Mazel Tov to our esteemed Rebbe, Rabbi Gary Beitler, and his wife on the birth of a grand-daughter!
Mazel Tov to our esteemed Rebbe, Rabbi Elon Soniker, and his wife on the birth of a baby girl!
Mazel Tov to Rabbi Michael and Bassie Taubes & Family upon being honored as Guests of Honor at the NJ Yachad Bergen County Breakfast Reception on Sunday, October 25th hosted at the home of our own MTA parents Miriam and Allen Pfeiffer.
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 Happy Birthday!
Dovid Schildkraut (10/16) and Eli Kandhorov (10/17)
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Congratulations to MTA's Semifinalists and Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program
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The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists from across the country in the 61st annual National Merit Scholarship Program. MTA is proud to note that two of our students are among these Semifinalists: Yishai Eisenberg and Tsahi Halyo. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,400 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $32 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship® award, Semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the Finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and about half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar® title.
The MTA family is also proud to note that CJ Glicksman, Yair Gross, Aryeh Hagler and Michael Kolber have been named as Commended Students in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship Program. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2016 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2016 competition by taking the 2014 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®).
Mazel Tov and continued success to all of our students!
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MTA Outdoors Club Bikes Manhattan
On Friday, September 18th, the MTA Mountain Lions Outdoors Club completed a 25 mile bike tour on both sides of the Hudson River. Five students and one faculty member began in Fort Lee Historic Park, crossed the George Washington Bridge, and continued down the Hudson River Greenway to Battery Park. They then took a ferry from the Financial Center Ferry Terminal to Hoboken and followed River Road and the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway back to Fort Lee.
The tour included a number of interesting stops. Under the bridge, they visited the last remaining lighthouse in Manhattan, subject of the famous children's book The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde Swift. They also made stops at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum and the World Trade Center. In Battery Park, they visited the Jewish Tercentenary Monument, which celebrates the beginning in 1654 of the Jewish Community of New York. The best stop, however, was likely at Port Imperial on the New Jersey side, where they stopped for Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream!
The MTA Outdoors Club goes kayaking, biking, hiking, and enjoys other exciting activities on Fridays and other days when school is not in session.
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Rain Doesn't Dampen MTA Sukkos Simcha
On Thursday, October 1st, the rain did not prevent MTA students and Rebbeim from enjoying the great simcha of Sukkos. Early in the evening, Rabbi Tanchum Cohen, MTA Maggid Shiur and Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Beth Abraham of Bergenfield, hosted boys from the 12th grade and alumni for a Simchas Beis HaShoeivah at his home, featuring singing and divrei Torah and visits from Rabbi Taubes and Rabbi Green.
Later that same evening, MTA freshmen headed to the home of Yoni Rothberg ('19) for a special Simchas Beis HaShoeivah (graciously hosted by Yoni's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mordy and Eva Rothberg) along with their Rebbeim, as well as school leadership. The students enjoyed divrei Torah from MTA Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael Taubes, Associate Principal Rabbi Shimon Schenker, and 9th grade student Sammy Cohen; they were also led in a variety of ice breakers and games by Grade Dean/Mashgiach Rabbi Eli Cohn, who coordinated the event. Students enjoyed the opportunity to join together for ruach, fun and Torah.
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Happenings: Support for Our Brethren in Eretz Yisrael
With the difficult situation in Israel unfortunately persisting, MTA staff and students got together on Wednesday for a special Mincha in the main Beis Medrash. After davening, Associate Principal Rabbi Shimon Schenker spoke briefly about the importance of feeling the pain of our fellow brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael and then led the assembled crowd in the recital of Tehillim. MTA's Hatzioni club has been actively posting updates on the bulletin boards throughout the building and is in the midst of organizing ways that the MTA student population can be active in supporting and defending our homeland and the people who live there.
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Hatzioni Holds Meeting to Discuss Crisis in Israel
by Shimmy Mandelbaum ('16)
With all the incitement and horrific acts of terrorism that have been taking place over the past two weeks in Eretz Yisrael, a number of MTA students have noted that many people here seem to feel a lack of complete connection to their brothers and sisters who are suffering in Israel because we are not there facing the situation ourselves. In view of this problem, Hatzioni, MTA's "Israel Club," held a meeting to discuss the issue and configure a plan to effectively respond to it. After consulting with each other, the consensus was that we have to take action as soon as possible to address this concern at least in MTA; the result was the decision to present regular updates regarding Israeli current events in order to keep students informed, as well as to plan a number of programs, some of which are due to take place next week.
The meeting also served as an opportunity to engage the students who are in the club - particularly freshmen - and to start planning for things like MTAPAC, the school's lobbying trip to Washington D.C., as well as the next issue of the Hatzioni newsletter. Suffice it to say that this year looks like a promising one for our club, and we all hope that with Hashem's help, all conflict in Israel should end as soon as possible.
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The Great Debate Begins
At the introductory debate meeting this week, novices learned all about the famous MTA Debate team. The meeting started with a speech from Aryeh Tieffenbrun, an MTA graduate and veteran debater, explaining what debate is all about. The program continued with a mock debate on the topic of whether MTA's debate team should be abolished! The debate officers spoke expertly and showed the newcomers how a debate match operated. After the debate was over, the novices graded each debater based on his performance, and learned immensely from their techniques and strategies. After this humorous debate match, another debate team veteran, Dovid Schwartz, spoke to the novices. Then, Tsahi Halyo, Ezra Epstein and Yehuda Goldberg spoke briefly about books they read over the summer. The students then broke up into groups and discussed the upcoming novice debate topic: Resolved - Donald Trump Should be Elected as our Next President. The group of freshmen sat with Yehuda Goldberg and went around in a circle suggesting proofs and rebuttals to the resolution. They learned how to organize their thoughts, summarize their ideas, and react to previous statements in a concise manner. The next meeting will take place this coming Monday night whne the novices will begin to practice for their first debate. They have a lot of work ahead of them, but are looking forward to a wonderful experience.
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Last year, MTA students took upon themselves the committment to remain silent every day during Shacharis from (at least) the recitation of Baruch She'amar until after Tachanun as a merit for infant Tehilla, a baby who was born with a heart defect. Over Sukkos, Tehilla celebrated her 2nd Birthday! Baruch Hashem, her condition has improved but prayers are still neccessery. Rabbi Gopin's shiur once again accepted the task to go around to all the shiurim in the yeshiva to talk about Tehilla and the challenges she faces by living with a heart defect -HLHS - and encourage everybody's participation in this worthy project.
The response has been overwhelming, as most of our students have once again accepted - bli neder - to not speak from Boruch She'amar until after Tachanun -as a merit for Tehilla bas Shoshannah.
If you would like to join this program or bring this program to your shul and/or community - please email Rabbi Gopin at bgopin@yuhsb.org. In the subject line write your name and NT4T.
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Please share with us your significant family milestones so we may appropriately acknowledge events and losses and properly communicate information.
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A Lion's Life Executive Staff
Faculty Advisor: Elie Hirt
Publishing & Design: Devir Kahan ('13)
Editor in Chief: Shimmy Mandelbaum ('16) and CJ Glicksman ('16)
Executive Editor: Rami Nordlicht ('16)
Sports Editor: Daniel Mirsky ('16) and Yosef Schatz ('16)
Associate Editor: Raziel Siegman ('17)
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