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Mazel Tov to Yochanan Buchbinder ('11) upon his engagement to Jenny Korman. Mazel Tov also to parents Dr. and Mrs. Shalom and Esther Buchbinder and brothers Eitan ('05), Ezra ('09), Binyamin ('17) and Yehuda ('17).
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Daniel Rosenberg (12/27), Shlomo Meisels (12/27), Ari Hagler (12/28), Max Herskowitz (12/28), Yoni Mandelbaum (12/30), Izzy Klavan (1/1)
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Congratulations to Seniors who this week were admitted
to the following colleges:
Indiana University
Queens College
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The MTA Family mourns the passing besavya tovah of
a most distinguished alumnus,
RIETS Rosh Yeshiva
Rabbi Yosef Weiss, ZT"L
(YUHS 39, YC 43, RIETS 40)
May Hashem comfort the family among all those who mourn for Tzion and Yerushalayim.
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MTA Participates in a Worldwide Siyum in Memory of Ezra Schwartz H"yd
On November 18th, Ezra Schwartz, H"yd, was brutally murdered by terrorists in Eretz Yisrael, where he was spending the year, while engaged in the performance of a mitzvah. In light of this, students in over 40 Yeshiva High Schools from throughout the world took upon themselves to collectively learn all of Shas Mishnayos several times in Ezra's memory. The Siyum was held this past Monday, on the occasion of Ezra's shloshim. Each of the participating Yeshivas joined together via a group Skype call, thereby congregating thousands of Jews from around the world to be a part of this Torah learning endeavor in memory of Ezra. Before the completion of the Mishnayos began, the audience was addressed by Rabbi Gotch Yudin, Rosh Yeshiva of Ashreinu in Eretz Yisrael, the Yeshiva where Ezra was learning, who discussed the connection between this week's Parsha (Vayechi) and Ezra's murder, noting that in each case, the Jewish people suffered the loss of a special person and he then explained how it is important for Klal Yisrael to recognize this and grow from it. Rabbi Yudin continued to recount numerous character traits of Ezra in a heartfelt delivery that brought many to tears. He then turned the program over to Rabbi Yisrael Kaminetsky of DRS Yeshiva High School, who served as the coordinator of the remainder of the program.
The Siyum itself featured one representative from each of six different high schools, each making a Siyum on one Seder of the Mishnah. The presenters included one student from MTA, Yehuda Goldberg ('17), who completed Seder Taharos. After this, the entire group of students joined together to sing "Acheinu," led by world renowned musician and singer Eitan Katz (who had earlier performed another song), in a manner that unified literally thousands of Jews across the world. The program ended with a speech by Rabbi Ephraim Goldberg of Boca Raton Synagogue and the "Keil Malei: recited by Ezra's Rebbe from Boston's Maimonides High School, from which Ezra graduated last year. The Ruach and Achdus that was experienced still fills the halls of the over 40 participating yeshivos and provides each student an opportunity to reflect upon themselves and take upon themselves to accomplish new things in both their learning and their practical application of Mitzvos.
To watch the worldwide siyum for Ezra Schwartz please click here. To see more pictures from the event, click here.
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Parents Unite in First Ever Parent Appreciation Event
Last Motzaei Shabbos, parents from the variety of MTA communities joined together for the first ever "Parent Appreciation Event." This program, which had no cost for attendees, was held downstairs in the historic "Lions' Den," and enabled parents to get together in a warm and friendly atmosphere with each other and with many members of the faculty and staff who were also present
The guests were treated to a screening of the barnd new Wiesenthal Center film, "Our Boys," which tells the story of the three murdered Israeli teenagers and the subsequent war in the summer of 2014 from the perspective of the boys' parents who lived through this unspeakable tragedy. The film was introduced by Rabbi Schenker, who talked about the appropriateness of experiencing together a film about Israel - especially during these difficult times - as it "represents our commitment to each other, to Am Yisrael and to Eretz Yisrael." At the conclusion of the film, Rabbi Taubes tied the message together with a reference to the message of unity found in that morning's Haftorah, and talked about how important it is for the school to develop and promote a cohesive parent community.
