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Tarbut V'Torah Shabbat Shalom
from Derek Gavshon, Acting Head of School
April 30, 2010
In This Issue
PARSHAT OF THE WEEK
THE CUBS' ROAR
ISRAEL EXPO COMING TO TVT
MR. LINCOLN ELECTED LEAD HS PHYSICS TEACHER
STUDENT VOLUNTEERS AID TVT/COLLEGES
8TH ANNUAL ACADEMIC RESEARCH CONFERENCE AWARDS ANNOUNCED
DID YOU KNOW??
SLIDESHOWS POSTED TO WEBSITE
INSIDE THE LIONS' DEN
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THIS WEEK AT TVT
 MAY 2
 
SAT EXAMS
 
ISRAEL EXPO
 
AP STATS REVIEW

 
 
MAY 3
 
LAG B'OMER CELEBRATION
 
AP EXAMS BEGIN
 
TVT SOFTBALL
 
 
MAY 4

 
MS PARENT COFFEE
 
ART MASTERS STUDIO
 
GRADE 4 PARENT MTG
 
TVT BASEBALL

 

MAY 5
 
GRADE 5: POETRY RECITAL
 
MS TEFILLAH
 
GRADE 8: FIELD TRIP
 
 
MAY 6
 
MS BOYS' VOLLEYBALL
 
DANCE RECITAL
 
 
MAY 7
 
KABBALAT SHABBAT
 
SHAVUOT REHEARSAL
 

 
MAY 9
 
MOTHER'S DAY
 
 
 

PARSHAT OF THE WEEK:  EMOR

The Anonymous Gift

 
In this week's Torah portion, God instructs the owners of fields that:
 
"When you reap the harvest from your land, you shall not remove ... the corners of your field... For the poor ... shall you leave them . . .        ( Lev. 23:23)

A LIFE LESSON
God tells the Jewish people that they need to a leave a corner of their fields unharvested to allow the poor to come and take from it. God doesn't tell them to give some of their crops to the poor, but rather they should leave them some of their crops. The difference, although seemingly insignificant, is actually quite powerful.
 
When someone in need has to take from someone else, this not only takes courage but can also be quite embarrassing.
God created all of us with an immense feeling of pleasure when we're able to be self-sufficient.
There are times when we all need help from someone else of one kind or another. But the want and thirst not to be completely dependent upon someone else for our basic needs are innate within all of us.
 
In an effort to allow the receiver of the crops not to feel ashamed, God tells the owner of the field to leave the crops
. This way, perhaps in the middle of the night, the one who's in need can simply take without any embarrassment. To be able to pick up the crops with no one seeing him is an effort to lessen the receiver's emotional pain of knowing that at this moment he is dependent upon someone else for life's necessities.
 
What if you don't have a field in which to leave your crops? Today most people aren't farmers and the Torah is also an instruction guide for living in modern times. So, what lesson does this come to teach us?
Perhaps it's sometimes to give to others without ever letting them or anyone ever know that it was you who gave. To give anonymously to someone powerfully demonstrates that your motives are totally altruistic and you seek nothing in return expect for knowing that you helped someone in need.
 
The more you can give without the receiver ever knowing who you are, the more you'll be giving for the right reasons.
It will be all about them and not about you. It won't be for the sake of an award, gratitude, or to see your name in lights. Rather, you'll be giving because you know that God simply "decided" that you should, as opposed to the one who's now in need. You're merely God's "go-between" to leave for others some of what God so graciously gave to you.
 
Giving in this way not only ensures that the recipient won't be embarrassed, but it also gets you completely in touch with the true and only source of all your possessions. And when you do this, you prepare yourself to receive God's blessing always to be an agent to give.
                                                                                                          As told by Adam Lieberman
 
Shabbat Shalom!

THE CUBS' ROAR

Click for this week's Cubs' Roar

SUNDAY  SAT ALERT

There is so much happening this Sunday! If your student is taking the SAT at TVT, leave a little earlier, just in case you need to pass the route of the     O.C. Marathon. Click OC MARATHON for the route.

ISRAEL EXPO COMING TO TVT!

