On Wednesday afternoon, the MTA Senior class and the eleventh grade Honors College cohort traveled downtown to attend an Off-Broadway production of the famous classic Cyrano de Bergerac. Many classes had read the play, and the whole group was very excited to see a live performance of it. The buses departed school during lunch and arrived at the American Airlines Theater on 42nd street in time for the 2pm performance.

The play is set in the seventeenth century, and tells the story of Cyrano de Bergerac. Cyrano is a brilliant and witty swordsman, whose talent of spontaneously producing poetic and eloquent prose is apparent throughout the tale; however, his physical appearance is marred by a hugely hideous nose which prevents him from confessing his love to the beautiful Roxanne. Roxanne is taken by a cadet named Christian who is soon enlisted under the command of Cyrano. Christian is a handsome man, and indeed that is what initially draws Roxanne to him; but, he is utterly hopeless when it comes to speaking in the graceful, lyrical and endearing language of romance. Cyrano and Christian decide upon a plan which will enable both to express their feelings to Roxanne, whom they both love deeply. It is with this basic background that the plot of this heroic comedy begins to unfold.

As we watched the action unfold across the two and a half hours of the performance, we were thoroughly engaged and entertained. The story was terrific and the acting was great; it was truly impressive to see the remarkable talent of the people on stage. Thank you to our English department for organizing such a wonderful experience for us, and to the faculty members who joined us and thus enriched the experience even more.

This Tuesday, Shlomo Anapolle and Jesse Tawil formed the new Navi Lunch Kollel as part of our Honors College Capstone/Legacy Project. We kicked off the Kollel in the Beis Medrash as Shlomo gave a wonderful and brief summary of the events in Melachim Alef, from David Hamelech's death through Shlomo Hamelech's reign, and down to the breakup of our nation after Shlomo Hamelech died,to the different and often bloody histories of the two kingdoms. Next, Shlomo and Jesse talked about the demise of Achav, the last major story of the Northern Kingdom in Melachim Alef and how Achav was killed by an arrow despite wearing a strong armor suit.

We are going to be continuing this special opportunity to learn about an overlooked and crucial part of our people's history. The lessons that we can take away from Melachim Beis can help guide us for the future, especially when we try to make sense of the world around us. Whether it is Aram and Mitzrayim or Syria and Egypt, the Ashurim and Babylonians or Iraq and Iran, the same foes that afflicted us in the past are still here today. But, we outlasted them and continue to do so. The past repeats itself, and we can all use these lessons in our lives as a compass for the future. We are looking forward to continuing the program every Tuesday in the Beis Medrash at 12:35.

I am so proud of all the MTA talmidim who were able to go to Seagate and Far Rockaway to help with the Super Storm Sandy disaster clean up. We took three trips from MTA, with more possibly to come, and helped many families literally and figuratively dig out of the disaster. We will know about future trips if the need is still there, as we are in touch with the many organizations assisting those in need.

I live in Far Rockaway and I have helped many of my friends in the community.  I have also had the zchus  to lead  two MTA trips to Seagate.  I thought it was "cool" that on my first trip we had the opportunity to help Mordechai Ben David clean up, but I must share with you an incident from our second trip that took place this week with Rabbi Danto and the members of his shiur. This story was a life changing moment for me and explains why these trips are more than just a chesed activity; they are another learning opportunity, outside the classroom.

On the first trip to Seagate, Rabbi Gopin and some members of his shiur spent many hours helping clean out a basement of a woman who lost many seforim and books, a wine cellar, exercise equipment and much more. Before we left for the second trip he told me to try and see if she still needed help, as she made a wonderful impression on the boys and needed a lot more help even after the first trip left. Towards the end of our second trip, about ten members of Rabbi Danto's shiur had a half hour until the bus left, so we called up this lady and she let us know "even a half hour would be a big help." We all piled into her now almost totally empty basement to finish sorting through wet books to separate the shaimos and secular books. As we were bagging the books and sending the bags down a "fire line" to the outside, she looked up and said, "I am so happy this happened to me." We all looked at her in wonderment and then she explained by saying, "If it were not for this experience, I would have never known how good Klal Yisroel is." I told the boys it was worth all we did that day to learn this lesson in a way we could never do in the classroom. As I said to the people running the Seagate clean up as we left, "I hope we helped you with the little we did; I know you helped the students of MTA become better people." We, of course, never want tragedies like this to occur, but I do know that in the event any of these students are called upon to be involved in clean-up again, they will be the first in line and will encourage others to join them.  

Last Shabbos, Parshas Toldos, Rabbi Mendelson and his shiur camped out in Washington Heights for the first of several Shabbatons in Yeshiva. Shabbos began on a strong note as the shiur attended the Friday night Carlebach minyan. The energy and excitement of the college students was contagious as the entire shiur joined in singing the beautiful tunes. After the davening ,we headed over to the YU cafeteria where we were served a delicious meal accompanied by zemiros. We then headed over to the Glueck Beis Medrash to begin reviewing for a Gemara test on Sunday.  

