What’s Happening

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...

Friday, July 21, 5:15–6:15 pm Ohef Sholom Temple Experience inner peace, soul nourishment, and personal transformation through the vibration resonance of chanting texts and quartz and gemstone singing bowls. A brief teaching, chant practice, sound healing, and time...

Sunday, July 9, 10 am Just as Hans Christian Andersen’s Rumpelstiltzken spun straw into gold for the miller’s daughter, every year Congregation Beth El spins its members’ gently used clothing, jewelry, and other items into funds to support the synagogue’s operations....

Shira Low Itzhak, a United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Women’s Cabinet member, will undertake a grueling bike ride on July 19. Along with 250 other women, she will ride 75 miles from New Jersey through the Catskill Mountains of New York. The World’s Greatest Finish...

Friday, June 9, 7 pm The Tidewater Chavurah will hold its second Friday of the month Shabbat service at the home of Hal and Elaine in the Great Neck Meadows area of Virginia Beach. Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill will lead the service, with prayers and joyful songs. An Oneg...

Opens: Friday, June 2, Leon Family Art Gallery Opening reception: Tuesday, June 6, 5:30–8 pm Artist Elizabeth Passerieux will exhibit her work in the Leon Family Art Gallery on the second floor of the Simon Family JCC. Passerieux was born in Montpellier, France in...

Thursday, June 1, 7 pm The near-record audience turnout for In Our Hands: The Battle for Jerusalem on May  23, has prompted a one-night encore in cinemas nationwide. The film marks the 50th anniversary of Israel’s Six-Day War and brings to vivid life onscreen the...

Friday, June 16 The absence of Ann Zukerman* after her untimely passing late last year continues to be keenly felt by all who knew her. In keeping with Ann’s appreciation for Torah lectures and tasteful events, her family—under the leadership of Ann’s husband Herb—has...

Sunday, June 18, 2 pm, Beth Sholom Home Under the direction of Marilyn Buxbaum, the Frailache Klezmer Band will perform at Beth Sholom Home. The program will feature traditional Eastern European melodies, songs of the Yiddish Theater, as well as more modern Israeli...

Tuesday, May 23, select theaters This spring marks the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War. CBN Documentaries commemorates this historic battle with the new film, In Our Hands: the Battle for Jerusalem. For centuries, the Jewish nation had been in exile. Then, for a...

Sunday, June 4–Tuesday, June 6 Washington, DC A leading global Jewish advocacy organization, AJC has unparalleled access to government officials, diplomats, and religious leaders, engaging worldwide opinion and policy leaders at the highest levels. The annual...

Sunday, Feb. 10, 11 am What does an African American, an evangelical Christian and a Jewish college student have in common? They are the featured speakers at this year’s AIPAC brunch at Ohef Sholom Temple. As in years past, the Ohef Sholom Temple Men’s Club,...

Sunday, Feb. 17, 10–11:30 am With Purim approaching on Feb. 24, thoughts turn to the great heroine of the Tanakh, Queen Esther. Esther had the courage to use her position to save the Jewish people. Few people have the opportunity for such dramatic heroism today, but...

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...