What’s Happening

Tuesday, May 2, 7:30 pm Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Guy Marom and Nir Margalith, Israeli chefs and founders of the tour group Puzzle Israel, will share their love of fresh, authentic Israeli food in a fun, hands-on Israeli Kitchen Encounter. At this culinary...

A multi-media program featuring Irv Elenberg, Mid-Atlantic regional director for the American Technion Society (ATS), will be presented by the Men's Club of Congregation Beth El and Avraham and Patricia Ashkenazi. Elenberg has transformed the Washington, DC office...

Wednesday, July 26, 7:30 am–4 pm, Norfolk Academy Batten Library Thursday, July 27, 7:30 am–5 pm, trip to the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Richmond The Holocaust Commission's 13th Biennial Educator's Conference, which continues a tradition of enabling teachers,...

Sunday, May 14, 5-7:30 pm Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Free for Moms in honor of Mothers' Day More than 400 people, young and old, gathered last year to light up the night sky with a blazing bonfire for an Israeli inspired Lag B'Omer Bash at the Sandler Family...

Thursday, April 20, 6–7 pm Sandler Family Campus So you’re planning to run the JFS Run, Roll or Stroll 8K, 5K, or 1 Miler. Now what? Maybe this is your first race or your 10th. Either way, it helps to get tips from experienced runners. Hear some great running tips...

Sunday, May 7 24th Street Park at the Virginia Beach Boardwalk With options of the 8K run, 5K run or walk, and 1-mile run/walk, Jewish Family Service’s 13th Annual Run, Roll or Stroll is open to both serious and not-so-serious athletes. This also includes those of all...

Sunday, April 30 11 am–4 pm Simon Family JCC The Simon Family Jewish Community Center’s largest celebration, Israel Fest, honors Israel’s 69th Independence Day. This annual festival offers the chance to experience some of the diverse culinary, cultural, and artistic...

Monday–Friday, May 30–July 31 Boys and girls, ages 5–18 Registration Deadline: May 26 The Simon Family JCC’s Athletic Leagues are gearing up for a season of good sportsmanship and teamwork. Open to all boys and girls, ages 5–18, the recreational competitive swim team...

Friday, April 14, 7 pm Rabbi Ellen Jaffe-Gill will lead Tidewater Chavurah’s second Friday of the month Shabbat service at the home of Hal and Elaine in the Great Neck Meadows area, Virginia Beach. A “congregation without walls,” events are held in members’ homes or...

Sunday, April 30, 11 am–4 pm Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Tuesday, May 2, 7:30 pm Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Puzzle Israel’s mission to taste, explore, experience, and discover Israel defines the creative life work of Israeli chefs and entrepreneurs, Guy...

Sunday, April 30, 11 am–4 pm, Simon Family JCC More than 1,600 people attended last year’s Simon Family JCC’s annual Israel Fest to experience a little piece of Israel without traveling more than 5,000 miles. Local temples and synagogues, volunteers, vendors, and...

Sunday, April 23, Ohef Sholom Temple Brunch: 10:30 am—Award presentation: 11 am For more than 35 years, Ohef Sholom Temple Men’s Club has bestowed the Henry B. Kaufmann Award upon a congregant who has demonstrated outstanding service to the temple and the community....

Storyteller helps little apple trees discover their roots Sunday, Nov. 18, 1pm Famed storyteller Peninnah Schram will be a featured speaker at the Lee and Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival. Schram is a storyteller, teacher, author, recording artist, and a...

Monday, Nov. 12, 11 am The Tidewater Jewish Foundation will hold a Veterans Day memorial event honoring Jewish War Veterans who have served the United States of America. Cultural myths about Jews and a perceived avoidance of military service persist. This Tidewater...

Community Shabbaton — Friday, Oct. 26–Sunday, Oct. 27 Over the past two years, a good new spirit has gathered strength in the local Jewish community, a spirit of collegiality and partnership, encompassing the synagogues in town and the United Jewish Federation of...

Thursday, Oct. 25 Want to eat some pizza and help a worthy cause at the same time? Jewish Family Service of Tidewater is hosting an all day “Pizza with a purpose night” at California Pizza Kitchen, at both the Virginia Beach and Norfolk restaurants. Participants must...

