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MTA talmidim in Rabbi Mendelson’s Junior Shiur were zocheh to receive pre-Rosh HaShanah brachos from Yeshiva University Rosh Yeshiva Rav Hershel Schachter on Wednesday, September 25. Rav Schachter encouraged the boys to grow in their yir’as shamayim this year and wished them brachah and hatzlachah.

On Tuesday, September 24, Central Junior and Senior students were privileged to hear from Rabbanit Racheli Fraenkel, Dean of Students at Nishmat, and mother of Naftali Fraenkel z”l, who was killed by terrorists in Israel in 2014, along with Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar z”l. Mrs. Fraenkel spoke to the students about t’filah – the variety of Jewish approaches to it, the importance of being present in t’filah, even for only a moment, and her own experience with t’filah in tragedy. Her words of Torah and personal story were an inspiring moment in the lead-up to Rosh HaShanah.

On Thursday, September 19, HANC High School was privileged to hear from dynamic author, speaker, and entrepreneur Moe Mernick. Author of The Gift of Stuttering, Mr. Mernick highlighted to the student body the importance of being authentic to oneself and the beauty of transforming challenges into the greatest gifts.

The Central senior grade traveled to the Museum of Jewish Heritage last Thursday with Mrs. Tova Rosenberg, Names, Not Numbers founder, and Rabbi Joshua Strulowitz, Names, Not Numbers coordinator. The seniors were led by Dr. Paul Radensky, senior educator at the museum, who began with an overview of the Holocaust, and then guided a tour of the New York premiere of the world-famous Auschwitz exhibition, the most comprehensive exhibition to date about the history of Auschwitz. Dr. Radensky ended the day with an exploration of the life and work of Rabbi Efraim Oshry, a Holocaust survivor who wrote and buried his responsa during the Holocaust.

On Friday, September 13, the 7^th grade boys, along with Rabbi Olshan, Rabbi Dworetsky, and Dr. Levey, gathered in the Middle School Beit Midrash for a “get to know your classmates” activity. The boys first started off with some snacks, which included delicious rugalach and croissants. Following snacks, each 7^th grade boy was asked to randomly select five M&Ms. We went around the room and each student introduced himself and then answered a question based on the color of the M&M (for example: Blue = Favorite Food, Yellow = Favorite Book or Movie, Red = Telling the Group Something About His Family).

On Monday, September 23, MTA hosted the first Yeshiva League Debate Meet of the year. The event attracted 40 students from five high schools, who debated the topic of whether educational institutions should prohibit student usage of cell phones during school hours. The topic was extremely controversial and passionately argued upon by both sides. The MTA Debate Team members skillfully presented their respective points, and performed well in their debates. Congratulations to team member Eli Canter (’22), who won the Third Place Overall Speaker award.