In an effort to further the educational partnership of the school, parents and students, the film was then showed to the students on Tuesday, which was Asarah B'Teives, allowing parents and students to later discuss the importance of the film together.
After the film, sushi and refreshments were served and parents had time to mingle. During this time, the first annual YUHS Scholarship Raffle, which raised thousands of dollars for scholarships at both MTA and Central, came to an exciting conclusion. The first prize of a year's free tuition was won by Central parents Shira and Keith Landsman. Second prize of $2,500 went to MTA parents Leah and Phillip Kazlow. The third prize of a $1,000 Apple gift certificate went to MTA parents Debby and Chaim Putterman. Congrats also to top raffle ticket sellers Yair Gross ('16), CJ Glicksman ('16), and Daniel Saxon ('17). Rabbi Tani Cohen's shiur will be awarded the trip of their choice for selling the most tickets overall!
To see more pictures from the event click here.
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MTA Tours the Barclays Center
by Alex Klein ('16)
This past Monday, 17 members of MTA's Sports Management Club, along with Executive Director Shuey Jacoby, were privileged to receive a private tour of Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA and New York Islanders of the NHL. The tour of the arena, which was set up with the ice rink in advance of the Islanders game that was taking place later that day, allowed the students to understand both the infrastructure and collaboration of ideas required to accommodate two major league sports teams in two different sports under one roof. Following the tour, the students were guided to the Nets practice court where they were further educated about the art of operating a sports center, and were even given a tour of some of the private club spaces. Overall, the trip was a huge success and students of the club are looking forward to their next educational and recreational adventure.
Special Thanks to the Brooklyn Nets and New York Islanders for the private the tour of the Barclays Center and to Shuey Jacoby for arranging the trip.
To see more pictures click here.
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by CJ Glicksman ('16)
This past Sunday, MTA held its annual Great Debate at Yeshiva University's Belfer Hall. MTA invited 12 Yeshiva High Schools to participate in a day full of debating on the topic of whether or not organ donation should be presumed after death.
The program started off with an extemporaneous speaking competition. Those who wanted to compete were given a random topic and twenty minutes time to prepare a five-minute speech on that topic. The top five speakers moved on to the next round, which would take place after the debates. MTA's own Yehuda Goldberg ('17) placed in the top five.
After the extemporaneous speaking competition, a pizza lunch was served. After lunch, each debater, judge, and timekeeper looked at the program boards, prepared by CJ Glicksman ('16), to see what room they were assigned to for the first round. After a first round of heated debate it was time for the second round. And, as one might expect, following the second round of heated debate was the third round!
When all of the debates were finished, the scores and rankings of each debater and team were typed into a computer by science instructor Mr. Chaim Goldberg ('03). While the results were being determined, the second round of extemporaneous speaking was held. After deliberation, the judges decided that Yehuda Goldberg ('17) deserved the first place trophy for the extemporaneous speaking competition.
Then, finally, the scores from the debates were announced. Though MTA did not win any first place debating awards, Ezra Epstein ('16) and Dovid Schwartz ('17) did win third place team, and Dovid Schwartz ('17) won fifth place debater.
Congratulations to all the winners!
To see more pictures from the event click here.
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Rabbi Kerner's Shiur Visits Lower East Side Shul, Yeshiva, and Gedolim
 This past Thursday, December 24th, Rabbi Kerner's 10th grade shiur was privileged to visit Manhattan's Lower East Side. First, we made our way to the famous old Bialystoker Synagogue, named after the city in Poland its founders originally hailed from. Rabbi Zvi Romm, a Rebbe at YU, is now the Rav of the shul and he shared with us some information about the shul's unique history and its beautiful interior, including an exquisite aron kodesh exactly modeled after the one in the Great Synagogue of Bialystok in Poland (which was set aflame by the Nazis with thousands of Jews inside, sending them all tragically to their deaths). We also heard about some halachic issues pertaining to the shul, such as "Is it permissible to convert a church into a shul?" (this one was!), and "Is it proper to have the zodiacs depicted in a shul?" (the zodiacs of the Jewish months, and many other things like scenes from Eretz Yisrael, are painstakingly hand painted on the walls and ceiling of the shul!). We then explored the shul on our own. Afterwards, we headed just a few blocks away to Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim, one of the oldest yeshivos in New York, famously headed by the great gaon Rav Moshe Feinstein zt"l. After a brief introduction by an administrator to understand who it was that we were about to meet, we were privileged to ask questions and receive berachos from both Rav Shimon Sugar shlit"a, the over ninety year-old prize talmid (though he is not well known) of Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky, zt"l, who teaches 1st grade at MTJ, and Rav David Feinstein shlit"a, the son of Rav Moshe and now head of the yeshiva. Personally, it inspired so much awe to meet these gedolim that I lost my nerve to ask the all questions I had prepared! After leaving MTJ, we got on the bus to go back to MTA, but not before one more stop: delicious Saba's Pizza.
