MARSHA STERN TALMUDICAL ACADEMY

The 'Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy', also known as 'MTA' or 'TMSTA' , is a Modern Orthodox Judaism Jewish day school (or yeshiva), the boys' high school of Yeshiva University (YU) in New York City.

Contents

History

Current status

Values

Classes

Student activities

Notable Alumni

Security

References

External links

History

The Talmudical Academy (TA), as it was originally called, was founded in 1916 by Rabbi Bernard Revel. He had become president of the institution that was to become Yeshiva University a year earlier, in 1915, when the "Rabbinical College of America" (a short-lived name) had been formed from the merger of two older schools, an elementary school founded in 1886 and a rabbinical seminary founded in 1896. As the elementary school soon ceased to exist, the high school is thus one of the oldest components of the University.
TA was the first Jewish high school in America, and the first ever to feature a dual curriculum, now standard in Jewish schools, of Judaic and secular studies. It was originally located on the Lower East Side, and moved to Washington Heights with the rest of Yeshiva in the late 1920s. The building originally planned for the High School alone was shared with the other schools of the University for many years before the campus expanded; today, that building is almost entirely occupied by the High School, and the other buildings of the University's main campus (including a dormitory for MTA students) surround it.
TA was later joined by a brother school, the Brooklyn Talmudical Academy ("BTA"), founded in the 1940s. While the Manhattan school remained, officially, "TA," it became popularly known as "MTA," the Manhattan Talmudical Academy, and, rarely, the Uptown Talmudical Academy, or "UTA." While the name "MTA" has never been official, it remains the most popular name for the school. Two girls' high schools were founded as well, Central Yeshiva High School in Brooklyn in the 1950s and a Manhattan school in the 1960s. Eventually, all four were eventually simply named by borough and gender, e.g., "Yeshiva University High School for Boys- Manhattan," but the popular names remained.
The Brooklyn schools, which had moved to a joint campus in 1967, were closed and merged in the 1970s into their Manhattan counterparts; still later, in the 1980s, the girls' school was merged into a Queens school. The latter is now called "Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls" (or simply "Wang"), but is still commonly referred to as "Central," while the boy's school, since the 1970s, has been known as "The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy- Yeshiva University High School for Boys" (or simply "TMSTA" or, more recently, "MSTA"), but is still commonly referred to as "MTA."
The school's golden age was during the 60s and 70s. However, by 1999, Rabbi Norman Lamm, President of Yeshiva University, wanted to close the high school down. When word of the imminent closure leaked out, Rabbi Michael Taubes, MTA's principal at that time, together with senior instructor, Rabbi Yitzchok Cohen, led a student protest and recitation of Psalms in front of the YU's main building at that time, Furst Hall. Although the protest led to Taubes' dismissal, and eventually to the dismissal of Cohen as well (both are currently instructors in other divisions of Yeshiva University), their prompt action is credited with swaying Rabbi Lamm to not close the school. Nevertheless, the school was still in trouble due to both financial problems and issues with students.
Rabbi Michael Hecht, who had been teaching at the school for many years and also served as a Dean in Yeshiva College, became Dean of MTA and effectively saved the school. In September of 2005, Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, formerly the Principal of Maimonidies Day School in Boston, assumed the role of Head of School, and vowed to take the institution in a new direction. This new vision, informally named "The NEW MTA", attempted to impose stricter dress codes, tighter restrictions on building use, and an overall crackdown on many activities that the MTA administration had let pass in previous years. This vision encountered some student opposition, and created a sharp divide between the administration and the students. Rabbi Gottlieb also envisioned an active Student Body, and so he formed the Student Government. The "New MTA" has not yet fully been implemented, and continues to be a controversial issue at the institution, due to the sweeping changes that Gottlieb is attempting to make at an institution which prides itself on its traditions. One change that has met with particular opposition from some is the creation of a separate Tanach class, which takes away time from the Talmud class, the focus of the Torah studies.

Current status

MTA is currently led by Rabbi Mark Gottlieb, Head of School; Mr. Yaakov Sklar, Principal; Dr. Seth Taylor, General Studies Coordinator; and Rabbi Mayer Schiller, Mashgiach Ruchani. Rabbi Jon Green and Rabbi Shalom Richter.

Values

The main value of the school is based on that of the university, Torah Umadda. This idea emphasizes teaching both Limudei Kodesh (Torah studies) and general (secular) studies. Limudei Kodesh classes are taught in Jewish studies including Gemara (Talmud), Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and Halakha (Jewish law). These classes comprise the morning session of the day. In the afternoon session, the students participate in a general studies program. Many of these classes end with Regents or Advanced Placement tests.

Classes

The school offers morning classes in Gemara and Tanakh. In the afternoon the school offers secular classes, including an AP course in 12th grade. Students can take AP European History and AP American History in 10th and 12th grade respectively. The 11th grade may take courses in AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Biology, and AP Computer Science. Additionally, seniors have the option to take courses in Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School of Business.

Student activities

The students in the school are able to participate in many extracurriculars. On the athletic side, the school fields Varsity and Junior Varsity basketball, hockey, and softball, as well as baseball, wrestling, bowling, and soccer teams. For the more intellectually inclined, there are College Bowl, Torah Bowl, Mock Trial, Model UN, Model Congress, chess, Debate, Extemp, @Club (the computer club), and Math teams, as well as the Business and Finance Club. The students also publish a number of publications including ''The Academy News'' (school newspaper), ''Shema Koleinu'' (weekly Dvar Torah newsletter), ''The Scope'' (school magazine), ''Yagdil Torah'' (Torah essay journal), ''Currents'' (current events magazine), ''HaTzioni'' (Zionist publication), ''Pearls of Wisdom'' (book of students' literary works), and the ''Elchanite'' (yearbook).
Recently, the school has been sending "student delegations" to foreign countries during the winter break to promote Jewish awareness and support Israel. In 2004, the students visited Palau (Micronesia), in 2005, Germany, and in 2006, Turkey and Israel.

Notable Alumni

★ Elon Gold, actor and comedian of Stacked fame

★ Alan Dershowitz, (attended BTA) lawyer, author, professor at Harvard Law School

★ Meir Kahane (attended BTA), rabbi and former Knesset member

★ Dr. Jonathan Zizmor, dermatologist

★ Ralph Lauren, fashion designer (Did not attend any YU school)

★ Richard Joel (class of 1968), president of Yeshiva University

★ Professor Yosef H. Yerushalmi, Jewish historian and Salo Wittmayer Baron Professor of Jewish History, Culture and Society; director, Institute for Jewish and Israel Studies at Columbia University

★ Stan Kasten, president of the Washington Nationals^[1]

Security

Burns Security, the same company found in Yankee Stadium, patrols the Yeshiva University campus.

References

1. YU Commentator

External links

★ Official site

★ Student site