What’s Happening

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, March 2, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus South African Olga Meshoe plans to tell as many people in Tidewater as possible why Israel is not an apartheid state. She is the second speaker in the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of...

Thursdays, beginning March 3, 6–7 pm, Simon Family JCC The Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis and Cantors, in partnership with the Simon Family JCC, is offering a new free weekly course, A Pluralistic Introduction to Judaism. Designed for those seeking to learn more about...

At camp JCC, summer camp is more than just a place where children go when school is out. Campers discover, grow, and learn. Each week, a new theme is introduced with activities to match. Register for one week or the entire summer. Camp lasts from June 20 through...

Saturday, March 19, 8 pm Or at least it probably won’t—not this year anyway. UJFT’s Young Adult Division is getting ready for its annual Purim Party. This year, it’s Las Vegas style. The 2016 YAD Purim Party promises Elvis impersonators, showgirls, casino tables,...

Old Dominion University’s Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding will feature Michael Brenner, the Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies at American University in Washington, D.C., as this year’s Sonenshine Lecture Series speaker for...

Last call for entries: Deadline is Monday, Feb. 29, 4:30 pm The Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater invites area 1st through 12th graders to participate in their fourth annual Israel Poster Contest. Students and teachers can find a...

Mondays, 8 pm, Simon Family JCC Anyone who happened to be at the Simon Family JCC on Monday, Feb. 1 might have caught a glimpse of Dr. Herb Brewer studying Jewish history and philosophy with Rabbi Shmuel Katz of the Norfolk Kollel, or attorney Ken Wilson, a member of...

The S.S. Quanza: Jewish Refugees and the Port of Norfolk. Sunday, March 6, 2 pm In 1940, one year after the St. Louis and its “Voyage of the Damned,” a Portuguese steamer brought fewer than 100 refugees from Europe to Norfolk, Va. Most of the passengers were Jews, and...

Saturday, March 5, 8 pm, Simon Family JCC Want a little magic in your life? Eran Biderman, known for his feats of mentalism in Israel, has competed against other top Israeli magicians and won a TV contest in his country. Combined with a sharp sense of humor, stage...

Sunday, April 10, 2 pm, Temple Emanuel The 5th Annual Pink Tea will honor Women Cancer Survivors and promote the concept that “your good health is in your hands.” Concerned that not everyone had health insurance and were not able to afford mammograms and pap smears, a...

The Simon Family JCC has some extra motivation for members who want to meet their fitness goals this Spring —money. From March 1 through April 26, members can compete to win a $100 grand prize. The competition boasts four categories, split by gender and age, with four...

Saturday, March 19, 8 pm, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Lights, glitz, glamour, and an evening of joyous merrymaking are planned for the Young Adult Division of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s 2016 Purim party. What Happens at Purim Stays at Purim is...

Thursday, April 7, reception at 5:45 pm, program and dinner at 6:30 pm Many times a man’s deeds have to be stretched to fit the award. However, in the case of Alvin Wall’s selection by the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities as a recipient of its 2016...

Sunday, March 6, 11 am—2 pm, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Recruitment has begun and enlistment is open for the annual community baking effort known as Operation Hamantaschen. Volunteers are needed to help roll, fill, pinch, bake, and box the triangular- shaped...

Sunday, Feb. 21, 2:30 pm, Simon Family JCC. The Horse of Many Colors, presented by the Simon Family JCC’s Children’s Cultural Arts Series, will captivate kids and amuse their parents. The story will be read and danced by a group from Todd Rosenlieb Dance and Virginia...

March 2, 7:30 pm, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus “Dynamism, eloquence, energy and power,” are just a few words The Times of Israel’s blogger, Howard Feldman, uses to describe Olga Meshoe. The next speaker in the 5th Annual CRC Israel Today series, Meshoe is the...

Sunday, Jan. 31, 2 pm, Virginia Stage Company, Wells Theater Many periods of history have brought African Americans and Jewish Americans together. The two communities share common bonds of often feeling like strangers in their homelands, and sadly, also feeling...

Applications due Monday, Feb. 1 A year-long leadership development program for 40 African American and Jewish high school students in Tidewater, Operation Understanding Hampton Roads (OUHR) is now accepting applications for the relaunch of the program by the Virginia...

Sunday, April 10, 6 pm Barbra, Billy, Barry, Neil, Carole, Carly, Paul, Bob and Bette. Or if you will, Streisand, Joel, Manilow, Diamond, King, Simon, Dylan and Midler. All are on a first name basis with the world, which may not know they are all Jewish. We do, and...