VANCOUVER TALMUD TORAH HAS STARTED ITS FIRST-EVER CROWD SOURCED FUNDING CAMPAIGN! (through indiegogo.com)
Although RAC Week (Random Acts of Chesed Week) occurred at the end of February, Grade 4 students have continued the theme of kindness and generosity through sharing articles and stories and the students' own thoughtful acts since then. A few weeks before Passover break, they stumbled upon the non-profit agency, Books With No Bounds. This is an organization started by two teenage sisters from Oakville, Ontario. (Perhaps you've seen them on a Shreddies commercial?) Their mission is to deliver books and other necessities to remote First Nations communities. Their goals inspired our students as they value both literacy and aboriginal issues. The Grade 4 students are now committed to supporting Books With No Bounds. According to the founders, gift cards to gas stations and Dollarama are of urgent need. To that end, during the last week of May, all the Grade 4 students will be "working" throughout the school in order to earn donations to help purchase the aforementioned gift cards. They will be assisting in classrooms, cleaning the playground, welcoming students and families in the morning and at the end of the school day, etc. They all are very excited to earn sponsorships to raise as much as they can to support Books With No Bounds. Amazingly, they are already halfway through their $500 goal.
To learn more, click this link.
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WEEKLY TORAH PORTION WITH RABBI BELLAS
Shabbat Parashat B'hukotai
Reward & Punishment as Obsolete Motivators
Fear of punishment and desire for reward serve as the biblical motivations for adherence to the laws of the Torah. The theme of reward and punishment is so powerful in our tradition that one of its key exemplary texts is positioned as the second main paragraph of the Sh'ma, which we find in our siddurim (prayer books), m'zuzot, and t'filin. Typically, the Israelites are informed that if they perform the positive mitzvot ("you shall do" commandments) and stay away from the behaviors forbidden in the negative mitzvot ("you shall not do" commandments), then the people will be blessed with rains in the proper seasons, bountiful crops, prosperous families, and success against enemy nations. In short, God's grace and protection would be with them. However, failure to obey the law would result in improper rains, sparse crops and famine, and military defeat at the hands of invading nations. The promise of such rewards and fear of these punishments were enough to keep the Israelites in line. The Bible also teaches, particularly in the prophetic period, that falling out of line was common. Divine punishments were the consequence, which led to quick repentance and a
return to the path of Torah and the blessing of rewards by Israel. If any of your children are in Grade 5, ask them if this sounds familiar from their study of the Book of Judges.
At varying points during the year, students in different grades have asked me: "Rabbi Bellas, what will happen if I don't do _________ (you fill in the blank: keep kosher, observe the laws of Shabbat...etc.)?" My answer to students is to explain that while this question stems from a biblical theological perspective that human actions and behaviors have direct divine consequences, a system that our students comprehend well as a result of their studies of the Bible, this is not the way that most modern Jewish communities understand the system of the commandments. It is important for modern liberal Jews to understand that this phrasing of the question is misplaced in our day and age. We can no longer simplify our lives down to divine reward and punishment.
Read more online . . .
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Matthew Bellas
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SCHOOL NEWS
 Mazal Tov to Adam W. in 2B. The Poetry Institute of Canada selected one of his story submissions for publication in an anthology! Students in 2A & 2B participated in the contest. Now that's more like it! Primary students spent Thursday at 6-Pack Indoor Beach to celebrate Lag B'Omer. The soft sand, in particular, kept the students playing and frolicking for hours. See all the photos here. Yes, that's a sewing machine in the Grade 4 classroom. Our multi-talented classroom aide, Advah Soudack, brought her machine to school to help with the final stages of Ms. Morrell's students' explorer hats. See some photos of the initial planning stages here.Eva Dobrovolska has been so moved by her studies on the Holocaust that she chose to represent her sentiments of imprisonment and freedom through a work of art, which she kindly donated to VTT. Eva is in sixth grade and loves to paint, especially birds. See her fabulous art work here.2C students spent a morning at the Oakridge Apple store to learn iMovie for a class project. (Photo courtesy of Marni Katz.)  Although it's hard to see, K3 students built a "bonfire" to celebrate Lag B'Omer. It is in the centre of the circle. It's never too early to learn about the great masters. Preschool 4 students are currently studying Jackson Pollock and tried their best to replicate his splatter art. |
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NEED TO REACH THE OFFICE TEAM IN A JIFFY?
| Send an email to office@talmudtorah.com to reach Debbie, Lihe, Natalie and Tammy in one fell swoop. Use this email for late notes, absent notes, bus requests, etc.
