What’s Happening

Sunday, March 12, Temple Israel Megillah reading: 9:15–10:30 am Carnival: 10:30 am–12:30 pm Two Norfolk congregations are joining together for a morning of Purim. Congregation Beth El and Temple Israel will host a multi-generational Megillah reading and a Purim...

Sunday, March 12, 11:30 am–3 pm Temple Emanuel’s Purim celebration includes a one-of-akind Megillah & Movie at 11:30 am, as well as a Carnival for the entire family from 12:30 until 3 pm. The Megillah Movie will showcase students from the Temple Emanuel Religious...

Last call for tickets to the hottest party in town! Saturday, March 18, 8 pm, ages 22–45 Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Hundreds of young adults are expected to attend this year’s Alice in Wonderland themed Purim party hosted by the Young Adult Division (YAD) of...

Thursday, March 2, 6:30 pm Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill, rabbi of Tidewater Chavurah, will begin a 10-week class on prayer book and biblical Hebrew. The first half will focus on learning the Hebrew alphabet and vowels, and the second part will be for the beginners and for...

From Nazi Germany to Thalhimer’s Farm with author Robert H. Gillette March 19, 6:30 pm, Congregation Beth El Escape to Virginia follows the true story of two Jewish teenagers growing up in Nazi Germany who end up living on a farm outside of Richmond, Va. Eva Jacobson...

Thursday, March 30, The Westin, Virginia Beach Town Center The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC) will present a Humanitarian Award to Kim Simon Fink at its 2017 Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner next month. Other honorees include Kenneth C....

Persian Jewish women’s bittersweet songs and stories about their lost homeland of Iran Sunday, Feb. 26 and Monday, Feb. 27, 7:30 pm, Old Dominion University’s Goode Theatre The theater group, Saffron & Rosewater was founded in 2008 by Ronda Spinak in Los Angeles,...

Saturday, March 18, 8 pm, ages 22–45, Sandler Family Campus Callah Terkeltaub and Catherine Heben are already down the rabbit hole, “madly” co-chairing the much-anticipated annual Purim party hosted by the Young Adult Division of the United Jewish Federation of...

Simon Family JCC’s Annual Israel Fest • Sunday, April 30, 11 am • Sandler Family Campus In honor of Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, Simon Family JCC will present its Annual Israel Fest. Vendors to participate in the marketplace are now being accepted....

Wednesday, March 15, 12 pm Sandler Family Campus Most people experience some moment when their life skips off the rails, freefalling in uncertainty, bracing for the blow. Some say things happen for a reason and some make their own reasons for the things that happen....

Thursday, Feb. 16, 7:30 pm, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Originally inspired by This American Life, Mishy Harman, co-founder and host of the award-winning and internationally aired, Israel Story, takes a humanistic approach to story-telling. Harman portrays his...

Texas, Ohio, and Florida have passed or are passing laws allowing “open-carry” policies on college campuses, drastically impacting the safety on university grounds. With more than 800 college-bound students, and even more alumni on campuses across the country, NFTY,...

Tidewater’s first through 12th graders are invited to participate in an Israel Poster contest sponsored by the Community Relations Council of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Students and teachers can find a list of cool facts about Israel at...

Sunday, Feb. 10, 11 am The Changing Face of Pro-Israel Activism in America is the theme of this year’s brunch and briefing at Ohef Sholom Temple. The congregation will again open its doors and invite the community to join them for this free event featuring guests...

Sunday, Feb. 10, 1 pm Operation Hamantashen, a joint venture of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Adult Division and the Simon Family JCC, Children and Family Department, will take place at the JCC for the third year in a row. Last year, more than 100...

Sunday, Jan. 27, 2 pm “It is amazing how small coincidences can bring about a completely different set of events than we might have thought,” says Elena Baum, director of the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. After reading the film...

Thursday, Jan. 24 The Virginian- Pilot’s veteran film reviewer, Mal Vincent has been a part of the Simon Family JCC’s Virginia Festival of Jewish Film since its inception in 1993. Vincent began reviewing movies such as Leon the Pig Farmer (which ran in 1993 and will...

Sunday, Jan. 20, 11 am The adult education committee at Ohef Sholom Temple presents Marty Mandelberg speaking on “Why the Jews,” a session that will trace the history of European anti-Semitism that enabled the Holocaust to occur. Exploring publications, events,...

Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day is Tuesday, Jan. 22 Program begins at 11 am in Richmond Bus departs from Simon Family JCC at 8:45 am Preparations for Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day, or “Date with the State,” when Jews from throughout the Commonwealth descend on the...

Constantly in the public view, there is much more to Israel than meets the eye. To spread the word about the lesser-known details, the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is taking JerusalemOnlineU on the road with five different...

Sunday, Jan. 6, 3 pm A standing-room-only crowd of more than 800 packed the Tidewater Community College’s Roper Theater in downtown Norfolk last March to attend the premiere of the documentary, What We Carry. Featuring the memories, insights and inspirational messages...

Sunday, Jan. 13, 10:30 am The Community Relations Council organizes the Tidewater community each year to prepare for the “Date with a State,” when representatives from Jewish communities across Virginia descend on Richmond to lobby for issues considered pertinent to...

Tuesday, Dec. 25, 7 am–3 pm Switch Day is going Retro. Volunteer at Beth Sholom Village on Dec. 25 and dress up like a “greaser” or pull out a “Poodle Skirt,” “grease your hair,” or put it in a “beehive.” Shifts: 7–9 am 9–11 am 11 am–1 pm 1–3 pm Volunteer...

Applications for a Summer 2013 mission to the Jewish communities of Budapest, Hungary and Prague, Czech Republic are now being accepted by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. The mission, scheduled to depart on Sunday, July 14 and return on Monday, July 22,...

Sundays, beginning Jan. 6 An informal robotics team that may compete regionally in 2013-2014 will form at the Simon Family JCC. BrickHeadZ classes introduce younger students to real-world engineering challenges by building LEGO® based robots to complete tasks on a...

Tuesday, Dec. 25 The Young Adult Division of UJFT is putting together a group of volunteers to participate in “Switch Day” at Beth Sholom Village on Christmas Day. Four two-hour shifts are available starting at 7 am. YAD spots are limited. Contact Amy Weinstein at...

Monday, Dec. 17, 6:30-8 pm Local architects Paul Turok and Rob Berz will lead a discussion of the history of their trade in Jewish communities around the world, as well as a careful study of the Sandler Family Campus, and how its construction was influenced by Jewish...

Tuesday, Jan. 22 For years, members of Jewish communities across the Commonwealth have converged at the State Capitol in Richmond to collaborate on Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day, also known as “Date with the State.” This annual Date with the State has proven to be a...

Saturday, January 19 The Simon Family JCC’s 20th anniversary of the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film presented by Alma* and Howard Laderberg will begin with a movie and gala opening night party to commemorate the festival’s longevity and success. The Film Festival,...

Sundays, Dec. 9 and Jan. 13, 2 pm The Jewish Museum & Cultural Center continues its new series to discuss the many differences in religious cultures, yet similarities. Each event is open to the public and suitable for all ages. Donation of $5 per person. The...

Sunday, Jan. 6, 3 pm In January it will have been a year since the Holocaust Commission’s Speakers’ Bureau was cut in half, when David Katz and Hanns Loewenbach passed away. To try to continue to fulfill its mission of sharing personal survivors’ stories, the...