Purim: An Identity Crisis
There are times in life where we feel compelled to wear a mask to cover up who we are. Regardless of whether this is right or wrong, many of us, at some point in our lives, feel like we must do so to “fit in.” This does not only occur on an individual level, but […]
UO Rabbanit Purim
Every year at Ulpana, the grade 11 class performs a play to raise funds for the charity of their choice. This year was no exception – our class of juniors put on a spectacular Rabbanit play this past Wednesday evening. The production incorporated elements of drama, song, and dance. Funds were raised in support of […]
YOC Zareinu Learnathon
Josh Gutenberg of the Yeshiva University Torah Mitzion Zichron Dov Beit Midrash led an informative and thought-provoking learning session. We discussed the question of whether or not we are allowed to dress as the opposite gender on Purim. We learned in chavruta for the first portion of the program and finished with a shiur. Ultimately, […]
YOC Post-Secondary Alumni Panel
On Thursday morning all grade 11 and 12 students met in the Beit Midrash for a post-secondary alumni program. The program began with a keynote address from Rabbi Aaron Greenberg (’93), Director of JLIC Canada, who spoke generally about Jewish life on campus. Students then broke up into groups and had a choice of attending […]
Safe Contest
Two Or Chaim teams competed in the 15th Shalhevet Frier Safe Competition, organized by the Weizmann Institute. The object of the competition is to create a safe that can only be broken using physics principles. Each team attempts to crack the other teams’ safes and the most fool-proof safe that displays the team’s excellence in […]
UO Olympics Week
This week, in honor of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Student Council planned Olympics related activities all week. To kick off the week, we all sang the Canadian anthem as it played on the intercom system throughout the whole school. Monday was dress as your favourite winter sport day and we had an exciting lunch […]
Feb 6 Mishmar
The grade 11 and 12 boys broke off into the Beit Midrash to hear Rabbi Strauchler, Rabbi of Shaarei Shomayim, speak. He spoke mostly about his recent travels through Israel with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and ended off the evening with a short story about emunah. It was all in all a truly an enjoyable […]
YOC Winter Activity Day
Despite the delays, Winter Activity Day was enjoyable for all! Sportsplex had such amazing facilities! The real highlight was playing sports with students in different grades. The games at Playdium were a lot of fun as well. – Zev Wiesenthal, grade 9 student After the previous night’s snow, the conditions were perfect for skiing or […]
Mother-Son Mishmar
The boys welcomed their mothers at mishmar this week. Following a delicious dairy dinner, the mothers and sons learned together and then heard from Mrs. Sara Munk, Ulpanat Orot’s Assistant Principal. Mrs. Munk spoke on the topic, “I’ll believe what I want to believe: a study in the first of the Asseret HaDibrot.” Following maariv […]
Stephen Harper – A Modern Day Yitro?
The Torah, through the story of Yitro, gives us 3 criteria to discern who is a true friend of the Jewish People: Yitro recognizes, and has a deep appreciation for the events surrounding Jewish fate and history in his time (“Yitro was happy for all of the goodness Hashem did for Israel. Yitro said blessed […]