Sunday, Nov. 18, 4 pm Colonel Keith Gibson will discuss Moses J. Ezekiel as part of The Jewish Museum & Cultural Center’s Lecture Series 2012–2013, A Minority in the Midst of Conflict: Jewish Experiences During The Civil War. Few sculptors of the 19th century were...

Thursday, Oct. 25, 7 pm As Election Day nears, the candidates vying for Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District seat will address the Tidewater Jewish community and answer audience questions. The Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater...

Wednesday, Oct. 24 and Sunday, Nov. 4 Promoting understanding and building relationships between the Jewish community and other faith communities, is the mission of the outreach committee of the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater....

Thursday, Nov. 8, 12:30 pm Join the Community Relations Council for a Learn@Lunch program with David Cohen, the senior associate for Israel and Middle East Affairs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia as he talks about current events relating to Israel and...

Saturday, Nov. 3, 8 pm Some of Hampton Roads’ best local comedians will be featured at B’nai Israel’s 2nd Annual Comedy Night: Mike Easmeil, Jim Seward, Vince Pilato, Dwayne Murphy, Jr., Tim “The Big 44” Loulies and Sid Bridge. The evening will feature clean comedy...

Begins Sunday, Nov. 11, 2 pm The Jewish Museum & Cultural Center is presenting an exciting new series to discuss the differences in religious cultures, yet how many rituals are derived from the same ideas. The series takes place on the second Sunday of each month...

Pizza with a Purpose: Thursday, Oct. 25 It’s hard to imagine spending a holiday alone, but sadly, many adults right here in Tidewater do just that. As the holidays approach, JFS staff and volunteers reach out to these people with helping hearts, as part of the JFS...

Sunday, Nov. 4, 2:30pm The Virginia Opera performs Hansel and Gretel at the Simon Family JCC. Children are sure to enjoy one of the most beloved works in the operatic repertoire, based on the favorite Brothers Grimm fairy tale. This musical spectacle features favorite...

The 2012–2013 Nexus Interfaith Dialogue Series Monday, Oct. 15, 7:30 pm The annual series will explore the relationship between religion and art by looking at five modes of artistic expression from the perspective of two different religious traditions. The series...

Fri. Oct. 26 Beth El Shabbat Services and Dinner, 5:30 pm Sat. Oct. 27 Temple Israel Shabbat Morning Services, 9:30 am Sat. Oct. 27 B’nai Israel Motzei Shabbat Social, 9 pm Sun. Oct. 28 Ohef Sholom Brunch, 11 am David Elcott, a professor at New York University, will...

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 10:30 am Nutrition for older Americans is the focus of this program sponsored by Jewish Family Service of Tidewater at Gomley Chesed Congregation. Beth Gerstein, MS, RD, CNSC will review nutritional choices for older Americans, as well as engage in...

Sunday, Oct. 14 To kick off its new tennis program, the Simon Family JCC will host a Pro-Am Tennis Tournament. Darryl Cummings will provide his brand of tennis, offering a one-day tournament, featuring well-known players. Cummings, a former 20-year NCAA tennis coach...

Are you at risk for breast cancer? I did not think I was when I was diagnosed over six years ago. Early detection is the reason I am healthy and cancer free today. The Simon Family JCC has a team participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®. This event...

The national 2012 political races are in full swing. Pundits, media analysts and observers from all parties are paying close attention to campaigns in Virginia, considered a swing state. Particular scrutiny is being applied to the race for the open Senate seat being...

Jim Schuyler speaks on: Phoebe Yates Levy Pember: A Woman of Valor Sunday, Sept. 30, 4 pm name not often recognized, Phoebe Pember was a Jewish woman whose portrait is featured on a U.S. postage stamp. Why such a distinguished honor? Why has she been referred to as a...

He graduated with honors from Johns Hopkins University and planned to apply to medical school. Sound like a future doctor? Not so for Dan Ahdoot, whose New York City charm, likeability, and wit have earned him a reputation as one of the hottest young comics on the...