Southeastern Virginia: Chesapeake • Norfolk • Portsmouth • Suffolk • Virginia Beach
Archives
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater recently announced the addition of Blake Sisler as the new coordinator of Youth and Family Engagement. Sisler will oversee PJ Library and Shalom Baby programs as well as support Jewish learning initiatives offered through the...
As the Tidewater Jewish community welcomes 5786 and looks ahead to marking a century of Jewish Book Month, the Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival launches its first half with a vibrant mix of events that reflect the spirit of renewal, resilience, and...
Sunday, October 26, 11 am – 3 pm, Sandler Family Campus At Strelitz International Academy, fall is a season bursting with joy, tradition, and community spirit. From decorating the sukkah and harvesting the school’s vibrant Fall Garden to exploring handson seasonal...
Saturday Nov. 8, 7 pm Congregation Beth El is planning to celebrate 175 years of Jewish life in Tidewater with an evening featuring music, food, drinks, and highlights of the past 175 years – as well as insights into the future. Synagogues have always been...
Julie Giarrana, a registered dietician who recently started offering personal nutrition services at the Simon Family JCC, originally got to the Center by responding to an ad for a substitute yoga instructor. It was Giarrana’s nutrition background, however, that caught...
Saturday, Nov. 15 and Sunday, Nov. 16 With the help of Artist in Residence Jordan Gorfinkel – “Gorf” to his many (and soon to be more) fans – Temple Israel will present a weekend in November of doing just that. And who could be more qualified to talk about...
Sunday, October 27, 7 pm, Sandler Family Campus United Jewish Federation of Tidewater invites every member of the community – every stream, and every story – to come together as one Jewish people for the inaugural Partners in Jewish Life (PJL) evening, presented by...
Monday, October 6 9 am Sandler Family Campus Join Tidewater’s Shinshinim, Noga Yaniv and Yarden Lahan, in the Sandler Family Campus Sukkah for a heartfelt morning of remembrance and reflection. The program will begin with a short ceremony, honoring the memory of the...
Sunday, January 11 Ohef Sholom Temple Jewish Family Service will host a special luncheon to celebrate the remarkable legacy of the Hebrew Ladies Charity Society of Tidewater. Established in 1902, this pioneering group of women laid the foundation for what...
Friday, November 21, 10 am – 12 pm Jewish Family Service will host its annual Thanksgiving Drive at the Sandler Family Campus when community members in need can pick up a free Thanksgiving meal through its drive-up pantry. Those who wish to volunteer to help...
Begins Friday, October 31 Jewish Family Service is launching its annual Chanukah Gift Drive to support families in need this holiday season. Beginning October 31, JFS will begin accepting donations of gifts and monetary contributions. The deadline is...
Thursday, October 23, 7:30 pm Sandler Family Campus Acclaimed author and journalist Yaakov Katz returns to Tidewater next month for a timely conversation about Israel, Hamas, and the lessons of October 7. The former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post...
An extraordinary culinary journey is planned with the second annual Israeli Chef’s Table Experience – part of the community’s Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel Independence Day) celebration, presented by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.Chef Moshe Basson, founder of...
Tuesday, April 8, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus In today's fast-paced digital world, social media is a powerful tool for shaping narratives, spreading information, and influencing public opinion. In the wake of October 7, however, it has also become a battleground...
Sunday, March 30, 12:30 – 2:30 pm, Torggler Center at Christopher Newport University In Judaism’s mystical traditions, the myth of the ‘breaking of the vessels’ imagines vessels of divine essence shattered at creation, left for humans to find and repair the...
8-week course begins: Tuesday, April 1 12:30 – 2 pm, Sandler Family Campus What happens after death? It’s a question as old as humanity. For Jews, the answer has never been a singular, fixed doctrine. Instead, Jewish thought has evolved over millennia, offering a...
Sunday, May 4, 12 - 3 pm, Sandler Family Campus Jewish Tidewater is making plans to celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s 77th Independence Day, with another vibrant and family-friendly afternoon filled with fun, culture, and community spirit.Attendees will have the...
Sunday, March 9, 1 - 4 pm Sandler Family Campus PJ Library in Tidewater’s annual Purim celebration, Operation Hamantaschen – a day of baking hamantaschen and preparing a mitzvah project – offers three time slots this year (1 pm, 2 pm, and 3 pm), to make the cookies...
Sunday, March 16, 2 pm, Wells Theater, Norfolk Virginia Stage Company will produce the cult-classic musical Little Shop of Horrors at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk, March 12 through March 30. The quirky show’s book, lyrics, and music were written by Jews – lyricist...
Sunday, March 30, 1 pm, Temple Israel Temple Israel has been busy scheduling creative programming, including movies, lectures, and guest Shabbat speakers. The season’s highlight will be the congregation’s annual fundraiser – honoring the synagogue’s past presidents...
Monday, March 17, 5 pm, Simon Family JCC Golda Meir is remembered for many accomplishments – from playing a pivotal role in the founding of the State of Israel to becoming its first, and only, female Prime Minister.In Israel, her legacy now extends to a popular ice...
Saturday, April 26, 5 – 9 pm Sandler Family Campus The last Kids Night Out of the school year will be a special Supreme Pool Party Edition.With lots of beach balls, noodles, and dive toys, this Kids Night Out is sure to end the year with a splash! Kids will hang out...
Off to an exciting start, the Great Jewish Bookshelf is engaging readers throughout Tidewater with powerful stories and new ideas. Even though the year is already underway, there’s still time to register for the subscription program. Late registrants can also select...
Students who seek loans for higher education may now apply to JELF – Jewish Education Loan Fund. The deadline is April 30, 2025.JELF offers 0% interest loans for full-time students from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia (excluding metro...
Nadiv, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s young Jewish men’s fundraising division, is planning two fun community events this spring.All proceeds support scholarships for Camp JCC in summer 2025. The group’s goal is to raise $25,000 between both events. March...
The Jewish New Year of the Trees, Tu B’Shevat starts on Wednesday, Feb. 12. In the 17th century, Kabbalists created a ritual for the holiday that is similar to a Passover seder. Several options to participate in a modern version of the Tu B’Shevat seder are listed...
“You can count on me. I’ll be there.” It was a simple text message, but one that meant a great deal to me.In the last year, I have watched a relationship blossom between ODU Hillel and the Institute for Jewish Life and Interfaith Understanding and Regent University’s...
Six-week course begins Tuesday March 18, 6:45 pm, online In moments of collective astonishment about the state of the world, there’s an underlying awareness that much of what is taking place is not new. Antisemitism has resurfaced with alarming intensity, taking on...
Class begins Tuesday, March 18, online Sometimes called “the longest hatred,” antisemitism has persisted in many forms for more than 2,000 years. It has evolved, taking various forms and adapting to the era’s prevailing social, political, and religious ideologies....
Monday, January 27, 7:30 pm • Sandler Family Campus For more than 35 years, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater has sponsored and supported the Holocaust Commission of Tidewater. The Commission’s members personally knew many local survivors and escorted them to...
Monday, March 10, 7:30 pm • Sandler Family Campus What happens when an Orthodox rabbi and a Reform Jewish journalist team up to study and debate the Torah? Find out when Rabbi Dov Linzer and Abigail Pogrebin bring their unique perspectives to the Simon Family JCC for...
Sunday, February 2, 4:30 pm, Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall, Norfolk State University The Virginia Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with the City of Norfolk, will host its annual CommUNITY Play-In and Sing-Along concert.Members of the community who play any...