Last Monday night, a group of Yeshiva University High School for Boys (MTA) students attended the first of this year’s YUHSB Centennial Lecture Series talks to hear from award winning journalist and author, Yossi Klein Halevi (‘71). The lecture took place at The Jewish Center on the Upper West Side, which will soon be celebrating its own centennial.

Prior to his lecture to the public, the students, along with the head of school, Rabbi Joshua Kahn, and executive director, Shuey Jacoby, were treated to a private dinner with Klein Halevi. This unique get-together allowed the boys to ask questions and hear some thoughts and words of insight from a truly remarkable person. Klein Halevi, a proud graduate of MTA, shared some background facts regarding his bestselling book, “Like Dreamers,” including that it took 11 years to write and was almost cancelled after having been worked on for only the first two years. He also shared some of his plans that are now in the works, as well as how difficult it is when undertaking such a daunting task as writing a book; he used the metaphor of climbing a mountain to describe the level of hard work that it takes.

Following the private dinner, the group headed to the shul’s auditorium, to a packed reception hall filled with over 200 guests, for the main lecture. Klein Halevi’s critical message of tolerance and listening to one another was especially poignant on the eve of Election Day. The lecture was very enjoyable and the students are already looking forward to future lectures in the series.