 
Israel Expo Coming to TVT!
Israel Expo
 
Sunday May 2, 1-6pm
Free Admission
 

Live Entertainment - Great Food - Attractions - Green Pavillon - Shopping - Community Celebration & More!
 
They even have a fun video, featuring the TVT campus here:

For more information:
www.JewishOrangeCounty.org/Expo or click HERE  

MR. LINCOLN ELECTED LEAD HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS TEACHER IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!


James Lincoln1
Mr. James Lincoln attending
the SCAAPT  meeting at
   Cypress College
 
James Bill
  Mr. Lincoln receives a congratulatory handshake form his mentor Bill
                  Layton, the current president of SCAAPT

This past weekend, Mr. James Lincoln was unanimously elected as the Southern California American Association of Physics Teachers' Vice President, in charge of advising and overseeing area high schools. This two year position puts him in charge of decisions and recommendations the association makes with regards to high school physics curricula and the content of upcoming meetings.  After being elected, Mr. Lincoln gave a 20 minute talk on the "History of the Symbols and Constants Used in Physics"  to an audience of Physics teachers and professors, including three of his own professors from UCLA.  This summer Mr. Lincoln will present his research at the National AAPT meeting in Portland, including his talk entitled "Noticeable Errors in Artificial Gravity of Rotating Space Stations." 

Congratulations, Mr. Lincoln!
 
For more information on the American Association of Physics Teachers, please visit http://www.csupomona.edu/~scaapt

STUDENT VOLUNTEERS AID TVT/COLLEGES

On Sunday, April 25th, 21 of our students volunteered their time working with the National College Fair in Anaheim California.  This year's National College Fair, chaired by our very own Director of College Counseling, Mr. Clint Davis, welcomed more than 220 colleges and universities from around the nation and the world to the Anaheim convention center.  More than 3000 high school students from around Orange County visited with college representatives and attended workshops focused on college athletic recruiting, the college application process, financial aid, and selective college admissions.
 
sukksh
 
Mr. Davis would like to thank the following students for dedicating their Sunday afternoon to assisting with this year's National College Fair:
             
Nicole Babaknia      (11th)
               Adina Brin               (11th)               
Brianna Broussard   (11th)
Zach Gayer              (11th)
Asher Genoot          (11th)
Max Grossman        (11th)
Erin Gurewitz          (11th)
Ryan Kasoff             (11th)
          Shaina Katabian     (11th)          
Ashlyn Katz             (12th)
Davana Linkon        (11th)
Gaby Natelson        (11th)
Jared Nuetel           (11th)
Maya Or                 (12th)
Alex Sable             (11th)
Jessica Samson     (12th)
Nicole Samuels      (12th)
Shanni Suissa        (11th)
Jena Vogel             (11th)

EIGHTH ANNUAL ACADEMIC RESEARCH CONFERENCE AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Congratulations to all winners and participants! This year's top awards were divided into two categories:
 
TVT (Power Point Presentations):

1st place (93.57/100) - Einav Nachman  (11th Grade) 
The Biological Outlook of Mathematics
 
sukksh

2nd place (87.143/100) - Matthew Cohen (8th),  Roi Elzur (8th) and Eitan Jaffe (8th)                                          

The Physics of Bridge Construction and Collapse    sukksh
 
 
3rd place (86.857/100) - Aaron Berdy (6th Grade)
Physics of the Impossible 
 
sukksh 
 
 
Poster Presentations:

1st place - Sara Frank of the San Diego Jewish Academy for             
Do See What I See                                       
2nd place - Yael Breziner of the San Diego Jewish Academy for    Let Us Talk About This
3d place - Samanta Viterbi of the San Diego Jewish Academy for Ultimate Energy Efficiency

Poster!

TVT Students Enjoyed the Exchange of Ideas.
Here, Koby Taswell (6thGrade) studies Sara Frank's winning poster entry. 

SPRING MUSIC SHOWCASE

Wednesday night's Spring Music Showcase was a rousing success!
 
Congratulations to all of our TVT musicians and their music teacher, Mr. Kevin Bachelder.
8th grade student, Lahna Sheron, with her dad, Michael, and her saxophone 
Lhana Sheron
 

DID YOU KNOW?? 