This is when the Shabbos began to transform into something completely new to many of us in the shiur. The atmosphere of the Glueck Beis Medrash turned a mere study session into true learning as chavrusas got up from their chairs and get very involved in debating pshat in Tosfos or Rashi. Before we knew it, it was 10pm and we headed over to Muss Hall lounge for an Oneg Shabbos featuring chulent, chips, candies, and soda. This perhaps was the moment many of us realized that Shabbos had changed, as we continued debating the Gemara even though we had left the Beis Medrash. The only thing that stopped our talk of Gemara was the zemiros, led by Rabbi Mendelson, which we sang together. The Oneg ended at around 11, and we all returned to the Beis Medrash to continue our learning. As time went on the numbers of boys learning dwindled, but many boys remained learning with the same strength and vigor as they had had hours before. At around 1am, the lights shut off, but a group of six boys was not deterred, and they simply continued their learning a block over in the MTA Beis Medrash.

On Shabbos day, the learning continued after davening as we were given shiur by Rav Baruch Simon and Rav Yitzchak Cohen, Roshei Yeshiva at YU. After lunch we spent the remaining hours before Mincha continuing to learn, savoring the final moments of Shabbos. Looking back on Shabbos, I believe I am speaking for the entire shiur when I say that the time spent in Washington Heights formed a new type of Shabbos for the shiur. On behalf of the shiur I would like to thank our Rebbi, Rabbi Mendelson, for a truly spectacular Shabbos. 

Varsity Hockey Lions Shutout TABC 2-0

by Eli Weinstein (MTA '13)

On Saturday night, the Varsity Hockey Lions traveled to Teaneck, NJ to take on the TABC Storm. This is always one of the most intense games of the season and naturally draws a tremendous crowd. Captain Menachem Mermelstein fired up the crowd early, scoring two first period goals in spectacular fashion; one score was on the power play. Mermelstein is having a colossal season and his goal scoring numbers have increased exponentially since his first three years in the league. The Lion's "iron curtain" of a defense shut down the Storm's offensive game and star goalie Rami Greenspan saved everything else. The Lions remained aggressive throughout and were able to "weather" the Storm. This game was a big win for the Lions and they remain undefeated at 4-0. Earlier in the evening, the JV Hockey team played the Storm as well, but did not fare as well; the team fell 4-1.

Varsity Basketball Lions Hold off the Sting

Varsity Basketball Lions Blow Past Simchas Chaim

by Efraim Tepler (MTA '14)

On Tuesday night, the undefeated Lions took the court against Simchas Chaim. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the Lions dominated at both ends of the floor. The Lions jumped out to an 18-0 lead, thanks to numerous fast break hoops by Zak Lenik. Simchas Chaim's Lasry shot with tremendous range all night long, scoring 21 points on seven 3-pointers. 13 different players scored for MTA, led by Zak Lenik (16 pts), Eli Lipner (15), Zach Sterman (6), Shauli Naumberg (6), and Efraim Tepler (5). The Lions, now 5-0, next head to Ramaz to take on a strong Rams team on Sunday, 12/2.

The Lions are now ranked #2 in the nation by Jewish Hoops America.  

JV Basketball Lions Earn Two Big Victories

After a three day break since their last game, the MTA JV Basketball Lions needed to come back from a disappointing loss against the Flatbush Falcons. They traveled to Riverdale to take on the SAR Sting in the first game of a double header. They started off trading baskets back and forth, but MTA was down by four going into the half. Due to foul trouble, many players had to rotate in and out so they wouldn't foul out. The Lions started off the 3rd by giving up three quick baskets making it a 10 point deficit. They came back within 2 with the help of the "lights out" shooting by Avi Jenson. In the fourth quarter, MTA finally took a lead, going up by one. SAR came back and retook the lead, but MTA was able to quickly take it back after Willy Kluger's dump pass to Yoni Samet. As everyone was expecting, it was going to come down to the last possession. The Lions had the ball with just 15 seconds left and were holding for one with a tie game of 46 a piece. Willy Kluger drove the ball with 10 seconds left and was fouled while scoring the bucket with 7.5 seconds to go. He hit the foul shot to give MTA a 49-46 lead, their largest of the night. After a few fouls MTA had to give, SAR couldn't get a shot off, confirming the MTA victory. Many players stepped up big including Avi Jenson (22), Willy Kluger (21) and Yoseph Mammon. Defensively Yoni Samet and Yoseph Mammon played very well, along with Steven Stein who provided big minutes in the second to help out players in foul trouble.

Coming off of the big SAR win, the Lions returned home to The Max to take on the MDY Warriors on Tuesday. Things looked very promising from the beginning after Yaakov Richland (12) started the game off with a three-pointer. MTA was able to go up by 10 going into the half with spectacular defense by Yoni Samet. With the help of Avi Jensen (18) and Yoseph Mammon (15) the lead stretched to 22. Willy Kluger was able to assist many baskets while controlling the offense. Boris Masheyev (3) and Josh Blumenthal helped out rebounding along with Steven Stein. MDY was able to cut the lead to 10 with 4 minutes to go but the Lions were able to hold the lead to give them a 3-1 record.