Jewish News - 2022 Year In Review!

Forever Helping Others

YEAR IN REVIEW

Jewish Tidewater 2022…another busy year

Terri Denison

television program, film, or even a Jewish or Israeli recipe.

Bill Goldback’s legacy lives on through the arts.

Bill, who died in 2007, left a donation in his will for the performing arts in Hampton Roads.

The William A. Goldback Fund continues to support arts groups and other causes in our community.

Visit LeaveABequest.org

Jewish-related

news made more mainstream headlines in 2022 than most of us could ever recall. The topics receiving the most national and global coverage included news about Ukraine’s Jewish president, Jewish U.S. politicians, Israel’s election (again!), the synagogue hostage situation in Texas, Holocaust education in schools, security needs for synagogues and Jewish organizations, and certainly not to be omitted, blatant antisemitism. Occasionally, some good and pleasant news also appeared…perhaps about a Jewish holiday, actor, book,

This review of 2022, however, concentrates only on Jewish Tidewater as reported in Jewish News. With the return to in-person gatherings, there was plenty to write about! This is, however, just a sample, as space is limited. Want more? Go to JewishNewsVa.org, click on the E-Edition icon and you can re-read all of this year’s issues, as well as years and years of past newspapers.

In 2022, Jewish Tidewater was generous, caring, active, inquisitive, and had fun, too.

JANUARY

Former Norfolk resident Bob Saget , comedian and actor famous for playing a wholesome sitcom father figure, but who never lost his flair for raunchy comedy, dies at 65, shortly after performing in Orlando, on Saturday, January 8, where he had delivered a show with his trademark mashup of dark humor and dad jokes that he first developed while misbehaving in Temple Israel’s Hebrew school.

On his first day in office, Saturday, January 15, Governor Glenn Youngkin issues an Executive Order establishing a commission to combat anti-Semitism in the Commonwealth of Virginia. “Virginia must once again lead the way in ensuring religious freedom and equality for all citizens,” he says.

Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day[s] 2022 takes place via Zoom. Meetings with Delegates and Senators are held Monday, January 31; Tuesday, February 1; and Thursday, February 3.

FEBRUARY

Local Holocaust survivors, New Americans, Jewish Family Service Senior

Acculturation Case Manager Alla Gean, and volunteers living at Granby and Suburban Houses gather at the home of Semen Shilman to honor him and his family to celebrate Shilman’s 100th birthday on Friday, Feb 4. A Veteran of WWII, Shilman received a Certificate of Recognition, a bouquet of roses, and $100 in gift cards from JFS.

Chabad of Tidewater’s Family Havdallah Glow Party is a huge hit. The event takes place after Shabbat on Saturday, February 5 at Chabad House to welcome the new week in style.

29th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film , presented by Alma & Howard

Laderberg takes place February 24–28. Four fascinating films with diverse topics are shown.

MARCH

The Tidewater Ukraine Emergency Fund is established at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. 100% of donations will be distributed to UJFT’s overseas partners: JDC, JAFI, ORT and others. Tidewater Jewish Foundation provides a $25,000 match opportunity for donations to this fund.

“Not much is more important than the security of our community,” says Betty Ann Levin, UJFT’s executive vice president/ CEO.

To better protect the Jewish community who worship and attend area synagogues, day schools, and other Jewish agencies in Tidewater, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater with support from a Tidewater Jewish Foundation community impact grant, joins with

Judy Rosenblatt and Bob Saget at age 13.

Harley Lubic looking glowtactic.

Roie Galitz.

YEAR IN REVIEW

the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond and United Jewish Community of the Virginia Peninsula to partner with Secure Community Network to enhance local security programs in 2020.

Secure Community Network was established under the auspices of the Jewish Federations of North America (UJFT’s national umbrella agency) and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

SCN strives to enhance the safety and security of those within 147 Federations, the 50 largest Jewish non-profit organizations in North America, and more than 300 independent Jewish communities.

For a couple of days, meetings and trainings are offered by UJFT in partnership with SCN and the FBI Norfolk Chapter of InfraGard at the Sandler Family Campus for all members of all faiths of the Jewish and greater Tidewater communities. InfraGard is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and members of the private sector for the protection of U.S. Critical Infrastructure. More than 500 people attend the various sessions over the course of two days, including Representative Elaine Luria and Attorney General Jason Miyares.

Operation Hamantaschen joins forces with Sunday Fun Day.

