In conjunction with Names, Not Numbers, our oral history project which interviews Holocaust survivors and preserves their testimony on film, students at MTA were privileged to converse with Paul Rusesabagina, the real life hero of the film, "Hotel Rwanda, who saved over 1,200 lives during the episode of ethnic cleansing that took place in Rwanda in the 1994.  

Mr. Rusesabagina described his experiences during that tragic period, the helplessness of those he sheltered, and his disappointment with the world for failing to intervene.  The MTA boys shared with him the lessons that they learned from their interviews and compared his heroism with that of Raoul Wallenberg, the savioiur of many Jews during the Holocaust.

The session concluded with Mr. Rusesabagina describing the importance of not being a bystander.  His message to our students was that hatred and intolerance begin with words.  By fighting for human rights, people can make a difference in preventing future acts of genocide in the world, wherever they may occur.

Through his conversation with MTA students, Mr. Rusesabagina joined a number of guest speakers who have been invited to add different dimensions to the Names Not Numbers project. Other speakers have included the noted Holocaust scholar and Academy Award winner, Dr. Michael Berenbaum, and newspaper editors and journalists from the  New York Times and Newsday.  

During lunch on Wednesday, the entire Honors College had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Ari Mermesltein, Assistant Professor of Bible at Yeshiva University. Dr. Mermelstein delivered a special pre-Pesach presentation about different Tannaitic approaches to the Pesach Seder in the wake of the Second Temple's destruction and the resulting absence of the Korban Pesach, which had previously been such a central focus of the evening. The fascinating presentation provided invaluable historical context for the current-day Haggadah that we read at the Seder, with its emphasis on the mitzvah of Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim, and  introduced important alternate versions of some of the texts highlighting the move away from the emphasis on the Korban. Dr. Mermelstein certainly provided all the Honors College chaverim with something new and fresh to say on the Seder night.