On Monday September 11, approximately 30 seniors at MTA gave up their lunch time to attend the opening session of “Names Not Numbers^©,” the oral history documentary film project. “Names Not Numbers^©” is in its 18th year at MTA, and it has always been one of the most popular electives for seniors. Students gain valuable skills in interviewing, videography and film editing, learn about the events of the Holocaust and ultimately meet a survivor face to face to conduct a full length, filmed interview about the survivor’s life experiences.

During the opening session, Rabbi Michael Taubes, rosh yeshiva at MTA, charged the seniors with the responsibility to carry on the survivor’s story as this generation will be the last to have the opportunity to speak to a living survivor. Rabbi Shimon Schenker, menahel at MTA, spoke about the importance of connecting to Jewish history on the level of a mitzvah to uncover hashgachas Hashem in the world. Tova Rosenberg, founder of “Names Not Numbers^©,” emphasized the importance of the program with sobering statistics about how little the world remembers what happened during the Holocaust. Students watched a moving interview with Dr. Moshe Avital as a sample of the work they themselves will produce later in the year. In testimonials afterwards, students indicated they are excited to be involved in this important project to meet survivors and share their stories.