On Sunday, we were proud to host a siyum mishnayos for Eli Berger (’13) who completed the entire shisha sidrei mishnah! Joined by his family, his shiur, and all of his past MTA rebbeim & some of their shiurim, Eli completed the final mishna and shared a dvar torah. Rabbi Tanchum Cohen, Eli’s present rebbi, also presented a dvar torah, as did Rabbi Taubes and RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rav Hershel Schachter, who honored us with his presence at this special occasion. At the seudos mitzvah that followed, Rabbi Pearl, who first inspired Eli to undertake this project in his freshman year, presented one final dvar torah, after which Eli’s father spoke about how proud he is of his son and how grateful he is to the yeshiva. We look forward to hearing more of Eli’s accomplishments as he continues his studies in Israel next year. We encourage other students to follow in Eli’s footsteps!
Eli Berger (’13) Completes Shisha Sidrei Mishnah!
May 17th, 2013 by mtaAP Physics Goes Behind the Scenes of the George Washington Bridge
May 17th, 2013 by mta
Last Friday, Dr. Berliner’s AP Physics class took a trip to the George Washington Bridge. When we first arrived, we were introduced to our Guide, Andrea Giorgi Bocker, who works as engineer of construction for the George Washington Bridge and Bus Station, a division of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. After graduating from Manhattan College, she earned a Masters in Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology and a professional engineering licensure in New York and in New Jersey in order to enable her to work in both states. We had a quick question and answer session in which she explained some of the physics behind the building of the bridge, followed by the screening of an old video detailing the making of the George Washington Bridge. Segments of this video along with commentary can be seen on YouTube. While we saw the original silent video accompanied only by Ms. Bocker’s commentary, various engineers narrate this clip.
After the video, we took a short ride from the Administrative Building to the New Jersey side of the bridge. We were then led down to the bottom of the NJ tower. Down below, we saw two of the steel cables that are rooted into the ground in order to support the weight of the bridge. Ms. Bocker explained that there are two more cables on the New York side of the bridge, and that each cable is three feet wide and contains over 25,000 wires.
After we visited the underground portion of the trip, we took an old-style elevator up to the top of the New Jersey tower. The view was breathtaking, and it was truly awe-inspiring to imagine how such a tremendous structure could be constructed with only the rudimentary technology available to the engineers of the 1920′s. All of us have crossed the bridge numerous times, but until this tour most of us probably never understood the monumental engineering skill that the GWB is a testament to. Thank you very much to Dr. Berliner for organizing the trip, and to Ms. Bocker for the great tour!
Seniors Celebrate Four Amazing Years at Senior Breakfast
May 17th, 2013 by mta
This past Monday, the seniors gathered in the library after davening for the annual Senior Breakfast. The seniors were treated to a delicious, breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, eggs, orange juice, coffee and assorted pastries from Lake Como Pizza. After everyone began eating, the program opened with divrei torah from Rabbi Shulman and Rabbi Taubes, which included remarks about how great the past year has been, to cap off our four amazing years at MTA. Leading off as the first student speaker was the Senior Grade Vice President, Robby Steinerman. With great emotion, Robby spoke about his cherished experience over the past four years and the amazing friendships he has made.
Shai Kaminetzky then spoke about the experiences he and his teammates had during their four years on the basketball team in MTA. After Shai, Menachem Mermelstein spoke about being on the hockey team and the great experiences he had while playing for the Lions the past four years. Finally, Yonah Stromer capped off the sports memories by describing his four years on the wrestling team, and everything he gained from all of his time spent working for his team.
Following the speeches from the athletes about their teams, a few more speakers came to the podium. Zak Lenik spoke about how he made so many great new friends and has so many great memories for life from the past four years at MTA. Eli Eisenman then spoke about his experiences and cherished memories. Next, Billy Plotnick spoke about his experience transferring to MTA in middle of high school and how he was so grateful that he was treated as if he came to MTA with us from the start. He spoke of how he gained so much from MTA, be it his love of yiddishkeit or great relationships with friends, rebbeim and teachers. Finally, Daniel Goldstein humorously spoke about his great time in MTA and how he grew as a person because of MTA and all of his friends, teachers and rebbeim.
After Daniel’s speech, Rabbi Shulman presented several humorous awards, following which everyone bentched and then headed upstairs to room 404 to finish the program. There, Rabbi Green spoke to us for a few moments about how we have been a great grade and we really enhanced the school through many of the ideas our grade has come up with, such as Spirit Week. He then told us a few things about the upcoming senior grade trip to the Poconos. Rabbi Green then introduced student body President Eli Weinstein, who worked intensely with Rabbi Green to make our last year fun and exciting. President Weinstein then spoke to us about how happy he was that we as a grade didn’t decide to be too cool for all the fun activities that took place this year, many of which were done with us in mind, and how we made these events and activities even more fun and exciting. He thanked the grade for making these past four years so special and declared that he hopes that when we gather together for a reunion in the future, we can all see how we all grew from all the lessons and memories we gained in our wonderful years at MTA.
After The Scope Video, we were treated to a slideshow with pictures of us throughout our years at MTA. We want to thank everyone who organized the Senior Breakfast for a wonderful morning and, of course, for an amazing four years.
