessler’s talk explores the period between 1900...
Interactive Israel Fest activity with prizes for all
By visiting Jewishva.org/IsraelFest and registering for the free Israel@75 challenge this April, community members of all ages will automatically get access to a VIP prize, which they can pick up at the community Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration on Sunday, April 30. A new...
Parents of Religious School students expand their own Jewish learning
Next class: Sunday, March 26, 10 am Ohef Sholom Temple, free The Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is partnering with Ohef Sholom Temple to offer the course, The Foundations of Jewish Family Living. These classes take place on...
Broken Worlds: Music to Heal or to Divide with Robert Shoup
Monday, April 3; Reception: 6:15 pm, Lecture: 7 pm Brock Commons, Virginia Wesleyan University In a world that seems to be defined by conflict and seemingly endless divisions, music continues to function as a steady thread through individual and shared...
Yom Hashoah 2023 Community Holocaust Commemoration
Sunday, April 16, 6:45 pm, Temple Israel The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater invites the community to attend the annual Holocaust Day of Remembrance, Yom Hashoah. The commemoration will feature a speaker, candle lighting ceremony, and...
Celebrate Israel @ 75 with The PhotoHouse
Wednesday, April 26, 7:30 pm Sandler Family Campus The world-renowned PhotoHouse is one of Israel’s most valuable and monumental private archives of historical photographs. Founded in 1936, it has been owned and operated by the same family for three generations. Rudi...
Big Saturday Night Celebration features actress, producer Judi Beecher in Tidewater
Tango Shalom: Screened live virtually and in-person Saturday, February 26, 7:30 pm, Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center at Virginia Wesleyan University Judi Beecher is a multi-hyphenate. The actress, director, producer, singer-songwriter, model, and...
A new kind of Mah Jongg fundraiser
Janet Gordon Annual Mah Jongg Tournament: Sunday, April 3 The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way nearly everything takes place at Beth Sholom Village – from food service to family visits, religious services, and even fundraising. BSV has hosted the Janet Gordon...
Leon Family Gallery at the Sandler Family Campus: Hanging installation of works on paper enhanced by ligh
Five large handmade paper works by artist Rae Stern currently hang from the Sandler Family Campus’ Cardo ceiling. These unusual pieces are immediately visible upon entry of the building and are illuminated from behind with both natural and artificial light to enhance...
58th Annual VCIC Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner to honor Charlie Nusbaum
Thursday, March 24, 6 pm Westin Virginia Beach Town Center This year’s VCIC Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner will include an in-person reception and watch party with limited attendance, as well as a virtual presentation option. Charlie Nusbaum is one of this...
It runs in the family—Yael Perlov
Ben-Gurion Epilogue Screening and discussion Sunday, February 27, 2:30 pm Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center at Virginia Wesleyan University Landis, Coppola, Reitman, and Reiner.What do all of these names have in common? Fans of movies or TV probably know....
A night with Joshua Jay: A rare glimpse into a truly secret world
Thursday, March 3, Simon Family JCC Joshua Jay, bestselling author of Magic and other books, has performed on stages in more than 100 countries. Next month, he’ll perform in Tidewater as a part of the Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family’s Jewish Book Festival. Magicians are...
A new kind of Mah Jongg fundraiser
Janet Gordon Annual Mah Jongg Day of play and Luncheon, Sunday, April 3 Beth Sholom Village plans to bring back the Janet Gordon Annual Mah Jongg event in April, with 100% of its proceeds directly benefiting BSV’s residents. As so many things have changed in the last...
JFS continues its focus on mental health Becoming Stress Resistant: Recognizing Burnout and Tips to Reduce its Effects
Monday, February 21, 10 am–12 pm Simon Family JCC or via Zoom Throughout the second half of 2021 and into 2022, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater, in partnership with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, has focused on changing the narrative from ‘mental illness’...
Camp JCC: Strong early bird registration
Registration for Camp JCC summer 2022 is off to a robust start. Enrollment is significantly higher compared to this point last year, with many of the families who have registered new to camp. With early excitement brewing in the community, Camp JCC anticipates being...
29th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film adds live at-home streaming option in addition to in-person theater screenings
Four fascinating films with topics as diverse as a Hasidic rabbi in a dance competition, Christian and Jewish students traversing the city of Rome in search of the truth, a revisiting of a conversation with Israel’s founding father, and a newly restored classic film...
Temple Israel presents the Maccabeats
Sunday, March 13, 7:30 pm, streaming on screens, $36 Few acts speak to Jewish audiences more than the Maccabeats, and on Sunday, March 13, Temple Israel will present this amazing a capella group. The performance will be available to view from the comfort and safety of...
Society of Professionals plans series of events
A power line-up of events is planned for United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Society of Professionals’ (SOP) 2022 Spring season. Speakers will share best practices for promoting businesses, as well as insider information on the most up-to-the-minute business...
Virginia Arts Festival celebrates 25 seasons and includes performances by the Jerusalem Quartet
Since 1997, Virginia Arts Festival has brought world class performing artists each spring to venues and stages in Tidewater. The Festival plans to mark this milestone with a season suitably spectacular. Anchoring the celebration are some grand performances: the return...
Building inner strength through self-defense class at the JCC
Tuesdays and Thursdays “It is tough—but rewarding. I am learning to focus, have patience, and to train my brain. I am also getting stronger and having fun!” says Spirit Fighting Arts self-defense student C.J. Fenley about his experience with the new classes offered at...
Exploring Israel through Minecraft
Tuesday, February 8, 4 pm Simon Family JCC and/or remotely Tidewater teens and pre-teens will not have to travel far to see Israel. In collaboration with Lost Tribe ESports, local teens will be able to learn about fun sites in Israel through games and challenges....
Join Team JCC Virginia Beach for Maccabi Games in San Diego
July 31–August 4 The Simon Family JCC Athletics Department is searching for Jewish teen athletes to travel as a group this summer to the JCC Maccabi Games in San Diego, California. Tom Edwards, the Simon Family JCC’s athletics director, is organizing players...
Husband and wife, artist and rabbi merge art, pop culture, and scholarship
Tidewater Together with Isaac and Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik All events online Friday, February 4: Shabbat sermon Ohef Sholom Temple, 6:30 pm, Free, ohefsholom.org Saturday, February 5: Shabbat sermon Congregation Beth El, 9:45 am; Free, bethelnorfolk.com...
Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day[s] 2022 to take place via Zoom
Meetings with Delegates and Senators: Monday January 31; Tuesday, February 1; and Thursday, February 3 Group meeting: Wednesday, February 2 One of the greatest tools in the hands of all Americans is the ability to meet with and influence representatives in government...
In honor of Jewish tradition, Corey Rosen brings storytelling to life
Tuesday, February 15, 7:30 pm Virginia MOCA, free Everyone has stories to tell, but the trick is how to make each story the best story. Actor, visual effects producer, and host of The Moth, Corey Rosen, teaches how to get past telling “the same” stories and helps each...
PJ Library to celebrate Tu B’shevat at Norfolk Botanical Garden
Sunday, January 9, 3–4:30 pm Tu B’Shevat is considered the New Year of the Trees, marking the start of spring in Israel—when trees begin to bloom after a long, cold winter. In celebration of Tu B’Shevat, PJ Library in Tidewater is going to the Norfolk Botanical...