The Lower East Side may be have only a remnant of its former glory, but it definitely has enough history and important locations to last us a while!
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by Raziel Siegman ('17)
 On Tuesday, Asarah B'Teives, the entire student body watched the film, "Our Boys," recounting the story of the three Israeli high school students who were brutally kidnapped and killed in the summer of 2014. Rabbi Taubes introduced the film by describing how in this week's Parsha, Yaakov makes Yosef swear to bury him in Eretz Yisrael, even though he experienced a lot of suffering there, while living a rather tranquil life when he was in Mitzrayim., because of the special relationship we are supposed to have with Eretz Yisrael even when times there are challenging. The movie was mainly comprised of interviews with the parents of the three boys, whose words of inspiration during interviews, rallies, and at international conferences brought together Am Yisrael leading up to and during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. The way the parents persevered through their tragedy and learned to live their lives despite it, and their dedication to Eretz Yisrael, can serve as a tremendous inspiration to us all.
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Mr. Yaakov Lehman Shares His Incredible Path to Judaism
This past Wednesday, students had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Yaakov Lehman who shared his amazing story about his path to Judaism. He gave the boys a greater appreciation of what they were raised with as observant Jews and challenged them to ask and investigate more deeply the beautiful religion that they grew up with. Mr. Lehman is an authority on mindfulness in this hectic digital world that we live in. If you would like to learn more about what Mr. Lehman does, please watch the videos on his website and read the articles posted there. Mr. Lehman also highly recommended the teachings of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz. Please feel free to avail yourselves to some of his amazing classes.
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Pearls of Wisdom
by Ariel Dubizh ('17)
On Thursday, December 25th, Pearls of Wisdom, MTA's literary and art journal, kicked off with its first meeting of the year. We had the pleasure of hearing from Eli Berger, an editor of the 2011 Pearls of Wisdom. He talked of how creating art for yourself is pleasant, but sharing with others gives it an entirely new meaning. Shortly after, there was a brief discussion about what gets submitted and how the editors select what is to be included in that year's edition. Pearls of Wisdom is convening again on Thursday and is looking forward for another efficacious meeting. Ralph Waldo Emerson said:"Every artist was first an amateur" - so feel free to join in next week!
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Makor Chaim Week 2 Recap
by Abraham Bodzin ('18)
Last weekend was spent at the Yeshiva where we had a wonderful time singing, dancing, eating, learning, and getting to know the Israeli students. Sunday began the new week and we were settled by then into the schedule and more used to our new surroundings. Rabbi Taragin started a weekly Kohelet shiur and Yossi Baumel began a semi regular shiur.
This week's trip was a tour of the Gush Etzion area led by Yossi Baumel. We saw a 400 year old tree that has stood as a sign of hope for the people of the area for decades and walked the famous דרך האבות. Throughout the day, trust and team building exercises bonded us closer. The week drew to a close with our first weekly Gemara test and delicious chicken soup!