MTA Welcomes Guests from Bais Ezra
May 17th, 2013 by mta
On Sunday, May 5th, MTA was privileged to host a program involving a Bais Ezra residence for children and young adults with disabilities. The shiurim of Rabbis Bechhoffer, Soniker, Axelrod, and Schenker had the privilege to host and participate in programs that were arranged to help us bond with the residents and show that we all have much in common. We started out by forming a circle with our guests; their director then mentioned a series of traits and whoever felt the trait applied to himself, stepped forward. To our disbelief we had almost everything in common with our visitors. After this, we learned with our guests about the parsha and how every person has something important to contribute. We then had a lavish breakfast the school provided for us. After breakfast, we all proceeded to the Lions’ Den to play ball.
This experience has made me appreciate even more what Hashem has given me and I will always carry the memory, which I was fortunate to share with my classmates and my new friends from Bais Ezra.
Annual “Names, Not Numbers” Dinner filled with Emotion and Inspiration
May 10th, 2013 by mtaby Moshe Bochner (’13)
On Wednesday night, the annual Names, Not Numbers (NNN) dinner took place in Yeshiva University’s Belfer Hall. The event was a culmination of the work done by students, teachers, videographers, and most importantly, the Holocaust survivors who were interviewed by the students.
In September, seniors in the NNN elective began an oral history project on the Holocaust. Students who participated in this program were privileged to take part in several unique educational experiences, such as visiting The Jewish Heritage Museum in downtown Manhattan and learning about the ethical will from the museum’s Dr. Paul Rudansky; they had a discussion about interviewing techniques with journalist Jacqueline Rivkin, lessons on videography and film-making from Mauricio Arenas and several lessons on the historical context of the Holocaust from historian and former MTA history instructor, Dr. Geoffrey Cahn. Just recently, they heard a lecture about the importance of passing on the stories of Holocaust survivors from noted Holocaust scholar Dr. Michael Berenbaum.
In February, over thirty seniors were privileged to interview eight Holocaust survivors. These interviews, in which the survivors told the stories of how they escaped Nazi occupied Europe and lived to see a world in which they could be proud to openly practice Judaism, were filmed professionally. The interviews were then edited by the students for conciseness.
On Wednesday, the final video documentary of the students’ experience in interviewing the survivors, as well as selected clips from the interviews, was screened for the survivors, students, faculty, and families. In addition to the emotional and inspirational film, the 180 guests heard divrei Torah and speeches from Rabbi Taubes, program founder Mrs. Tova Fish-Rosenberg, and program coordinator Dr. Cahn, as well as word of reflection from Senior Moshe Bochner, who had interviewed two of his grandparents.
At the end, the survivors were presented with the videos of their interviews and took pictures with their interviewees. The night was one filled with emotion, inspiration, and displays of strength and Jewish pride. Thank you to all those who participated in this program and to those who attended the dinner. A special thanks to Mrs. Fish- Rosenberg, Dr. Cahn, Mrs. Rosenstock, and Mrs. Weschler for organizing the event.
Students Attend Premiere of The Pioneers
May 10th, 2013 by mta
On Tuesday night, 16 students along with Rabbi Eli Cohn, the Hatzioni faculty advisor, traveled to the Loews Theater on 68th street to attend the premiere of the “The Pioneers,” a new film based on Ambassador Yehuda Avner’s famous book “The Prime Minsters.” It was a very well done film that portrayed the political terms of Golda Meir and Levi Eshkol. Famous guests in attendance included Ambassador Avner himself, Tommy Hilfiger, Dudik from Golan, and the producers and directors of the movie. It was a truly worthwhile experience.Ulpan Students Have Extensive Hebrew Conversations for Final Project
May 10th, 2013 by mtaYishai Fleischer, Sole English Language Radio Host in Israel, Visits MTA
May 10th, 2013 by mtaThis past Thursday during lunch, students had the opportunity to hear from Yishai Fleischer, the only English language radio host in Israel. Before he actually began speaking, he gave out a CD that has a compilation of 16 Zionistic/pro Aliyah themed songs to everybody who came. He then began to tell us his life story including how he joined the Israeli army. He explained that the incredible feeling one gets from protecting and building the Jewish State, especially through the army, is the best feeling in the world. He also encouraged all of us to consider moving to Israel when the time is right, to learn Torah there, and to help settle and build the land. After he finished speaking we had a Q and A session in which he answered questions about post-Israel Israeli yeshivas, the IDF and his own personal life. It was a great program, and thanks go to Hatzioni and Mr. Fleischer for making it happen.
Special Sale Launches MTA Spirit-Wear Store
May 10th, 2013 by mta
On Monday, the MTA Spirit Wear Store officially launched with a sale in the lobby. Students were able to purchase the brand new “Lion4Life” hoodies, pajama pants, kippahs, scarfs, socks and magnets.Anyone interested in purchasing MTA gear should please stop by the main office.
MTA Chorus Wins 2013 V’ata Banim Shiru Chorus Competition!
May 5th, 2013 by mtaOn Sunday, the ten members of the MTA Chorus traveled to Yeshiva Rambam to compete in the annual V’ata Banim Shiru choir competition. The event began at 1pm with the introduction of the hosts and judges. Then, each school sang their first song. Following this, a video clip was shown that described the Koby Mandell Foundation, to which proceeds from the event were donated. Then, one of the judges, Simcha Leiner, gave a brief concert before each of the schools sang their second song.
After hearing feedback from the judges and tense anticipation, it was finally announced that MTA had won the competition once again! Our songs were BaShana Haba’ah, and a mash-up of Kol BeRama (Simcha Leiner) and Im Eshkachech (Yaakov Shwekey). Congratulations on a great win to all members of the choir and thank you to Mr. David Ross for his great job of leading the MTA choir.