What’s Happening

Tuesday, October 17, 7:30 pm Sandler Family Campus A scholar of law and religion and comparative Jewish Law, Dr. Mark Goldfeder will speak about Israel’s relationship with the United Nations, the perceived bias toward Israel, and how it relates to the Boycott,...

September Yoni Alter’s Cities exhibit brings a splash of pop-art style to the Leon Family Gallery. Featuring skylines of some very recognizable cities, as well as fresh interpretations of city architecture and objects, Alter’s work joins a line-up sure to excite art...

Wednesday, September 13, 1 pm Simon Family JCC, free Seniors at the Simon Family JCC will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, with a Rosh Hashanah Paint Social featuring artist and art teacher Michele Barnes. The New Year ceremony will be facilitated by a...

September 8 weekend The alumnae of Sigma Omega Pi sorority (SOPS) will celebrate their fifth annual reunion next month. SOPS was a national, Jewish social/ service organization for Jewish high school girls in Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach. It flourished in...

Monday, September 18, 11 am Sandler Family Campus Be A Reader kicks-off the 2017-2018 school year with a welcome breakfast and meeting next month. The event is an opportunity for potential new volunteers to learn more about the program, and for returning volunteers to...

Sunday, Sept. 10 and Sunday, Sept. 17, 2 pm Sandler Family Campus Panelists for the second session of Tidewater Chavurah’s two-part program on marriage between Jews and non-Jews, “Making Jewish Choices,” will explore issues arising from intermarriage such as...

Sunday, October 29 Since 2010, the Janet Gordon Mah Jongg Tournament, a tribute to Janet Gordon, of blessed memory, has been a creative, fun, and successful fundraiser for Beth Sholom Village, a campus that has served the community for more than 35 years. The wife of...

Friday, August 18, 5 pm The annual End of Summer Shabbat dinner and pool party has expanded this year to include more games, more food, and more fun. Young at heart participants will enjoy a surf n’ slide, a water balloon challenge, and a tzedakah dive. For adults,...

2017–2018 Israel Today series begins with David Hazony, managing director of The Israel Project Tuesday, September 12, 7:30 pm Sandler Family Campus After returning from an eight-month stint teaching English in Myanmar, I had to figure out my next move. I thought a...

August, Leon Family Art Gallery A Vintage Jewish fashion photography exhibit from the collection of Beit Hatfutsot, The Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, and the Bernard H. and Miriam Oster Visual Documentation Center, will be on display in the Leon Family Art...

Sunday, Sept. 10 and Sunday, Sept. 17 Sandler Family Campus A two-part program on intermarriage between Jews and non-Jews, Making Jewish Choices, presented by Tidewater Chavurah, will take place at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus. The first session will present...

Thursday, August 3, 6:30 pm Hilarity is coming to the Simon Family JCC when comedian, writer, and actor Elon Gold performs at Laughter on the Lawn. Gold, born in the Bronx and currently living and working in Los Angeles, is “a favoured son in the proud tradition of...

April 8–May 17 When a loved one dies, everyone in their family is touched by this loss. Children and teens are especially affected by losses and other important life changes. Jewish Family Service’s counseling staff, through the Dozoretz Center for Healing and Jessica...

Saturday, March 9, 8 pm Originally from New York, Rabbi Gavriel Friedman, aka Rav Gav, now splits his time between Jerusalem and his touring circuit. A regular lecturer at Aish HaTorah, Rav Gav has energized Jewish communities in cities all over the world, including...

Saturday, March 16, 8 pm A former editor of The Harvard Lampoon and The National Lampoon, Mike Reiss wrote for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Garry Shandling Show and Alf, before he was hired in 1989 for a new animated show called The Simpsons. Four Emmys...

Wednesday, March 6, 8 pm What We Carry, the documentary of Tidewater-based Holocaust survivors produced by the Holocaust Commission of the UJFT, was recently featured on Los Angeles-based Jewish Life Television’s (JLTV) J Report. The hourlong television show decided...

