MTA hosted a meaningful, virtual Yom HaShoah program on Tuesday, April 20, which focused on faith and resilience during difficult times. The program featured New York City Council Member Mark Levine, who represents the seventh district, including parts of Washington Heights and chairs the council’s committee on health. Levine discussed the importance of resilience in fighting the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and also shared the living examples of resilience he has seen in the Holocaust survivors he works with through the Council’s Holocaust Survivor Initiative, which he founded. MTA seniors Andrew Jacobson, Shua Pariser and Dovid Wartelsky, also shared the lessons of faith and resilience they learned from the Holocaust survivors they interviewed for this year’s “Names, Not Numbers©” project. Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Michael Taubes closed the program with Tehillim and divrei chizuk.

Following the yeshiva-wide program, each shiur had the opportunity to watch the video testimonial of Dr. Moshe Avital, a Holocaust survivor from New Rochelle, whose incredible story embodies the quintessential emunah and bitachon that all Jews must possess to persevere through the toughest challenges. Afterwards, talmidim and rebbeim took time to reflect on the critical lessons learned from the Shoah and its survivors through interactive discussions. The program provided the entire yeshiva with a meaningful way to commemorate Yom HaShoah and honor the lives of the six million Jews who perished during the Holocaust, HY”D, whose memories will never be forgotten.