What’s Happening

Thursday, April 19, 6:30 pm, Congregation Beth El On 5 Iyar, 1948 the entire world watched as Israel became an independent nation. On 5 Iyar, 2018 (April 19), the entire world will celebrate as Israel turns 70. Eyal Rob, a screenwriting professor by day and Tel Aviv...

Sunday, April 22, 2:30 pm You have seen them at big football games and concerts, stock car races, and patriotic festivals—“card stunts”—with regular folks holding up colored material to form words, numbers, and symbols. Now it’s Tidewater’s turn. During Israel Fest,...

Sunday, May 20, 1–4 pm, ages 7–15 The Simon Family JCC is the local regional host for the USA Triathlon Youth Aquathlon Splash & Dash for kids ages 7–15. This sports event combines swimming and running. Ages 7-10 have a 100-meter swim and 1-mile run, and ages...

Sunday, April 15, 10 am, Temple Israel Norman Soroko is being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Seaboard Region, Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, at it’s annual recognition breakfast. Soroko became involved in Men’s Club in the late 1980s at B’nai...

Thursday, April 19, 6:30 pm, Congregation Beth El Celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut with a free and open to the community event. From Holy Land to Club Land: The Evolution of Israel through Music, Rob will bring the Tel Aviv music scene to Tidewater, reflecting the young Jewish...

Tuesday, March 27, 12:30 pm • Sandler Family Campus Based on an installation of 1,000 umbrellas adorning Yoel Moshe Solomon Street in Jerusalem during the summer of 2015, UJFT’s Community Relations Council is launching a similar installation in the Simon Family JCC’s...

Friday, April 13, 7 pm Tidewater Chavurah’s second Friday of the month Shabbat service will take place at the home of Hal and Elaine in the Great Neck Meadows area of Virginia Beach. A “congregation without walls,” events are held in members’ homes or at other...

Sunday May 6, 2–4 pm Temple Emanuel at Baltic and 25th St. Temple Emanuel’s annual Pink Tea to raise money and awareness for cancer screenings will take place in May. All proceeds go to the Beach Health Clinic for cancer screenings. $12.50 per person. Become a “Pink...

Timing is everything. The number of remaining Holocaust survivors is rapidly decreasing. Thirty live in Tidewater. Several were children in Eastern and Western Europe, but many are Russians or Ukrainians who were young children during WWII. Now they are in their 80s...

Friday, April 13, Ferguson Center, Newport News Saturday, April 14, Chrysler Hall, Norfolk The Virginia Arts Festival will open its 2018 spring season with a stunning birthday party for Leonard Bernstein. The Festival is joining arts organizations on six continents in...

Deadline for submissions: Friday, March 30 In celebration of Israel’s 70th anniversary, the Simon Family JCC will be adorned with a sky full of umbrellas to resemble a similar installation in the streets of Jerusalem and other cities around the world. In fact, the...

Thursday, Feb. 20, 6:30 pm at Bite Restaurant, Norfolk One of the more striking sights in Israel: teenagers, the blush of youth evident in their unlined faces and in their energetic gait, dressed not in jeans and t-shirts but in head-to-toe standard issue Israel...

Wednesday, Jan. 29, 7 pm The Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater had astute foresight in inviting Gil Troy to be the second speaker in this year’s Israel Today Forum. While the organization had no way of knowing that Troy would...

Sunday, Jan. 19, 2 pm To Frank Grunwald, an industrial designer and accomplished sculptor in his spare time, memories of the Holocaust and the 10 concentration camps he endured were something he’d left far behind. Active only in recent years in his Indiana community’s...

First session: Tuesday, Jan. 21, 6:30 pm Members of Congregation Beth Chaverim, as is typical of Reform Jewish congregations throughout North America, come from diverse religious backgrounds and experiences. Some are born Jewish; some are not. Some have converted to...

Saturday, Jan. 18, 10 am–12 pm Noam Katz, minister for Public Diplomacy for the Embassy of Israel will speak as a part of the World Affairs Council’s Great Decisions lecture series at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach. Katz oversees the public diplomacy...

Date with the State: Wednesday, Feb. 5 bus departs Sandler Family Campus at 8:45 am CRC Briefing on Date with the State: Thursday, Jan. 30, 6 pm Mix civic responsibility, democracy, political action, Jewish values, and history, add a healthy dose of elbow rubbing with...

Wednesday, Jan. 29, 7 pm Regular audience members of the Community Relations Council’s Israel Today Forum say they often get the “news before the ‘news’” by listening to the speaker series’ featured guests. Whether that’s learning about Israel’s underpublicized...

Sunday, Jan. 12, 5:30 pm The community is invited to “B’nai Israel Congregation’s Hakaras HaTov: An Evening Of Gratitude.” Six individuals who have gone “above and beyond” in the service of B’nai Israel will be honored: Gershon Aronoff, Nancy Berman, Harold...

Thursday, Jan. 9, 12 pm Join Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg for Lunch and Learn with the topic, “Fall Out from the Pew Study on American Judaism: What We Learn, What We Can Do.” Bring a lunch, an open mind, a sense of humor, and any interested friends. RSVPs to...

Tuesdays, beginning Jan. 7 10:30 am – noon Ten week course taught by Rabbi Panitz at the Simon Family JCC. Call 321-2328 or email mbrunnruberg@simonfamilyj.org for more information, pricing, and to register.

Sunday, Jan. 12, 1–4 pm Start the New Year with more than 60 group exercise classes, great cardio and weight training equipment, heated pools, personal training, free towel service, babysitting and day lockers, and so much more at the Simon Family JCC. Learn about it...

Sunday, Jan. 5, 3 pm A reception for Don Hurwitz’s exhibit, “Postcards from the Old Country” will take place in the Leon Family Gallery on the second floor of the Sandler Family Campus. Hurwitz’s photographs are from Latvia, Estonia, Russia and Lithuania. A portion of...

December 25, 7 am–3 pm An annual Beth Sholom Village tradition, Switch Day allows employees to celebrate the Christmas holiday with their families. Switch Day family members and volunteers help out in many ways. From playing Bingo with residents to serving food,...

Saturday, Jan. 4, 6 pm Bring the family and enjoy dinner and fun as the Sabbath departs. Explore the many hands-on exhibits and sights at the Children’s Museum, while it is closed to the general public. The Portsmouth Children’s Museum is located at 221 High Street....

Sunday, Jan. 12, 8:30 am–2 pm A partnership of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Community Relations Council and the Business and Legal Society, the Simon Family JCC, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will offer the Federal Bureau of Investigation...

Sponsored by Jewish Family Service Sunday, Dec. 15, 10 am–3 pm, Simon Family JCC Anyone who is Ashkenazi or has Ashkenazi heritage is recommended for genetic screening. In addition, it is recommended that those with an Ashkenazi partner get screened, because it is...

Thursday, Jan. 9, 12 pm Join Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg for Lunch and Learn with the topic, “Fall Out from the Pew Study on American Judaism: What We Learn, What We Can Do.” Bring a lunch, an open mind, a sense of humor, and any interested friends. RSVPs to...