What’s Happening

The Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Be a Reader (BeAR) program is out of hibernation and heading back into schools at the end of October. Returning to the classroom means BeAR needs more volunteers. Just an hour a week...

Friday, October 28, 6:30 pm, Ohef Sholom Temple During Shabbat Services and at a festive Oneg Shabbat, Charles (Chuck) Woodward will be honored for his 40 years as Ohef Sholom Temple’s music director. Known throughout Tidewater as a choral conductor and keyboard...

Tuesday, November 15, 7 pm, Wells Theater A one-man show, this  is the inspiring true story of Simon Wiesenthal filled with hope, humanity, and humor. Sometimes referred to as the “Jewish James Bond,” he devoted his life to bringing more than 1,000 Nazi war criminals...

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 Weissenstein captured millions of photos of...

Begins Tuesday, September 20, 9 am Sandler Family Campus Twice a month, Baby and Me offers a time for a parent to bring their baby, up to 18 months old, to the Simon Family JCC for an hour of baby games and activities, social time with other parents and guardians, and...

Sunday, October 16, 11 am–3 pm Get ready to plant some bulbs and hope for a bountiful garden this spring in remembrance of the children who perished in the Holocaust. The Jewish Museum and Cultural Center in Portsmouth is hosting its first event in partnership with...

Sunday, October 9, 1–3 pm, MOCA The Simon Family JCC and United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, in collaboration with the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, invites students in sixth through ninth grade to a special Sukkot event at MOCA. The afternoon will begin...

Wednesday, October 26, 7:30 pm Sandler Family Campus   The best way to begin to understand Israel is to first understand the nation’s map. Since declaring independence in 1948, the tiny nation’s borders have often changed. Sometimes, Israel has gained territory;...

Class begins Thursday, October 27, 12 pm What is the history behind the narrative of the Jewish religion’s core story? One way to better understand Judaism’s history—as well as its “story”—is to explore the international framework in which its people emerged. The...

Leon Family Gallery Through early November Reception with the artist: Thursday, October 13, 4 pm   Shony Rivnay is an interdisciplinary Israeli-American artist based in Tel Aviv. His work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the world —Germany, Japan, South...

Friday, October 28, 6:30 pm Forty years ago, Edith Harrison, a long-time Ohef Sholom Temple member and founder of the Virginia Opera, asked a young Charles (Chuck) Woodward who was working for the Opera at the time, if he would “fill in” for OST’s organist who was...

Starts Thursday, October 6, Noon Monthly current affairs discussions with Lahav Harkov, the Jerusalem Post’s senior contributing editor, will take place on the first Thursday of each month, October through March. Grab lunch as Harkov leads an online briefing and...

Tuesday, July 30–Thursday, August 1 The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s 14th Biennial Educators’ Conference, Teaching Difficult History: How Our Past Informs Our Present, will include an original dance performance, speakers,...

Leon Family Gallery, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus May 2019 Craig Dershowitz, executive director of Artists 4 Israel, manages this group of artists from across the world who use the power of art to beautify the land, uplift people, and enhance Israel’s image....

Wednesday, June 19, 9 am—5 pm Holocaust education is vital to ensuring that people today know the warning signs that led to the attempted destruction of the Jewish people in Nazi Germany. “Understanding the lessons of the Holocaust makes people better citizens,...

Through August 11 Temple Emanu-El, 1 East 65th Street, New York City Museum hours: Sunday–Thursday, 10 am–4 pm Traveling to New York City during the next couple of months? If so, try to include a visit to Temple Emanu-El’s Bernard Museum of Judaica to view the Barr...

Wednesday, June 19 The entire senior community is invited to join the JCC Seniors Club for a day trip to the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond. The $30 registration fee includes transportation, lunch, and a docent tour. Registration is required by June 12. To...

In a partnership with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Chabad of Tidewater, Hebrew School of the Arts is moving to the Simon Family JCC for the 2019–20 school year. Now entering its second year, Hebrew School for the Arts is an after-school program that...

JCC Seniors Club and Simon Family JCC Wednesday, May 15, 11:30 am, Sandler Family Campus Seniors who seek a new way to enhance their daily routine or who want to learn more about leading a healthy lifestyle, both physically and mentally, will have an opportunity to do...

Friday, May 10, 7 pm Home of Hal and Elaine in Virginia Beach’s Great Neck Meadows area Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill will lead the monthly Shabbat service with prayers and joyful songs. An Oneg follows. For event information and location address, email carita@verizon.net or...

Wednesday, May 15, 8:30 am, Sandler Family Campus “A diet is not a thing with a start and an end, it’s a way of life,” says Nadav Meirson, an Israeli celebrity, personal trainer, and life coach. Meirson is known for his leading role as the fitness trainer on Israel’s...

Sunday, May 19, 4 pm Sandler Center for Performing Arts, Virginia Beach Behind the beguiling ways of famed cabaret singer and pianist Michael Feinstein is an encyclopedic knowledge of the canon of popular music known as the Great American Songbook—the music of such...

Leon Family Gallery, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus May 2019 Artists 4 Israel, managed by Craig Dershowitz, executive director, is a group of artists from across the world. Working with avant-garde artists in underrepresented art forms such as graffiti, street...

For the past 15 years, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater has presented free health awareness events as part of Spring Into Healthy Living, along with the annual JFS Run, Roll or Stroll. Speakers have included physicians from the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins, in...

Wednesday, May 1, 6:45 pm, Temple Israel Join the community for an evening to honor local Holocaust survivors and remember the six million Jews who were murdered during the Shoah, as well as to hear Dr. Roger Loria’s harrowing experience of escape and survival. Dr....

Leon Family Gallery, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus April 2019 JDC’s HOME: Lens on Israel, a photography exhibit from Temple Emanu-El’s Bernard Museum of Judaica & Streicker Center in New York, showcases the work of photographers who have documented the...

Leon Family Gallery, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus May 2019 An artists’ rights organization, Artists 4 Israel advocates for Israel and its freedoms through all artistic media. Their team of international artists (more than 1,000 participating artists representing...

From Remembrance to Independence: Yom HaZikaron to Yom HaAtzmaut Wednesday, May 8, 7:30 pm, Ohef Sholom Temple Free and open to the community with RSVP (Required)  to www.JewishVA.org/IsraelToday As the sun sets on May 8, Israelis and Jews around the world move from...

Wednesday, May 15, 11:30 am–1 pm Sandler Family Campus Seniors have an abundance of programs to choose from at the Simon Family JCC. From museum tours to book clubs, current events discussions to card games, there is no shortage of fun or engaging activities. When it...

Sunday, May 19, 11 am–4 pm as part of Israel Fest at the Sandler Family Campus Artists 4 Israel will be in Tidewater as part of Israel Fest, and the final event in the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Simon Family JCC, and...

A two-part series for teens and parents offering resources and tools to strategically respond to anti-Semitism and anti-Israel rhetoric on campus Thursday, May 9, 6–9 pm: ADL and Ambassador Ido Aharoni (for students and parents) Friday, May 17, 4–6 pm: Artists 4...