{"id":11073,"date":"2015-03-06T00:01:56","date_gmt":"2015-03-06T08:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=11073"},"modified":"2015-03-04T18:23:38","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T02:23:38","slug":"collaborative-kindness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/03\/06\/collaborative-kindness\/","title":{"rendered":"Collaborative kindness"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Elie Wiesel\u2019s The Power of Forgiveness<\/em>, the Nobel Prize winner describes the Jewish view of forgiveness. Specifically, that in order to be forgiven, one must first admit to wrongful action and apologize. With that teaching in mind, Grade 6 and 7 students from Vancouver Talmud Torah were asked the following question, \u201cDoes one wrong act of an individual reflect on an entire person or organization?\u201d \u201cNo!\u201d proclaimed the students. The question was posed in reference to the recent dousing in cold water of a homeless man outside a Tim Horton\u2019s on Robson Street.<\/p>\n

Non-judgment, compassion and good deeds are not just lessons to be learned, but a Jewish blueprint for a life to be lived. Over the past few months, VTT\u2019s students have been working on a service learning project that includes providing food for the homeless. When the time came to seek sponsors for this initiative, students suggested approaching Tim Horton\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people at Tim Horton\u2019s were so moved that they jumped at the opportunity without even considering what might be in it for them. They were intrigued by the fact that Jewish students were inviting Muslim and Catholic students to collaborate to help the needy \u2013 a value shared by all the three religions and complementary to the many good programs that Tim Horton\u2019s already does in the community,\u201d said Shoshana Burton, VTT\u2019s director of Jewish life and programming.<\/p>\n

With Tim Horton\u2019s support, on March 11, VTT students, along with seventh grade students from the Shia Ismaili Muslim community and St. Augustine School, will be serving 2,000 people food donated by Tim Horton\u2019s. They will also distribute 2,000 toques with the message: \u201cI am here. See me. Believe in me,\u201d donated by Tim Horton\u2019s for those in need in the Downtown Eastside.<\/p>\n

The students also will deliver gifts of hope and compassion. These are packages collaboratively created by all three communities that include necessities like toiletries and warm clothing, as well as a heartfelt note written by students and their families. \u201cIt\u2019s the message that is accompanying the gifts of hope and compassion that we hope will inspire and lift individuals to see the greater good in humanity; a small message that will hopefully go a long way,\u201d said Jessie Claudio, a VTT teacher involved in the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not enough to simply fill students\u2019 brains with facts. A successful Jewish education demands that their character be developed as well,\u201d added VTT head of school Cathy Lowenstein. \u201cThis hands-on chesed initiative is exactly the kind of learning our students will remember as they progress from elementary school to high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is hoped that by building bridges with other faith-based schools,\u201d she continued, \u201cVTT\u2019s students will have the skills and experience to continue the work of cross-community dialogue and understanding as they become the next generation of Jewish leaders. By joining with others to address a very urgent need, our students and their teacher-mentors are fulfilling so many of the Jewish commandments to expand their universe of obligation. This is something we can all be proud of!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Elie Wiesel\u2019s The Power of Forgiveness, the Nobel Prize winner describes the Jewish view of forgiveness. Specifically, that in order to be forgiven, one must first admit to wrongful action and apologize. With that teaching in mind, Grade 6 and 7 students from Vancouver Talmud Torah were asked the following question, \u201cDoes one wrong […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3328,1355,3326,1351,3327,1959,2824,4365,1558],"class_list":["post-11073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-cathy-lowenstein","tag-jessie-claudio","tag-shia-ismaili-muslim-community","tag-shoshana-burton","tag-st-augustine-school","tag-tikkun-olam","tag-tim-hortons","tag-vancouver-talmud-torah","tag-vtt"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}