WEEKLY TORAH PORTION WITH RABBI BELLAS  

 

Shabbat Parashat Mikeitz/Erev Hanukkah

Jewish Heroine-ism

 

Hanukkah is not my favorite of the Jewish festivals. I often find it difficult to peel away the layers of the generations of the modern world that overlay the essence of what Hanukkah is supposed to be about: pride in the preservation of Jewish identity and a rededication to Jewish practice. Fortunately, there are two heroines of Jewish history who have been connected to the celebration of Hanukkah who highlight aspects of this theme and allow us to rededicate our own minds to Hanukkah's essence. The tales of bravery of both Judith and Hannah (the one with seven sons in the time of the Romans, not the Hannah of the Book of I Samuel) inspire us, are similar to that of the heroic Maccabees and are very fitting tales (though not for the faint of heart or the squeamish) in connection to the Hanukkah festival. These women take matters into their own hands and take control over their destinies and, in the case of Judith, the destiny of her entire town in the face of a Greek siege

 

 

Shabbat Shalomand Hag Urim Samei'ah!,

 

Avoid disappointment! Some classes have minimum numbers to run. Please register by Friday, December 21st.

Visit this link to download registration forms or pick up hard copies at the office

Here's what on offer:

Mondays: K-2 Floor Hockey
Tuesdays: 1-6 Basketball, 5-7 Acrylic Painting
Wednesdays: 3-6 Floor Hockey, 1-4 Yoga, 1-4 Mad Science
Thursdays: 5-7 Yoga, 1-5 Hip Hop, K-3 & 3-6 Digivations

Registration deadline is FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21st!

Click here to volunteer at our Games Night.

Don't forget to submit your (minimum) $5 donation to your classroom teacher so our committee can purchase wonderful prizes for the evening. We've eliminated burdening parents with the task of buying individual prizes.

100% participation--from preschool to Grade 7--is the goal! This will allow for many gift baskets and gift cards to be won. Thank you in advance for your contributions!

Grade 3 students marveled at Sheila Romalis's international dreidel collection. Her granddaughter, Dahlia Levitt, was especially proud to host her bubby, an anthropologist, at VTT.

One's never too young nor too old to learn about good nutrition! Thanks to VTT parent and nutritionist Arlaina Waisman for sharing her experience with Grade 4 students.

Last week Grade 4 students participated in their first "Open Mic" where they shared they poetry while sipping on hot chocolate and enjoyed the sounds of a crackling fire (projected on a screen, of course!).

A visit to the Police Museum found some Kindergarten students trapped in a prison cell.

 

Thanks to a very generous annual donation by Grade 2 student Matthew Kape's aunt in Montreal (who works for Doris Hosiery), our students will far exceed their goal of collecting 1000 pairs of socks for those in need. The company couriered THREE BOXES of socks to our school!


The pictures are so cute that two have to be shared! K2 students celebrated 50 days of school by dressing in 50s styles.

Hanukkiyot are essential to celebrating Hanukkah. Many classes have been working hard to create their own for the festival of lights.

Fun with beads in Preschool 4.