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Vail Christian High School presents ‘The Mitzvah Project’

On Wednesday, high school is presenting the national theatrical-educational program

Actor and part-time Vail Valley resident Elijah Alexander will be performing the one-act play "The Mitzvah Project," on Wednesday at Vail Christian High School.
Courtesy photo

On Wednesday, Jan. 25, Vail Christian High School is presenting “The Mitzvah Project,” a national theatrical-educational program.

This program includes a one-act performance called The Mitzvah, a presentation and time for a Q&A session ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is on Friday, Jan. 27. The Mitzvah explores the nature of prejudice through the interconnected lives of a Polish-Jewish Auschwitz survivor and a half-Jewish Wehrmacht officer who cross paths during the darkest days of the Holocaust.

Actor and part-time Vail Valley resident Elijah Alexander will be sharing the presentation and performing the one-act play.



Vail Christian’s English department has worked to prepare their students for this important presentation, focusing on the Holocaust, antisemitism and genocide. Students learned how to recognize and take a stand against dehumanization and inequality.

“The Mitzvah Project is essential. The questions generated by the experience are universal and timeless: How and why do we demonize the ‘other?’ We are hoping to empower the students to ask these questions of history and themselves and to be responsible for their answers,” said Kristin Baker, a Vail Christian English teacher.

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The Holocaust serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of demonizing and dehumanizing a particular group of people. The Nazis’ portrayal of Jews as subhuman and inferior laid the groundwork for their systematic extermination. This program is intended to serve as a reminder to stay vigilant against prejudice and discrimination and work to prevent the dehumanization of any culture or group of people.

Vail Christian believes that one of the key ways to take a stand against discrimination is through education and ensuring that future generations are taught about the atrocities of the Holocaust, and the dangers of allowing prejudice and discrimination to go unchecked. This includes teaching about the history of antisemitism and the ways in which Jews have been targeted throughout history.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have my friend Elijah here. Vail Christian High School is of course a Christian school, but we are also ecumenically-diverse with students coming from many different types of backgrounds. With Advocacy being one of the traits of our ‘Portrait of a Graduate,’ we recognize the importance of our students taking time to understand the issues of their times and to speak the truth for others,” said Steve O’ Neil, Vail Christian’s Head of School.

The Mitzvah Project is open to all students and parents at Vail Christian High School and the Vail community. The school’s administration believes that the project will be beneficial to all, and that by participating in the project, its students will develop a sense of empathy and understanding for others, and will learn to see the importance of working to create a society in which all people are treated with dignity and respect.

As Elijah Alexander said, “We must remember in order to not let it be repeated.”

If you go…

What: The Mitzvah Project

Where: Vail Christian High School (31621 US-6, Edwards) in the Grace Auditorium

When: Wednesday, Jan. 25 from 10:40 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.


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