Sunday, April 14
 Commemoration of The Rav's 20th yahrtzeit @ YU; our own Rabbi Taubes is one of the featured presenters. Tune in to the programming online at YU TorahSpecial programming for select shiurim in commemoration of The Rav's 20th yahrtzeit JV Softball Lions vs. JEC Lightning, 2:30pm
Monday, April 15
 KS"A Halacha Shiur - free donuts; 9:10am in room 203 Honors College program during lunch and 1st period Yom HaZikaron program in the Fischel Beis Medrash at 3:50pm
Tennis Lions vs. HANC; 7:30pm at the National Tennis Center
Tuesday, April 16 
Yom HaAtzma'ut davening in Lamport Auditorium Hatzioni Grand Donut Sale Chabura with Rav Twersky will meet after davening Yom HaAtzma'ut Chagigah in The Lions' Den at 11:20am
Special Yom HaAtzma'ut programming during lunch
MTA Chorus practice during lunch in room 404 MTA Band practice during fifth period in the band room Debate meeting from 6-8pm in the Library Soccer Lions vs. Ramaz Rams; 6:45pm in The Lions' Den Wednesday, April 17 Chaburas w/ Rav Twersky and Rav Schachter after davening
Hatzioni presents: Danny Neuman, Deputy General Council for Israel's Ministry of Defense on the topic "US/Israel Relations and Foreign Military Financing" - during lunch in the Library
Chess Match hosted by MTA
Arista National Honors Society Dinner @ 7pm
Thursday, April 18
KS"A Halacha Shiur - free donuts; 9:10am in room 203
Likrat Shabbat during lunch
MTA Chorus practice during lunch in room 404
MTA Lead Student Business Idea Presentations, 6-8pm
MTA Band practice during fifth period in the band room
Mishmar, Dismissal @ 7pm
Tennis Lions vs. Magen David Warriors; 7:30pm at the National Tennis Center
Friday, April 19
Varsity Softball Lions vs. JEC Lightning, 1:15pm
JV Softball Lions vs. SAR Sting, 3pm
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Israeli MK Rabbi Dov Lipman Visits Yeshiva University
by Moshe Bochner ('13)  This past Wednesday night, members of the Hatzioni club were privileged to attend a speech given by MK Rabbi Dov Lipman at YU. Rabbi Lipman sits in Israel's Knesset and is a member of the Yesh Atid party. An American born Oleh from Silver Spring, Maryland, Rabbi Lipman spoke of his journey from being an American Rebbe to becoming an Israeli Politician.
 After attending Yeshiva Ner Yisrael and teaching in several yeshiva high schools, Rabbi Lipman decided to make Aliyah eight years ago to teach in a yeshiva in Isael. Upon arrival, he had absolutely no intention or thought of entering Israeli politics. After riots with the Chareidi community in Beit Shemesh brought harm to himself and neighbors, however, Rabbi Lipman decided the time had come to work for change. Initially, he worked within the Beit Shemesh community to create an environment in which the different sects could live together without controversy.
 A short while after this experience, Rabbi Lipman got in touch with Israeli TV personality Yair Lapid. The two developed a close relationship with one another and were in agreement on various changes that they believed needed to be made in Israeli society.
When Yair Lapid announced that he would be running for a position in Knesset as the chairman of the Yesh Atid party, Rabbi Lipman was asked to join the party, and was placed number seventeen on the party list. After two months of campaigning, Rabbi Lipman was elected as a member of Israel's 19th Knesset, the first American born MK in several decades.  Rabbi Lipman shared inspirational stories and reflected on the life changing experience of being a member of Knesset. He also spoke about what it means to be a religious Jew in a predominantly secular party, and the unity he and his colleagues are trying to foster between the different sects of Israeli society.
We thank Rabbi Lipman for allotting time from his busy schedule to visit our campus and speak to our students, and we wish him much success in all his endeavors. |
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MTA Commemorates Yom HaShoah
by Aryeh Klein ('14)
 On Monday morning, the MTA student body gathered in Lamport Auditorium to commemorate the Holocaust at a special program for Yom HaShoah. The students were first addressed by Yoni Kram ('13), a member of the Names, Not Numbers program, who spoke about the wartime experiences of his grandfather, Leo Isaac Kram, A"H, and how all his grandfather wanted after the war was a pair of tefillin. Following his speech, two clips from the Names, Not Numbers program were shown. Names, Not Numbers is an MTA program in which our students interview survivors of the Holocaust, learn how to film and edit the interviews, and produce a documentary film. The completed film is then archived in both YU and in Yad Vashem- Israel's Holocaust museum, as these videos are preserving the direct link to the Holocaust that we have today.