MEMORY AND HOPE- INSPIRATION FROM ELI WIESEL

This past week TVT US Students, David Gindi (11th), Shelby Moss (11th), Shaina Katibian (11th), Yuval Gur (10th), Amy Broukhim (11th),and Charles DeLoach (11th), together with their teacher, Mr. Damian Zoppo had the unique opportunity to hear Holocaust survivor, author, and lecturer Eli Wiesel speak at an event sponsored by Chapman University.
 
Hearing Eli Wiesel gave the students an ability to connect what they are learning in the classroom to real world experience. Mr. Wiesel has made it his life's mission to speak out against genocide and injustice wherever it is found. His personal experience of the Holocaust has led him to use his talents as an author, teacher, and storyteller to further human rights and peace throughout the world.
 
 
MOOT BEIT DIN  
                                                                                                              
A NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL DISCUSSION OF TORTURE AND JEWISH SACRED TEXTS
 
An unprecedented number of students at Jewish high schools throughout North America converged in Washington, DC, last weekend for the Moot Beit Din, an elite program for the advanced study of Jewish law. Counted among them was the team of TVT students, Justin Sass (10th), Atara Zwiren (10th), Amit Silverstein (10th), and Sara Weissman (10th), with their teacher Mr. Lee Weissman.
 

Jewish Ethics

Moot Beit Din enables students from Jewish high schools to delve into issues of Jewish law through creative engagement with contemporary situations. It provides students with an opportunity to explore the relevance of Halachah and to stretch their imagination in applying Jewish traditional resources to their lives and to the modern world. Every year, RAVSAK prepares a new case on a topic that has not yet been adjudicated within a Halachic framework. After intensive study of Jewish sources, students prepare written decisions. They present and defend their decisions before judges during oral argument at the competition. The " TVT 4"spent this past winter exploring what Jewish texts have to say about torture. Their exploration prepared them to enter this national competition.
 
Throughout the course of the trip the "TVT 4" had the opportunity to meet and socialize with students from other Jewish day schools, see some sites of Washington DC, participate in a Tzedakah Project, and of course, compete in the Beit Din Competition.
 
 
DAN NICHOLS MAKES THE OLD NEW AND THE NEW HOLY THROUGH JEWISH MUSIC

Nationally recognized Jewish Musician, Dan Nichols, graced the halls of TVT today and filled them with uplifting song!  Dan is one of the most popular and influential Jewish musicians in North America, performing over 200 concerts a year. Eighteen, Dan Nichol's music company, is Modern Jewish Rock -  a place where Jewish values and themes are communicated through a sound with which today's youth can fully connect. Eighteen's music is about celebrating Judaism - with melodies and harmonies, acoustic and electric guitars, drums, bass, and a lot of ruach, spirit.
We thank the Foundation of the Jewish Federation  its grant, for sharing the gift of Dan Nichols with TVT's students. It was a real treat!

SLIDESHOWS POSTED TO WEBSITE

 Slideshow

Visit our NEWS & VIEWS to see photos from Youth Art Month and the Lower School Yom Ha'Atzmaut celebration, both of which were posted recently.

INSIDE THE LIONS' DEN

US Sports
Tennis:  : 
The Lions opened their week with 8 wins against Whiney; 3 singles matches by Matthew Littman, two more by Micah Goldsman, and two doubles matches. Tuesday saw two singles and three doubles teams win against Sage Hill, while on Wednesday the Lions won six singles and one double match against J. Serra. 
 
Baseball:
Friday the boys' baseball team won against Hope Centre High School by the score of 12 to 8. Tuesday night they made Coach Corrigan proud all over again with a  7-0 victory against Eastside Christian High School. According to Coach, this amazing score is also a big milestone because, "It has been four years since we last beat Eastside!"
 
Boys' Volleyball: The Lions lost to Saddleback Valley Christian two games to one. 

 
Golf:
 
 
 
MS Sports

Soccer:
Monday opened the CIF League Playoffs for Middle School Soccer. Though our girls were defeated by Anaheim Hills, the boys advanced to the next round with a 2-1 victory over Heritage Oak. Tuesday's semi-final match was intense with no points scored until the final few minutes. Great effort, boys! 
 
Congratulations to both teams for playing such an excellent season!