Monday, March 18, 6:30 pm This is the time of year when the Jewish Education Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater presents one of its professional development workshops for all community Jewish educators—teachers and principals. The workshop will be...

Sunday, March 24, 2:30 pm The Virginia Opera will present its second show for families this season at the Simon Family JCC, a light and shortened version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. The Pirates of Penzance is a comic opera with music by Arthur...

Thursday, March 14, 7–9pm, and Friday, March 15, 8am–1pm With the goal of promoting awareness, providing support, and celebrating the gifts of people with disabilities in all faith communities, the conference, “That all May Worship-2013: Sharing Our Stories, Building...

Monday, April 1–Friday, April 5 The Kids Connection at the Simon Family JCC, the Before and After School program, is offering a Spring Break Camp, featuring fun indoor and outdoor activities, art, free swim, sports, group games and much more. Full day camp is 6:30 am...

Thursday, April 11, 5:30–8 pm An exhibit and panel discussion at Old Dominion University will explore what happens when the rule of law is obliterated. The exhibit, Lawyers without Rights, was created by the German Federal Bar and has been shown in more than 80 cities...

Wednesday, March 20, 7 pm Israel and the West with Rabbi David Barnett Benjamin Netanyahu and many others have noted that most of the Arab world “does not hate the United States because of Israel, but rather hates Israel because of the United States.” Indeed, on the...

Thursday, March 21, 5:45 pm The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities has selected two members of the local Jewish community to be among those receiving its prestigious Humanitarian Awards this year. Robert “Bob” Nusbaum and Marian Bear Ticatch will be honored at...

March 5-16 When Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman started writing the book for the award-winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys, they didn’t think they had much in common with pop sensations and real-life, New Jersey natives Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. “Marshall...

Wednesday, March 13, 7 pm Ohef Sholom Temple’s Adult Education committee presents “The History of Jewish Music” with Cantor Wally. A look at the Bible shows that the most ancient descriptions of song originate with the Jews. From the ram caught in the thicket near...

Sunday, March 17, 12–2 pm Preparing for Passover can be both intense and exhilarating for women. The to-do list fills with chores including; cleaning the house from top to bottom to rid it of chametz (leavened products), hauling out the special Passover china, ironing...

Monday, Feb. 18, 7 pm Sometimes we don’t know what to think. Is Israel really a land of war, borders, politics, and falafel? With half a dozen siblings who have chosen to begin their married lives in Israel, I know that there is so much more. When I visit Israel I...

Saturday, March 9, 8 pm Impressions—like it or not, you’re a role model with Rabbi Gavriel Friedman, is a “must see” for parents, young adults, and anyone interested in an entertaining and engaging evening with a positive message. Sponsored by United Jewish Federation...

Sunday, Feb. 17, 10–11:30 am Ask a woman about a great female role model, and she might answer Golda Meir, Eleanor Roosevelt, or Hillary Clinton. Ask her again, but this time make it more personal, as it pertains to how she thinks and feels, and the answer may be...

Sunday, Feb. 24 10:30 am at Ohef Sholom, 3 pm at Beth Sholom Village Does Cookie Monster love triangular Hamentaschen as much as circular cookies? Is Oscar grouchy about the Jewish people when he dresses up as Haman? And, can Big Bird rule over ancient Persia? Find...

Saturday morning Shabbat services at Congregation Beth El start at 9:30 am. For those who arrive 30 minutes earlier, they are treated to a stimulating and inspirational session of Torah Talk led by Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz. It’s a chance to nosh on cake, coffee and tea...

Saturday, Feb. 23, 7 pm Let’s do the time warp again…at Temple Israel’s “Rockin’ Hora Purimshpiel.” The Purim skit, accompanying Temple Israel’s Purim service and the reading of Megillat Esther, will be based on the classic movie musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show,...