News from Vancouver Talmud Torah 2011-06-10

Hadashot

Vancouver Talmud Torah's Weekly Newsletter

Vol. VI, Issue 35

June 10, 2011 8 sivan 5771

www.talmudtorah.com

CELEBRATE LEARNING.

CELEBRATE EXCELLENCE.

celebrate learning

A few weeks ago all families received an important letter themed "Celebrate Learning. Celebrate Excellence."

We encourage everyone to participate with this important request for funds as it will go towards our budget for programs and what we can offer our students.

It is the first time VTT has asked each and every family for support and we hope to get 100% participation.

Thank you in advance to our entire community!

To contribute online, please click here.

Parashat Ha'Shavuah/Weekly Torah Portion with Rabbi Matthew Bellas

Shabbat Parashat B'ha'alot'kha

Let the Light Shine Through and Go Canucks Go!!

rabbi bellas

At the beginning of this week's parasha, Aaron receives the laws for the lighting of the menorah in the mishkan (the Tabernacle or "portable desert Temple"). Each day of the week, one of the seven lamps was to be lit until the entire candelabra burned brightly. The menorah itself was hand-crafted of fine gold, a sign of the object's central role in Israelite worship. Even though the Jewish people no longer has its mishkan or its Holy Temple in Jerusalem, lamps and candles continue to play a major role in Jewish religious life.

In our tradition, fire and light serve as powerful reminders of many religious messages. Light is the first thing that God created in the Creation story. Therefore, light reminds us of God's and our own creative powers when we strike a match and kindle a flame. The light of the Shabbat and festival candles serve as reminders of the requirement for us to cease from creative work on these days, just as God ceased and completed the work of Creation on the seventh day. We light candles when we remember lost loved ones or fallen martyrs of Jewish history as a symbol of our wish that the light of their lives and their memories stay bright for us as we move forward. The eternal light of the Temple and synagogue remind us of God's everlasting presence in our lives. Finally, God commands the Israelites in the desert to act as an "or l'goyim" a light unto the nations of world, setting the example of moral and ethical behavior motivated by faith in God and Jewish values. Therefore, going back as far as the beginning of the world and our religious understanding of its origins, light fills a deeply rooted place in our behavioral existence.

The ritual and practical connections of light to Jewish life is the surface level of what light means within Judaism. Going deeper, it also represents emotional and spiritual energy. As the opposite of darkness, which symbolizes loneliness, depression, pessimism, and sadness, light stands for emotional warmth, closeness, community, hope, and optimism.

Sponsored by JCC & BI

Tuesday, June 28, 4-7:30pm

Best of Hebrew U--

Stretch Your Mind Series

Saturday & Sunday, Sep 17, 18

Check out Beth Israel's Special High Holy Day Family Membership Offers

Digivations Summer Camp at the JCC, for Grades 1-8

Robotics, Rockets, Structures and More!

SOME EASY PPP JOBS

Need an easy way to fulfill PPP hours?

We need people to help with doing inventory for TaL Am. Parents need to do the work in the school and need only be able to read Hebrew, not be a Hebrew speaker. We also need someone to count Tal Am books in Morah's Lily's Grade 5 class.

Contact Rabbi Bellas for more info.

INVITATION TO JOIN VANCOUVER TALMUD TORAH'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

In addition to the ongoing efforts of our school's teaching

faculty and administration, many in our community

work together with a shared vision towards continually

improving the quality of education our school provides

to our children.

Vancouver Talmud Torah Association is accepting

nominations for the 2011-2012 Board of Directors for the

following portfolios:

Development, Finance, Admissions, Human Resources,

Alumni, Communications & Public Relations, Strategic

Planning, Judaics, Governance, and Parent Affairs.

If you believe you are able to help us make a difference

and wish to be considered for a position on our Board of

Directors or on one of our committees, please indicate

your interest and background prior to June 30, 2011 to

Mr. Danny Shugarman: dshugarman@wt.ca
Tel: 604-682-5466

GIVING TO VANCOUVER TALMUD TORAH

Did you know that giving to VTT is easier than ever?

Click this link to access our secure online giving page
or feel free to email Tirzah Abraham in our development office. Please consider a minimum donation of $18 for tribute cards so that more funds can go towards our students.

Your contribution can be allocated to the following funds:

Library
Gita Kron
Atid Endowment
Building
Capital
Operations
Cristall Tikkun Olam Chair
Strathcona
Alumni
Performing Arts
MVP Fund
VTT Family Fund

To read more details about these funds, download our "Generosity" flyer.

Beautiful tribute cards, designed by Jasmine Sasky, are sent by the school development office to mark any number of occasions, milestones and/or life cycle events.