PJ Library in Tidewater, in partnership

with Strelitz International Academy and Camp JCC, gather with the community at the Sandler Family Campus for a Purim celebration on Sunday, March 13. Dressed in colorful costumes ready to participate in Operation Hamantaschen, families receive everything they need to make their own hamantaschen cookies.

The Guiding Hand: The Barr Foundation Collection of Torah Pointers exhibit opens March 24 at the Chrysler Museum of Art. The extensive collection of Torah pointers assembled by Clay Barr is the first exhibition of Judaica at the Chrysler

Museum several decades.

Approximately 150 Torah pointers, or yads, from the Barr Foundation collection are included in the months long exhibit.

Seth Michael Carlson, (American) Polyhedra Torah pointer, 2018 Silver and gold Lent by the Barr Foundation

Charlie Nusbaum receives the VCIC Humanitarian Award on Thursday, March 24 at an event in Virginia Beach.

At Strelitz International Academy’s Evening of the Arts: How We Express Ourselves, parents watch their children perform on stage, many for the first time, on Thursday, March 24

Twenty Tidewater middle schoolers and teens attend the first “Dive in Movie” in the Simon Family JCC indoor pool on Saturday, March 26.

Teens enjoy competitive relay races as a part of the Teen Dive in Movie program.

APRIL

Through the efforts of its rabbi, Ellen Jaffe-Gill, Tidewater Chavurah receives a Torah scroll to use during Shabbat and holidays. Rabbi Jaffe-Gill acquires the scroll through the Jewish Community Legacy Project , an organization that helps small congregations with planning resources and solutions.

Since its inception in 2011, Beth Sholom Village’s The Janet Gordon Annual Mah Jongg Event and Luncheon never missed a year…until COVID-19 hit. An event

continued on page 8

Curtis family.

that evolved from a tournament with competitive play to a day of play with a smaller group of die-hard tournament players, returns with much appreciation on Sunday, April 3.

More than 40 seniors enjoy matzah and music as they celebrate Passover at a festive community Seder at the Simon Family JCC on Tuesday, April 12.

The first Virginia Congressman to sign the bipartisan Pascrell-Latko letter, demanding increased funding to protect synagogues and houses of worship, the now late Congressman Donald McEachin visits the Sandler Family Campus for a quick conversation and lunch with a diverse group of members of Tidewater’s Jewish community.

Emphatically stating that he is “Proud to stand with Israel,” McEachin recalled that he learned from his parents to “stand by your friends.”

Recently announced by Tidewater Jewish Foundation and the Feldman Family, The Feldman Family Medical and Health Professions Scholarship Fund is an annual scholarship that will award up to $10,000 a year to Jewish students living in Virginia—with priority given to Hampton Roads residents—who have been accepted to matriculate at a Virginiabased institution for a degree in their chosen healthcare field.

Yom Hashoah Commemoration takes place on Wednesday, April 27 at Congregation Beth El. The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s

annual community event to honor the Holocaust Day of Remembrance, includes as guest speaker, Holocaust survivor Dr. Al Munzer, a candle lighting ceremony, and prayers from area clergy and leadership.

More than 20 members of the community join Jeffrey F. Brooke in a letter to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and others asking them to consider appointing Jewish judges to the Virginia Supreme Court. The letter is sent on April 13. The letter highlights the fact that there has never been a Jewish judge on the Virginia Supreme Court.

In late April, Annie Sandler, along with eight other board members and staffers of the JDC (Joint Distribution Committee) and student volunteers from Active Jewish Teens (AJT), travel to Poland to visit Ukrainian refugees

MAY Jewish Family Service’s Annual Run, Roll, or Stroll returns on Sunday, May 1 to the 31st Street Park in Virginia Beach. After two years of postponing due to COVID, this year’s Run, Roll, or Stroll has a record turn-out, with more than 350 people registering.

Yom Ha’Atzmaut attracts one of its largest crowds on Sunday, May 1 at the Sandler Family Campus. The Israel Independence Day celebration is the first large-scale in-person event for the holiday since before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Society of Professionals’ “Power Series” presents The Wind is Blowing Our Way, with a panel of experts on Tuesday, May 3 at the Sandler Family Campus.

B’nai Israel’s Annual Ann Zukerman Scholar in Residence features Rabbi Tzvi Flaumm Thursday, May 19–Saturday, May 21.