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DATES TO REMEMBER
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Light Shabbat candles
8:32 p.m.
Shabbat ends 9:50 p.m.
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Victoria Day--NO SESSIONSMonday, May 19
PRO-D Day--NO SESSIONS
Tuesday, May 20
Cookies & Classrooms for Incoming K students
Tuesday, May 20, 10-11 a.m.
Cambridge Uniforms will be at VTT on Friday, May 23 from 11-4
Call NOW to book your appt
604.924.9009
Parents MUST book with Cambridge. The company will not be calling families.
Yom Yerushalayim
Wednesday, May 28
1A & 1B Siddur Celebration
Friday, May 30, 8:45 a.m.
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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
PPP HOURS REDUCTION (TO 10)
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This year we have seen a reduction in the amount of volunteers needed by our school. We recognize that many of the volunteer hours typically available to our parent body were not available this year and that, as a result, many people may find it difficult to complete their 12 hour requirement. With this in mind, the P.P.P. volunteer requirement for the 2013/ 2014 school year has been reduced from 12 to 10 hours.
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DOES YOUR CHILD VISIT THE LEARNING COMMONS AFTER SCHOOL?
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Thursday:
Open until 4:30 p.m.
Friday: CLOSED
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Please pick up your children on time
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| Our students delighted audiences last Sunday at Festival Ha'Rikud, a VTT tradition since the program's inception 11 years ago. Special thanks to the JCC, Hofit Indyk, and parent coordinator, Gretchen DuMoulin. Israeli dance is a wonderful opportunity for our students to connect to Israeli culture and we value our annual participation in this vital program.
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COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Chabad of Richmond Presents A Family Picnic for Lag B'OmerSunday, May 18, 6 pm Steveston Community Park
Project SustenanceHelping to Fight Hunger 365 Days a Year Sunday, June 1, 1-4 p.m. JCC Music, arts & crafts, activities for families Beth Israel presents: The Moving Landscape of Identity for Converts to Judaism, A community discussionTuesday, June 3, 8 pm, JCC Sweet Shavuot Sweets: A gourmet cooking program for kids with Hilit NurickWednesday, June 4, 11:30am JCC Or Atid and Or Chadash Israeli dance auditionsThursday, June 12 5:30-7:00 p.m. JCC Hebrew U and Schara Tzedeck present a panel discussion, "Should I Change My Mind About Weed?"Tuesday, June 24 @7:30 Schara Tzedeck FREE, but advanced registration is required Camp Gan Israel Registration is ON!Camp dates: July 7-August 15, 2014
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SHONOT/ODDS 'N ENDS
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| Our Running Club will be participating in BC Children's Hospital's ChildRun on Sunday, June 1st. How about you! Come support Team Celia!
Click this link to sign up.
Has Holocaust denial gone mainstream? Read about a school district in California that asked their eighth graders to confirm or deny the veracity of the Holocaust.
Read about it here (updated link).
Wise advice from a wife. See what happened to this Rabbi's $67,000 nest egg and how he chose to spend it.
VTT parent Michelle Gilman's book, "What Grandma Built," received two ffavourable reviews in our local press. Read The Vancouver Sun critique here and the Vancouver Province summary here.
Don't forget! Copies for sale in Jennifer's office with proceeds benefiting the Canadian Cancer Society.
VTT alum, Matthew Boroditsky, made a very special wish after he fell ill with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Read about Matthew's generous act in this article.
Congratulations to the following VTT alumni on their recent success in the Lower Mainland Division 1 and 2 Rugby Championship:
Teddy Hector, Danny Greenberg, Jayden Bloom, Adam Cohen, Marc Levin, Jacob Klein, Noah Klein and Matthew Boroditsky.
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MISSION STATEMENT
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Vancouver Talmud Torah is a traditional Jewish community day school dedicated to excellence in an engaging and respectful learning environment in which Jewish children can become proud, caring, responsible, and dedicated members of the Jewish people and Canadian society.
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