What’s Happening

Community conversation: Monday, November 7, 12 pm Sandler Family Campus Russian speakers conversation: Monday, November 7, 2 pm Sandler Family Campus   While the world watches, fighting has continued around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine since...

Holocaust Commission pick for Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival Wednesday, November 2, 7:30 pm Sandler Family Campus   Basketball was first included as a medal event in the Summer Olympics in 1936 in Berlin. During those Olympics, Hitler showed...

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...

Sunday, May 19, 11 am–4 pm, Sandler Family Campus This year’s Israel Fest will offer even more ways to experience and celebrate the State of Israel…without leaving Tidewater. Families can visit Tidewater’s own Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and compete in a scavenger hunt;...

Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 pm, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Former editor-in-chief of Parade Magazine, Janice Kaplan will visit Tidewater to discuss her latest book, How Luck Happens: Using the Science of Luck to Transform Work, Love, and Life. The book, written...

Wednesday, March 15, 11:30 am, Simon Family JCC Israeli fitness expert and former trainer on the Biggest Loser Israel, Nadav Meirson will lead light exercise and a lunch discussion. The session is open to all seniors. Meirson is an entrepreneur leading several...

Always the backbone of B’nai Israel Congregation, the B’nai Israel Sisterhood was responsible for a wealth of programs, classes, and fundraisers. They gave the synagogue an aura of energy, fun, and inspiration. Realizing the need for a reinvigorated Sisterhood, B’nai...

Wednesday, May 1, 6:45 pm, Temple Israel A commemorative program celebrating the power of the human spirit and the enduring faith of those who witnessed and survived the Holocaust, this year’s event features guest speaker, Dr. Roger Loria. A survivor from Belgium,...

Thursday, May 23 Celebrate LAG B’OMER and join The Simon Family JCC, YAD, and Chabad for a delicious family cookout, beer, rockin’ music, and a bonfire. Open to the community. For more information and tickets, contact Jasmine Amitay at JAmitay@ujft.org.

Simon Family JCC, CRC, and community partner’s present Train Like Israel’s Biggest Losers with Nadav Meirson Workout: Wednesday, May 15, 8:30 am Simon Family JCC Pushing fitness levels to new heights, Nadav Meirson, the trainer from the hit reality series The Biggest...

Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, BBYO, and OSTY present Cause An Effect A series for Jewish high school students (grades 9-12) and their parents Thursday, May 9, 6–9 pm The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) most recent “Audit of...

Thursdays, 10:30 am, Simon Family JCC Group discussion of local, regional, national, and world news, as well as emerging topics in a cordial atmosphere. Free and open to the community. Contact David Rabinowitz at 757-424-3027.

Friday, April 12, 7 pm Home of Hal and Elaine in Virginia Beach’s Great Neck Meadows area A “congregation without walls,” Tidewater Chavurah’s events are held in members’ homes or at other locations. Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill will lead the monthly Shabbat service with...

From Remembrance to Independence Yom Hazikaron to Yom Ha’Atzmaut Wednesday, May 8, 7:30 pm Ohef Sholom Temple Honoring the transition that takes place in Israel as Yom Hazikaron, a somber day of reflection ends at sundown, giving way to Yom Ha’atzmaut’s celebration,...

Wednesday, April 10, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus On happy occasions we wish each other “Mazel tov!” and when we want something good to happen we hope that we have a little “mazel,” or luck. But good luck doesn’t just drop from the sky. People have more control over...

Saturday, April 6, Bnai Israel Toras Chaim’s Shabbos lunch features an opportunity to see projects and artwork made by students, hear divrei Torah given by students, and view pictures of what is taking place in the local Torah day school. Shabbos Parshas Tazria and...

Sunday, June 2, 2 pm, KBH Kempsville Conservative Synagogue, Kehillat Bet Hamidrash (KBH) just turned 40. The small, but mighty congregation has so much to celebrate. The congregation will officially acknowledge this milestone with an event to be held at the...

First program: Thursday, May 9, 6–9 pm A series for Jewish high school students, Cause An Effect offers students and their parents resources and tools to strategically respond to acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel rhetoric currently seen on campuses. The program is...

Saturday, October 19 Hilton Hotel Oceanfront, Virginia Beach Does “We’re the boys of chapter 370, we’ve got plenty of…” sound familiar? If it does, you’re in for a fabulous treat! For many Jewish males who grew up in Tidewater during the early 1960’s through the early...