The mitzvah of disposing of Jewish text takes place with a clean up and burial on Sunday, May 22 at Mikro Kodesh Cemetery

The Simon Family JCC’s Annual Fishing Derby on Sunday, May 22 at the Sandler Family Campus is a success with many participants reeling in the fish from Lake Sandler.

Seventy five years of Jewish News are explored and celebrated in a special issue of the paper.

29th annual celebration of National Senior Health + Fitness Day on Wednesday, May 25 at the Simon Family JCC includes group fitness classes, raffles, games, prizes, and featured speakers.

AUTO ACCIDENTS | SERIOUS INJURY | WRONGFUL DEATH

Annie Sandler with Diego at Operation Blessing tent. All of the tents were at a border crossing at Medyka.

YEAR IN REVIEW

JUNE

On Wednesday, June 1, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Cabinet hosts its annual Spring Lunch at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach. The topic that resonated with everyone there was…Ukraine.

A good-bye Kiddush at B’nai Israel and night of learning in honor of Rabbi Sender Haber and his family takes place around the Shavuos holiday of June 5–6.

Congregation Beth El bids farewell to Rabbi Arthur and Miriam Brunn-Ruberg on Saturday, June 11 at Shabbat morning services. A festive luncheon follows.

Jewish News celebrates recent graduates

Jewish geography: Who Knows One? takes place on Thursday, June 30, at the Sandler Family Campus. The evening is filled with laughs.

JULY

Brith Sholom Annual’s Indoor Picnic and Bingo is held on Sunday, July 3 at the Masonic Temple in Norfolk.

Primary years students at Strelitz Internation Academy enjoy a Shavuot Mitzvah Fair on Friday, June 3. Richard Glasser’s family dedicates the unique holiday celebration in his memory.

Wonderful Wednesdays, with a variety of musical performances, begins its season at The Jewish Museum and Cultural Center on Wednesday, July 6.

Charlie Nusbaum is elected Tidewater Jewish Foundation chair,

Local golfer Jeffrey Flax competes in the 2022 Israeli Maccabi Games with the U.S. Masters Golf Team (for 50 and over). The team consists of six players from all over the U.S. Flax wins an individual Bronze medal as well as helps the U.S. Masters Golf Team bring home the Gold.

Evan Nied, a Virginia Beach teen, wins the $36,000 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award from the Helen Diller Family Foundation for his work in planting trees to mitigate the disastrous effects of climate

change. The award is for his nonprofit organization Planting Shade, which has not only exceeded its initial goal of planting 1,000 trees with nearly 12,000 trees across different states, countries, and continents, but also increases literacy about the impact of climate change.

Residents in the Little Neck community of Virginia Beach woke up on Sunday, July 24 to find antisemtic fliers scattered throughout multiple neighborhoods. The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) was notified and quickly in touch with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, as well as the AntiDefamation League (ADL) and Virginia continued on page 10

Charlie Nusbaum.

Evan Nied.

Photo courtesy Mona and Jeffrey Flax. Jeff Flax (third from left) with U.S. Masters Golf Team.

YEAR IN REVIEW

continued from page 9

Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC). Virginia Beach law enforcement quickly responded, collected the fliers, and spoke to many who received them. Similar fliers have been distributed in Richmond, Tampa, Fla., and elsewhere, by the Goyim Defense League (GDL), a group the ADL notes as “a loose network of individuals connected by their virulent antisemitism.”

Governor Youngkin appoints David Abraham, Beth Sholom Village’s president and CEO. to the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority.

Tidewater Jewish Foundation hosts Sofer Rabbi Moshe Druin for an evening educational experience. Rabbi Druin spends nearly a week in town examining area congregations’ torahs.

AUGUST

Team Virginia Beach competes at JCC Maccabi Games in San Diego

Nancy Engel retires as Jewish Family Service’s executive administrative assistant on August 4 after serving the organization more than 33 years.

SEPTEMBER

Sunday, September 18 is called a “Super Day” for the Sandler Family Campus. Dedication ceremonies for the Marty Einhorn Pavilion brings out nearly 100 people to dedicate the new outdoor structure in memory of a beloved member of the community.

The U.S. wrestling team in Jerusalem.

Super Sunday follows the dedication, raising $209,203.50 for the 2023 Community Campaign.

Sunday Fun Day takes place at the same time as Super Sunday for families.

The Strelitz Golf Tournament takes place on Monday, September 19 at Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club in Virginia Beach.

