With the beginning of the new school year, MTA has unveiled a brand new and exciting Night Seder initiative. This new program encourages students to grow in their personal learning, expand their commitment to Talmud Torah, and foster a sense of unity and belonging across community boundaries. Rabbi Shimon Schenker, Associate Principal, is spearheading this new initiative. He described how a main goal of the program is to further the Yeshiva environment in MTA “in a way that builds on its core values and goes hand in hand with academic excellence.” This goal is reflected in the schedule and programming of Night Seder. The program takes place on Monday and Tuesday nights until 8:30 PM, and on Thursday nights until 10:00 PM. Most general studies exams take place on either Mondays or Thursdays, so as not to conflict with the Night Seder schedule. Additionally, Monday and Tuesday nights feature an hour of learning, followed by time for supervised studying to help students stay on top of their schoolwork. This hour of learning will take place in Yeshiva University’s vibrant Glueck Beis Midrash. Rabbi Schenker explained that he wanted to take advantage of the amazing location of MTA and the great learning hall located on its campus. Junior Zeve Kornwasser described this incredible location as his favorite aspect of the new night seder program: “the ability to be absorbed by the Kol Torah of the YU Beis Midrash is amazing. The opportunity to learn in the same environment as Gedolei Torah is an unbelievable privilege.” During this time, in addition to experiencing the amazing Glueck Beis Midrash environment, students can learn directly with current YU students, many of whom are MTA alumni. This gives them further exposure to the world of the Beis Midrash, and the importance of prioritizing Torah. Freshman Donny Morris described that “it is nice to be able to learn lishma and to learn with a college student that is only few years older than you.” On an average night, approximately forty MTA students can be found learning in this inspiring Beis Midrash. Rabbi Schenker explained that for him, its “an amazing experience every night to watch these boys, after putting in a long and full day of school, come in and sit down and learn.” Rabbi Schenker recounted that he already saw the fruits of this new program on back-to-school night. On that night, MTA had early dismissal, but night seder was still at regular time to help accommodate the YU students. Rabbi Schenker entered the Beis Midrash to check on the students, and discovered thirty of them sitting and learning without the Rebbeim present. He even observed one freshman leading a review session with six other students, reviewing what they learned the night before. Only a few weeks into school, it was clear that the students had taken personal ownership of their learning, and committed to learning Torah at night. With the program already off to an exciting start, Rabbi Schenker hopes that now that the school routine is settled, even more students will join this program. To urge students to attend, there is free pizza offered every night before learning, raffles based on attendance, and all students who attend 2/3 of night seder will have a test grade of 100 inserted into their Gemara averages. These incentives encourage to students to form this habit of prioritizing learning Torah at night, and experiencing the incredible atmosphere of the program. As freshman Kovi Pahmer explained: “When I entered the Glueck Beis Midrash for the first time I was amazed by the Torah energy in the room and now I'm a part of that. Plus, the pizza doesn't hurt either."