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Chess Team Begins With A Bang
by Yosef Schatz ('16)
On Monday, the MTA Chess Team traveled across the Manhattan Bridge, through Brooklyn, all the way to Long Island, to face off against Yeshivas Rambam for their first chess match of the season. The team practiced hard for this match, playing chess daily for weeks on end in our own Joseph Alexander Library. It all paid off as the players went on to win 11 out of their 14 games to put their record at 11-3, a great start to the season. Not only was the team victorious in the bulk of their matches, but the members were also stylish, sporting brand new jerseys for the first time in MTA history. For their next match, the MTA Lion Kings are scheduled to face off against the DRS Wildcats (also in Long Island), where they hope to earn more victories in order to be one of the four schools selected to participate in the annual Yeshiva League Chess Championship and bring back the crown to The Den!
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Wrestling Update
by Shimmy Mandelbaum ('16)
 Coming off a win against the SAR Sting, the MTA Wrestling Team continued their winning streak this past Monday, when they wrestled Martin Luther High School and North Shore Hebrew Academy back to back. After rolling out the mats, wrestling began at 5:45 PM when the opposing team arrived. Although the team only had six wrestlers for fourteen different weight classes, those select few put up quite the fight. Despite their efforts, Martin Luther was unsuccessful in their match against the Lions. Following that match, the North Shore Stars arrived with a much fuller and experienced team. However, the match did fair well in their favor for MTA won virtually every match against North Shore - dominating the mat that night! The Lions look forward to build off their victories and continue their season as the only undefeated team in the Yeshiva Wrestling League.
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Varsity Basketball Update
by David Berg ('16)
On Sunday, December 20th 2015, the MTA Varsity Basketball Team faced off in their second game against the undefeated Heschel Heat at Yeshiva University's Max Stern Athletic Center. In hopes to make up for their loss against the Heat earlier in the season, the Lions came to the Macs ready to play. Down just 8 points at the half, the Lions seemed to be able to make a comeback in the second half. Unfortunately, the Heat dominated the court for most of the rest of the game and pulled away. Despite their loss, MTA played well- specifically Daniel Mirsky ('16) who led the team with 14 points and four threes - and the team is looking forward to their next game against JEC this Saturday night at the Max.
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Varsity Hockey Update
by Rami Nordlicht ('16)
On Wednesday night, the MTA Varsity Hockey Lions traveled to Mamaroneck to play the Westchester Wolverines. It was a gloomy, rainy night, and the Lions knew they would need an extremely inspirational speech to have but a slim chance at victory against the mighty Westchester team. Fortunately, Yehuda Benscher ('16) was able to come through in the clutch and delivered a resounding oration that put the Lions in prime position for victory! Subsequently, the Lions dominated both sides of the court for the entire game, as seven players, Yosef Stern ('16), Rami Nordlicht ('16), Ari Hagler ('16), Yehuda "It's about time" Alter ('16), Zachary "NOT Jeremy" Borgen ('17), Josh Appel ('17), and Yossi Mandlebaum ('17), combined to score nine goals en route to a 9-0 MTA victory. We would like to extend a shout out to goaltenders Max Herskowitz ('17) and Jacob Boim ('17) on the combined shutout and to defenseman Tani Rosenthal ('17) on his first de facto goal of the season. The Lions will look to continue their winning streak when they play the JEC Thunder on January 6.
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The Mta Lions traveled deep into Westchester to play the Wildcats. They went in to a must-win game with a competitive attitude. Everyone contributed significantly and MTA left Westchester with a 81-15 win Then, on Saturday night, the Lions took on the Ramaz Rams in The Max. It was a close game the whole way through, and on key "and ones" by Mathew Matataov, the Lions held on with a close victory, 52-49. The Lions are now 4-3 and look to beat the Kushner Cobras in their next game on January 4th.
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JV Hockey Update
by Ephraim Landa ('19)
On Sunday, the MTA JV Lions traveled to the Upper East Side of Manhattan to take on the Ramaz Rams. Down 1-0 in the second period, Captain Gabe Isaacs ('18) got the Lions on the board with a rebound goal. The score would remain tied and the game went into OT, where with just under two minutes remaining Co-Captain Yaakov Bienstock scored the winning goal. The Lions rejoiced in their 2-1 victory and look forward to their next game, taking place this coming Monday at Frisch.
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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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Support YUHSB at these stores!
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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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