PURIM AT VTT

We shook things up a bit this year and offered our students new opportunities to experience fun and frolic during this most festive of holidays. A very special thank you to Fred Cohen for spearheading the change and to Rabbi Bellas for his support and for his innovative reading of the Megillah (with important chanting help from seventh grade student Sophie Visscher-Lubinizki).

VTT Celebrates Purim--Trailer

Preschool students enjoyed music and dance to the beats of Drum Mama Studios and K through 3s were entertained by Bubbles the Clown. The Grade 7s did much of the organizing for the carnival and introduced the velcro wall and dunk tank, much to everyone's delight (and a very brave Eden Lyons was the first student to get dunked!). A very special thank you to the Vancouver Fire Department for their assistance in filling the tank and to Partyworks Rentals for the discounts on the two attractions.

WEEKLY TORAH PORTION/PARASHAT HA'SHAVUAH by Rabbi Matthew Bellas

Shabbat Parashat Ki Tissa

"We Are All Equal in the Eyes of the Lord"

This week's parasha contains one of the most well-known and difficult events in the Torah narrative: the making and worshipping of the Golden Calf. As important as this story is to understanding the Israelites' experience and state of mind after having come out of slavery, this story is not the most important and meaningful part of this week's parasha. At the very beginning of the portion, God commands Moses to take another census of the Children of Israel. The counting would occur by means of the collection of half-shekel coins from each adult male. However, in the specifics of God's command to Moses, we find the following instruction: "the wealthy shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than the one-half shekel gift to the Lord." (Exodus 30:15) This qualification imparts an important value to the Israelite community at that time and to our Jewish community of today.

 

The half-shekel gift to God served a very particular purpose. Each half-shekel represented one adult-aged male in the community. To give more would represent an individual attempting to "be more" than others. Giving less would mean that an individual was not acting as a fully participating member of the community. By requiring each person to contribute an equal amount, God is leveling the playing field for each and every adult.  

 

Read more online... 

NEED PPP HOURS?

WE HAVE LOTS OF JOBS FOR CINDERELLA

Operation "Adopt A Unit" - Purim 2011

Japan's version of Jewcy Cuisine!
For those of you who recall the origami fundraiser VTT students held last year to raise money for tsunami victims (students from the school pictured above), the Vancouver Observer did a one-year follow up story with kudos to our students. Read the article here.


  

P3 students use their powers of investigation to study plant life.