Following these clips, Akiva Schiff ('13) addressed the student body, describing the importance of remembering the Holocaust. Rabbi Green continued the program by explaining to the students that we are the last generation that has a living connection to the Holocaust; the job of remembering the tragic event is moving away from the survivors' and their children's generations and towards the next generation - ours. He also spoke of the fact that the survivors went through such trouble to do Mitzvos in the concentration camps; we, who can very easily do the Mitzvos, should be able to take inspiration from their determination and strive to improve ourselves. After a powerful clip of the remarks shared by Israel's Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau with President Barack Obama during his recent visit to Jerusalem, the program ended with closing words from Rabbi Taubes who stressed that in light of the fact that so many people in contemporary society either deny or minimize the magnitude of the Holocaust, our responsibility to remember is even greater.
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MTA Students Join YUPAC Mission to Washington: Part I of II
by Shlomo Anapolle ('13)
 Wow, what an amazing day! On Thursday, several members of MTA's Hatzioni club were invited to join the YUPAC mission to Washington. Ethan Wasserman, YUPAC's previous leader, has a close connection to MTA and was kind enough to continue to help our Israel lobbying and learning efforts. Ethan conducted our training session for MTAPAC's first annual mission to Washington a few weeks ago, and also helped with the scheduling.
 On Tuesday night, we all huddled into Weissberg Commons to attend the training session with many college students. Rabbi Brander, Dean of YU's Center for the Jewish Future, delivered an amazing speech about how he used to be a personal assistant for Rabbi Soloveitchik in the final years that he was here on campus as a student. He told of an amusing incident in which Menachem Begin, the prime minister of Israel at the time, personally called Rabbi Soloveitchik and asked him to attend a protest over an anti-Israel event in Massachusetts. Rabbi Brander remembers hearing The Rav say that if Menachem Begin calls on him, how could he ever not listen and not help defend Israel. This was a powerful message of The Rav; we, on this trip, would be having the opportunity to defend Israel, our homeland. We don't live in Israel, but we can still do many great things for the nation, even here in America. Lobbying is of critical importance because, as we know, Israel is America's greatest ally. When visiting members of Congress, we are able to help influence this country's policy making by showing the leaders how much we care about Israel, and why they should care about its welfare as well.
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Students with Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ)
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After Rabbi Brander spoke, Judith Frankiel and Ben Scheiner, the two current leaders of YUPAC, both went through the training slides and answered many questions. After this, Jon Kleinhans, the national field organizer for AIPAC, spoke to us and answered questions. I personally was greatly impressed by the professionalism of the evening, even though it was completely run by students. They described lobbying in such a professional and fluid manner that all students, whether having lobbied before or not, knew what to do and what they needed to accomplish at the meetings on Thursday. After the training session, we were excited to ascend Capitol Hill.
The second half of the article will be published in the next edition of A Lions's Life and in Hatzioni's magazine next week.
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Mock Trial Team Falls in the Sweet Sixteen Round of NYC Competition
by CJ Glicksman ('16)
 This past week, the Mock Trial team had two very exciting matches. In the first, which took place on Tuesday, the defense side of the case played against Lehman High School. The match was very close and after much anticipation, MTA came out on top, sending the team to the NYC Sweet Sixteen!
The next day, on Wednesday, the plaintiff side of the case found out that they were facing off on Thursday, not leaving them much time to prepare. Despite this, the team was able to pull together and put up a good fight when they played against SAR the next night. Unfortunately, they fell just short, ending the season. While they advanced far this year, they are confident that they can advance even further next year.
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MTA LEADers Hear From Former Starbucks President Howard Behar
 Earlier today, select participants of the MTA LEAD program, which is a program MTA runs in partnership with YU's Sy Syms School of Business, were able to attend the lecture delivered by Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks Company North America and Starbucks Coffee International.
The theme of Mr. Behar's dynamic and engaging presentation was "It's Not About the Coffee." He explained that it's all about the "People." At the end of the day, all jobs and all companies are built around the premise of helping other people. To be effective, individuals, as well as companies, should wear "one hat." They need to understand their dreams, aspirations and values. He also explained the principle that "The Person Who Sweeps the Floor Should Choose the Broom." Leaders need to provide some autonomy to those that are working in the field, valuing their ideas and suggestions.
