What’s Happening

Saturdays, August 24 and September 14, 9:30 am It’s getting to be that time of year—time to start thinking about the High Holy Days. For everyone, it’s a time of teshuvah, of returning. For long-time members of the Jewish community, returning can mean anything from...

Wednesday, August 21, 12 pm Simon Family JCC Join the JCC Seniors Club for lunch and a discussion with Chaplain Jim Thompson of Freda H. Gordon Hospice & Palliative Care on how the roles of these two services have changed dramatically in the past decade. Members,...

Every language enables a way of thinking. The language that thinks Jewishly is Hebrew and Ohef Sholom Temple offers myriad opportunities to explore and learn with Hebrew classes for adults and children beginning next month. The adult classes aim to make the prayer...

Shabbos Nacham Friday, August 16–Saturday, August 17 For more than a decade, Rabbi Yosef Friedman was the rabbi of B’nai Israel Congregation, shaping the community and its Torah institutions into the vibrant organizations they are today. He returns for an inspiring...

Hineni is a Jewish values-based innovative Fellowship designed to give the most promising young volunteers insight and skills to enhance their personal and professional lives, as well as to empower them to lead the Jewish community into the future. Are you, or do you...

Tuesdays, August 7, 14, 21; 4–6 pm Alfriends House behind Old Donation Episcopal Church, 4449 N. Witchduck Rd., Virginia Beach Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill of Tidewater Chavurah will present a three-session class, Belonging, Behaving, and Believing. The class will provide a...

Congregations Beth Chaverim and Tidewater Chavurah will see in the Hebrew year 5780 together, holding joint holiday services beginning Sept. 29, 2019. All services will be held in the parish hall of Old Donation Episcopal Church, 4449 N. Witchduck Rd., Virginia Beach....

Sunday, August 25, 9 am 2500 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach Tikkun Olam is the social action concept in Judaism of repairing the world. The Young Adult Division of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Hands on Tidewater ‘HoT’ programming meets multiple times a year to...

Offering Religious School for preschoolers through 10th grade, Ohef Sholom Temple is committed to raising Reform Jews whose identity is firmly grounded in Torah and Jewish texts, and who are connected to Israel, Jewish history, culture, language, and traditions. OST’s...

REGISTRATION OPEN Tuesday, July 30, 5:30–7 pm, Norfolk Academy, 1585 Wesleyan Drive, Norfolk Wednesday, July 31, 7:30 am–4:30 pm Norfolk Academy Batten Library, 1585 Wesleyan Drive, Norfolk Thursday, August 1, 7:30 am–5 pm, trip to the Virginia Holocaust Museum,...

Sunday, May 22, 2 pm, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts The world is rapidly losing the voices of those who witnessed the Holocaust. In its effort to keep those voices alive, the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater will add three new...

Saturday, March 19, 8 pm, Sandler Family Campus They call her Lady Luck, and chances are good she may show up with Frank Sinatra, Liberace, or a beautiful blonde bombshell at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus for the “party of the year.” The Young Adult Division...

Wednesday, April 13, 7 pm, Chrysler Museum Renowned physician from the Cleveland Clinic to speak in Norfolk during Spring into Healthy Living program More than 82 million Americans are currently diagnosed with cardiovascular disease— and millions more think they are...

Sunday, March 6, 11 am–2 pm, Sandler Family Campus Being deployed overseas presents a soldier or sailor with difficult situations, no matter their location. In addition to being separated from family, they’re stripped of all normal creature comforts, living on mostly...

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...