A team of 9 MTA students lead by Mr. Yosef Gillers, Assistant Director of Student Activities, spent an incredibly jam-packed extended Shabbos in Jerusalem this past weekend in order to participate in the Jerusalem Marathon, which took place on Friday; it was MTA's second consecutive year participating in the Marathon. Mr. Gillers and the students ran the half marathon, 10k, or 5k events as part of Team Shalva, an Israeli organization helping families and children with special needs.

After landing  in Israel on Thursday  afternoon, the team went straight to the Har Nof neighborhood for a tour of the 7-story Shalva facility. That night at the pre-race pasta party, families and individuals whose lives have been changed by Shalva spoke to the crowd of over 300 team runners. They were followed by a crowd-raising performance from the Shalva band. On Friday, race day started with a 5am Shacharis. The starting gun for the half marathon sounded at 6:45 and members of the MTA team ran the first kilometer together before splitting off at their own individual paces. The race itself is a spectacular event, in which the city of Jerusalem shuts down to allow for the brave runners to flood its streets. "Running through the Jaffa gate into the Old City might be a highlight, but the entire race is amazing," said Mr. Gillers.

After a restful Shabbos in the hotel, the team spent leisure time on Sunday rappelling and crawling through the caves of Luzit. The adventure was capped off with Minchah and Maariv at the Kotel before the return flight to New York. Overall, the MTA team raised more than $28,000 for this incredible organization. MTA has developed a reputation for its students' marathon fundraising efforts: this past January, the varsity hockey team raised over $50k for Chai Lifeline by running in the Miami Marathon and last June, in the Race to Save Lives, MTA alumni Alex Goldberg and Aharon Watson - with the help of current MTA students and faculty who participated - raised over $1 million for United Hatzalah of Israel.

On Wednesday afternoon, about 25 members of MTA's Sports Management club traveled to the Prudential Center for a private tour of the arena, as well as a Q&A Session with Adam Davis, Executive Vice President of Corporate Partnerships for the Prudential Center and the New Jersey Devils. The students were escorted through various areas of the arena, including the arena ice, the training rink, specialty club and lounge spaces, and the new upper concourse "Boardwalk." Along the way, they learned about various elements of the organization's marketing and partnership strategies. Finally, at the conclusion of the tour, Mr. Davis - a fast rising star within the sports industry - spent about an hour providing an overview of the business vision of the organization and answering the myriad of questions. Moshe Rosenbaum ('16) did stump him though, when asking what the team did with all of the hats thrown on the ice after Jaromir Jagr's recent hat trick; Mr. Davis found the answer shortly after the meeting and quickly emailed it to faculty advisor Shuey Jacoby, his former colleague at MSG. Currently the hats are in storage as the team tries to figure out a way to display them. 

This past Sunday, the entire school was privileged to hear Mr. Richard Maisel, the proud father of 10th grader Shiah Maisel, who wove together his amazing story of how as an undergraduate student in SUNY Albany, he was able to infiltrate the messianic cult called "Seed of Abraham." It was an amazing tale of dedication, heroism and hashgachah peratis.  

Mr. Maisel infiltrated the cult at the highest levels and risked putting himself literally in mortal danger. After he exposed the cult in a very public Purim play in front of a very large audience, he received many death threats and was even forced to leave the country for a time. He then went to Eretz Yisrael and enrolled in Yeshivas Aish HaTorah.  Throughout the entire ordeal, Mr. Maisel was guided by the wisdom and daas Torah of Rabbi Chaim Feinberg zt"l.  

Mr. Maisel taught us to believe in our yiddishkeit even if we have to put ourselves in danger and to always follow proper Torah guidance. It was a uniquely inspirational presentation and we really appreciate his taking time out of his busy schedule as a therapist to speak with us.  To read more about his amazing story, please see the article written about him here.

With one victory and one loss, the MTA Mock Trial Team held their breath as they went into Round 3 of the New York Mock Trial Tournament. Winning this round meant that the team would advance and potentially make it to the Finals. 

The team did not disappoint. The witnesses, Larry Likhtenstein, Shimmy Mandelbaum, and Mendel Weintraub, showed the courtroom what it really means to be a great witness. They thought on their feet and knew their material very well. The lawyers, CJ Glicksman, Ben-Tzion Zuckier, and Avraham Tsikhanovski, presented excellet arguments, with great wit and sharpness.

With everyone putting in their best, the team saw a victory against the Global Collaborative High School. But none of this would be possible without the hard work and dedication of the coach, Mr. Noah Pollack. Mr. Pollack devoted hours upon hours of his time helping and guiding the team through every step of the way. Late nights and unreasonable bedtimes are just a few of the examples of what Mr. Pollack has done for the team. We are looking forward to our next match in April, and with the guidance of Mr. Pollack, securing a victory once more.