MTA talmidim who participated in last year’s Names, Not Numbers elective course, were fortunate to meet Holocaust Survivor Dov Landau on their trip to Poland. This year, Mr. Landau flew in from Israel to be interviewed by current seniors for their Names, Not Numbers documentary. He also shared his story with MTA’s entire junior and senior grades. Mr. Landau’s remarkable story of survival includes losing his entire family, performing harsh labor in five different concentration camps, the Death March, and saving the life of a little eight-year-old boy named Lulek in Buchenwald, who later became Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau.
Mr. Landau’s story continues after the Holocaust in Israel, where he joined the army and was captured by Arabs on the same day that Israel declared independence. Mr. Landau was a prisoner of war in Jordan for 11 months, until he was finally freed and returned to Israel, where he still resides. Mr. Landau kept the promise he made to his dying father to remain Jewish if he survived the Holocaust and has dedicated his life to sharing his story, part of which is documented in the movie Exodus. A renowned speaker and Holocaust expert, Mr. Landau presents at conferences and events across the globe, in addition to serving as a tour guide for groups visiting Poland and the concentration camps. MTA talmidim look forward to helping Mr. Landau spread his message of survival and hope through the Holocaust documentary they are creating.
MTA Introduces The Y Club
On Wednesday, November 28, MTA kicked off the inaugural meeting of the Y Club. A new weekly program for 10th–12th grades, the Y Club features a discussion with an MTA rebbe, who answers a burning question talmidim are anxious to learn more about. The first meeting’s topic, Y Do We Learn Gemara, was presented by junior rebbe Rabbi Mayer Schiller to a standing-room-only crowd of talmidim and rebbeim. Upcoming topics include “Y Is This Happening To Me,” “Y Is Davening So Long,” and “Y Are There So Many Restrictions in Male/Female Relationships.”
“It’s normal for high-school boys to have questions like these,” said associate principal Rabbi Shimon Schenker. “The goal of the Y Club is for our talmidim to get the answers they deserve from our rebbeim in a safe environment.”
MTA College Bowl Teams Take The Lead At First Meet Of The Year
On Tuesday, the MTA varsity and JV College Bowl teams headed to Flatbush for their first meet of the year. After many weeks of practicing, the team was prepared and ready to perform well. Led by Coach Andrew Katz, varsity captain Ben Mermel (‘19), and JV captains Yosef Flammenbaum (‘21) and Jonathan Sherman (‘21), the teams faced other schools such as Heschel, SAR, Magen David, and Yeshivah of Flatbush. After a few intense hours of games, the varsity team walked away with a record of 3–1, and JV had a record of 2–1, with both teams placing high on the leader boards. The teams are looking forward to a great rest of the season!
MTA Freshmen Enjoy A Night In Yeshiva
On Thursday, November 30, MTA freshmen enjoyed an incredible Night In Yeshiva with their rebbeim and senior mentors. The evening kicked off with pizza and a d’var Torah, and then the real fun began! Freshmen and their senior mentors broke into groups and built boats out of cardboard boxes. Once the boats were constructed, they headed over to the Yeshiva University pool for a boat race to see which boats could float. Then they went on to Urban Air Trampoline Park for even more fun and excitement! Afterwards, they returned to yeshiva and made their own ice-cream sundaes and played sports before finally going to sleep. Everyone returned home the next morning after Shacharis, breakfast, and a d’var Torah.
“Freshmen are still getting comfortable in their new high-school environment,” said director of student activities Elie Hirt. “Freshman Night In is the perfect way for talmidim to make new friends, bond together as a grade, learn from their senior mentors, and get to know their rebbeim better. Watching talmidim and rebbeim develop relationships as they bond over games of laser tag and sports is such an incredible experience.”
