What’s Happening

The Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma and Howard Laderberg, is marking its 30th Anniversary in February. One of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the nation, the festival entertains, educates, and engages the Tidewater community by...

Begins Wednesday, January 18, 6:45 pm, online Nearly two and a half million Jews emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. New to a foreign country and unlikely to speak English, these Jews tended to confine...

Sunday, January 8, 1– 4 pm, Simon Family JCC This afternoon of winter games, crafts, a bounce house, and more will be most enjoyed by children through 8th grade and is free to JCC members, Strelitz International Academy and Camp JCC families, YAD, and Tidewater...

Saturday, January 21, 6–10 pm, Simon Family JCC Need a date night? Kids Night Out might be the answer. Simon Family JCC patrons with family memberships can drop off their children and know that the kids will enjoy a night filled with games, crafts, snacks, and...

January 22–February 26 Uncover the magic of Jewish books through an immersive tour of its central titles and influential authors. Attend classes in person at the Chabad House on Sunday mornings, or at the Sandler Family Campus on Thursday evenings. in partnership with...

Tuesday, January 17, 12 pm, online, free In August 1942, Polish-Jewish doctor and educator Janusz Korczak walked with the children of the Warsaw Ghetto to the Umschlagplatz, the train platform for deportations to the camps. While members of the Polish Resistance...

Thursdays, 12 pm Sandler Family Campus and online 10-week course begins Thursday, January 19, 2023 More than 100 years ago, Solomon Schechter, a Jewish studies professor from Cambridge University in England, launched an expedition exploring the genizah (a storage...

Wednesday, February 8 Join the Jewish Community Relations Council and Jewish community members from across the commonwealth for Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day at Virginia’s capitol. Advocate on issues important to the Jewish community in meetings with members of the...

Thursday, January 5, 12 pm, online Earlier this month, Lahav Harkov joined the Jewish Community Relations Council for the monthly midday current affairs briefing. This time, the topic was an update on the coalition building taking place in the Knesset in Israel....

Tuesday, December 20, 6–9 pm Ohef Sholom Temple Enjoy drinks, dreidel tournaments, interfaith trivia, raffle baskets, live bands, and more! Ugly sweaters are encouraged for this evening of adult Hanukkah fun. Co-sponsored by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s...

Originally published in the May 31, 2021 issue.  Monday, June 14,12 pm, Zoom Free with pre-registration required at JewishVA.org/BookFest Robyn Sidersky When Lisa Novick Goldberg was a child, she was often around Mafia figures—Venero Frank “Benny Eggs” Mangano was her...

Originally published in the May 31, 2021 issue.  June 6–9 Rabbi Batya Glazer The American Jewish Committee’s annual Global Forum will be virtual this year, making it possible to participate from home. This conference delves into the substantive topics and concern of...

Originally published in the May 31, 2021 issue.  Thursday, June 24, 8 pm, Sandler Family Campus, socially distant family-friendly cookout, 6:30 pm Tickets: $12 per person, children ages 12 and under are free Reservations by June 17 Robyn Sidersky The Bar and Bat...

Originally published in the May 10, 2021 issue.  Wednesday, May 12, noon, via Zoom, free Robyn Sidersky After Mimi Lemay wrote a letter to her son, Jacob, she realized she had more to say. The letter, turned into an essay that went viral, led her to write a book, What...

Originally published in the May 10, 2021 issue.  Thursday, May 13, 7:30 pm, Zoom, free Robyn Sidersky Hallie Ephron didn’t start writing until she was 40, and published her first book 10 years later. Unlike the rest of her immediate family, she didn’t initially want...

Originally published in the May 10, 2021 issue.  Saturday, May 15, 6 - 7:30 pm, Ohef Sholom Temple parking lot Cantor Jen will lead Havdalah at Ohef Sholom Temple’s first in-person, outdoor event of 2021. Bring chairs or blankets and a picnic style dinner to enjoy...

Originally published in the May 10, 2021 issue.  Blue Dove Foundation to speak about new book for Mental Health Awareness month Thursday, May 20, 7:30 pm, via Zoom Free, pre-registration required at JewishVA.org/BookFest Robyn Sidersky Jennifer Greenberg’s husband,...

Originally published in the April 26, 2021 issue. If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast, Tuesday, May 4–Thursday, May 6, virtual, $12 per household Conversation with Director Danny Gold, Thursday, May 6, 12 pm, Zoom Robyn Sidersky Director Danny Gold shares details...

Originally published in the April 26, 2021 issue.  Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles Virtual screening: April 26–28, $12 per household Conversation: Wednesday, April 28, 8 pm Robin Sidersky The intersection of food and art will be celebrated as part of United...

Originally published in the April 12, 2021 issue. Sunday, April 18, Sandler Family Campus Drive-Through celebration, 12–2:30 pm, free, limited tickets JewishVa.org/IsraelFest Drive-In Movie, 8 pm, $12 per person, limited tickets  JewishVa.org/FilmFest Yom Ha’atzmaut,...

Originally published in the April 12, 2021 issue.  Monday, April 12–Thursday, April 22 https://www.jewishva.org/Lfinkart On view through May 10 in the Leon Family Gallery, Sandler Family Campus Terri Denison Art is meant to be viewed and shared, according to Lorraine...

Originally published in the April 12, 2021 issue. Tuesday, May 25, 7:30 pm, free Jewish Tidewater’s 339 legacy donors are among the 18,000 who will be honored at the first Legacy Donor Appreciation Event sponsored by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s (HGF) LIFE &...

Originally published in the April 12, 2021 issue. Aulcie at the Drive-In: Sunday, April 18, 8 pm Sandler Family Campus, $12 per person Robyn Sidersky Do you remember the Virginia Squires, Norfolk’s very own basketball team? The American Basketball Association team...

Originally published in the April 12, 2021 issue. Sunday, April 25, 7:30 pm, $36  Joel Rubin He is the 40-year-old grandson of four Holocaust survivors from Hungary and Czechoslovakia who all emigrated to Israel where they met after the War. One grandfather was a...

Originally published in the April 12, 2021 issue.  Sunday, May 2, 7 pm Tired of looking at the same walls during this time at home? See an empty spot just calling out for a new piece of art? KBH has the solution! Kehillat Bet Hamidrash (KBH)—the Kempsville...

  Originally published in the March 22, 2021 issue.  Sierra Lautman A year ago this month, the world entered the pandemic. Amazingly, Jewish organizations of all sizes, including United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, have seen increases in the numbers of engaged...

Originally published in the March 22, 2021 issue. Sunday, April 25, 7:30 pm, Zoom, $36 Not many clergy are considered YouTube sensations, but Azi Schwartz, senior cantor of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City, has become just that, thanks to his creative and moving...

Originally published in the March 22, 2021 issue. Tuesdays, 7 pm, Zoom Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill of Tidewater Chavurah, now leads a weekly Torah study on Tuesday evenings. Discussion focuses on the parshat ha-shavua, the Torah portion that will be read on the following...

Originally published in the March 22, 2021 issue.  A conversation with the ADL and former mayor of Charlottesville Thursday, April 1, 7:30 pm, Temple Israel’s First Thursday, Zoom, free Batya Glazer Doron Ezickson, Anti-Defamation League’s Mid-Atlantic/Midwest...

Originally published in the March 22, 2021 issue.  Monday, April 12–Thursday, April 22 On View: Leon Family Gallery, Sandler Family Campus Auction and sale: www.JewishVA.org/LFinkArt Lorraine Fink is generously donating 99 original works of art for auction and sale...