Special thanks again to the Sy Syms School of Business and Dr. Steven Nissenfeld for their help in arranging this unique program. |
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Debate Team Excels at Kushner Debate
by Gavriel Mayer ('15)
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On Tuesday evening, the Debate team met to prepare for the Kushner debate
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On Thursday night, the MTA debate team participated in an inter-yeshiva debate meet hosted by Kushner. The meet had both a debate and an extemporaneous speaking aspect to it. MTA's stellar reputation remained intact, as we excelled at both aspects. Captain Dovid Schwartz ('13) took home 1st place in extemporaneous speaking and Asher Finkelstein ('15) captured 2nd place in debate. Additionally, Asher Finkelstein, together with his partner Yisrael Friedenberg ('15) secured the 2nd place team in the debate.
The topic for the debate was whether or not the U.S should increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, a topic which has come up frequently in recent months given the recent incidents in the area. Overall, it was another successful debate for the club and provided the students who participated an opportunity to express themselves and learn valuable public speaking techniques.
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Devir Kahan ('13) Featured in YU NEWS
from YU News
 A common spirit runs throughout Yeshiva University: the mandate to matter.
Students of all ages and backgrounds come here to pursue a range of professional and personal dreams, from scientific research and medicine to law, Jewish education or public policy, all in a unique yeshiva environment. The students seek to harness their unique talents and YU education to make a lasting impact on the world around them. This spring, when they graduate from YU, these new alumni will hit the ground running.
 In the weeks leading up to Commencement, YU News features one remarkable graduate from each school, reflecting, in their own words, on their time here, their passions and their dreams for the future.
This week, Devir Kahan ('13) is the featured graduate. Please click here to read Devir's profile.
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Hatzioni Goes Social
by Jason Blatt ('13)
Hatzioni - MTA's Israel Club - has added a social media component to its many offerings. On Hatzioni's brand new Facebook page, created this past week, people can see our updates on Israeli news, pictures about Israel and words of chizuk for the special days of the Jewish calendar (i.e. Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron, etc.). The page also provides an easier way to keep the club's magazine issues organized, and will help the club members as they prepare upcoming issues. Be sure to "Like" the page to not get left out of the action! |
LIONS UPDATE
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Tennis Lions Sweep to Victory in First Meet of the Season
The Tennis Lions looked impressive in their first meet of season on Tuesday evening, handily beating Rambam 5-0. Returning singles stars Ives Herman ('13) and Zach Sterman ('13) took care of business, methodically dispatching their opponents while surrendering only a combined 2 games between the both of them. First time singles player and captain Avi Rabinovich ('13) played like a natural, winning his match comfortably. Both doubles teams played well enough to win, with special mention to seniors Yoni Schwartz and Sammy Raskas for recording their first Yeshiva league victories. Returning doubles standouts Efraim Tepler ('14) and Gabriel Bonduryansky ('15) both exhibited stellar performances, anchoring their respective doubles teams to victory.
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Download this week's Hebrew Yom HaAtzma'ut edition of
Shema Koleinu
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MAZEL TOV!
Mazel Tov to Rafi Aspir ('07) upon his marriage to Shira Zuckier. Mazel Tov also to parents Dr. & Mrs. Lionel and Lydia Zuckier and brother Ben Tzion ('17).
Mazel Tov to Rabbi Chesky ('02) and Aliza Gewirtz upon the birth of a daughter.
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CONGRATS
to
YONI KRAM
&
AKIVA SCHIFF
upon being awarded
NY STATE SCHOLARSHIPS
FOR
ACADEMIC EXELLENCE
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Asher Finkelstein
4/15
Daniel Klein
4/15
Adam Perlmutter
4/16
Sammy Rabinowitz
4/16
Shaya Kestenbaum
4/17
Elan Dayanov
4/18
Yishai Eisenberg
4/19
Jeremy Herskowitz
4/20
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Upcoming Events
4/28-5/2
School Spirit Week
5/2
Camp Monroe Trip
5/8
Names Not Numbers Dinner
5/22
YUHS Dinner
6/3
Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY) to speak
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JPOST CONFERENCE
on April 28th
Student Discount Registration Fee: $99
Please contact
('13) for more details
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