Area congregations welcome congregants for the High Holidays with updates on COVID and other safety protocols.

OCTOBER

Aya Sever and Alma Ben Chorin, Tidewater’s Shin Shiniot arrive in Norfolk on Thursday, August 18.

End of Summer Family Shabbat and Pool Party takes place on Friday, August 19 at the Simon Family JCC.

Holocaust Commission holds 15th Educators’ Conference: Reflections of the Past: Words STILL Matter. This year’s conference is a partnership between the Commission, the Virginia Beach Public Schools, and Echoes & Reflections, a leading professional education organization for teachers of Holocaust in the country.

Ohef Sholom Temple celebrates Music Director Chuck Woodward’s 40th anniversary with a special service and Oneg Shabbat.

Israel Today holds the first of six monthly briefings on Thursday, October 6 to learn what’s happening in Israel with Jerusalem Post’s Lahav Harkov.

Lahav Harkov.

David Proser assumes helm of Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis and Cantors.

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s

YEAR IN REVIEW

Yellow is the color of remembrance at Jewish Museum and Cultural Center on Sunday, October 16. JMCC in Portsmouth hosts its first event in partnership with the Atlanta-based Daffodil Project and Am Yisrael Chai. The site of the daffodil garden is the lot next to the museum.

A thoughtful discussion on the “art” of community building is a topic of conversation at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s LionTikva-Chai Lunch at the Sandler Family Campus.

Barbara Dudley, Women’s Cabinet chair, opens the lunch with a welcome and campaign update. Mona Flax, immediate past Cabinet chair, recognizes the community’s newest milestone givers in the women’s division and calls the names of the community’s beloved endowed Lions, of blessed memory.

BeAR literacy program welcomes new and returning mentors for the 2022/2023 school year on Oct. 24.

Joe Perlov speaks on Shifting Borders: The Map of Israel Past and Present on Wednesday, October 26 at the Sandler Family Campus. His presentation receives rave reviews as people say they now understand Israel’s map.

NOVEMBER

Perspectives on basketball, the Holocaust, and what one author calls “Grace,” Dan Grunfeld speaks on Wednesday, November 2 as part of the Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival.

Congregation Beth Chaverim celebrates its 40th anniversar y on Sunday, Nov. 6.

Wiesenthal…a one-man show at the Wells Theater on Tuesday, November 15 has a packed house with students from across Tidewater viewing the show at a special performance the next morning.

JDC’s country director briefs community groups on ongoing efforts in Ukraine

Tidewater’s Jewish community celebrates its beautiful new Mikvah Taharas Chaya on Sunday, November 20. The Mikvah is located on Spotswood Avenue in Norfolk.

Ohef Sholom Temple and Freemason Street Baptist Church’s 95th annual Thanksgiving Service takes place this year at the church with Rabbi Roz speaking on Wednesday, November 24.

U.S. Attorney’s Office hosts ‘United Against Hate’ on Wednesday, November 30 at the Sandler Family Campus.

DECEMBER

Tidewater Jewish Foundation receives Coastal Virginia Magazine’s Giving Back Award.

An evening of song and music at Congregation Beth El on Sunday, Dec. 4 features Cantor Michelle Cohn Levy of B’nai Vail Congregation and Coleen Dieker, a composer, arranger, and vocalist.

The Commission to Combat Antisemitism releases it’s report on Antisemitism in Virginia on Monday, December 5. The report receives both local and national attention.

Local Relationships Matter

MEET: Bob Lehman, MD

“We have to give back. This community has been generous to me and I want to do all I can to help the community and those who live here. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t try to do something for someone in the community.”

“The [Payday] staff is dedicated and helpful which I think reflects the attitude from the top. So many of the employees have been there long term which speaks well for a business. Many of the employees bring their children to me. I feel as if we are family.”

Our client relationships are anything but transactional. We are long-term partners, dedicated to the success of our clients, and most importantly, their people.

A conversation with author Jessica Nordell on  The End of Bias: A Beginning takes place on Thursday, December 8 at the Sandler Family Campus.

Groundbreaking for Aviva Pembroke , an independent living com plex, is well attended by local politicians, members of

the Jewish community and Pembroke Square Associates executives on Friday, December 9.

Hanukkah Sunday Fun brings more than 150 people to the Simon Family JCC on Sunday, December 11 for an early holiday

Joe Perlov.

Dan Grunfeld.

Barbara Dudley.