Steve Stein
I Contributing Writer
ive hours.
That's how long it took David
Jaffa to win the 15th Texas
Hold'em poker tournament last month
sponsored by the Pisgah-Zeiger and
Bloch-Israel B'nai B'rith lodges.
There were two 20-minute breaks to
give the players some rest, but it was a
grind.
Jaffa, 67, won $700
for his night's work
against 49 other
competitors. But the
Bloomfield Hills resi-
dent didn't keep the
money.
He donated his win-
nings a few days later
David Jaffa
to the new B'nai B'rith
Great Lakes Region
college scholarship fund.
"That was unbelievably generous:' said
tournament spokesman Rick Sherline.
"What David did wasn't expected nor
anticipated. People who play in the tour-
nament are already donating money by
participating"
The tournament is a fundraiser for
B'nai B'rith Great Lakes Region sports
leagues. Jaffa donated his winnings to
the scholarship program to help get it
off the ground.
He said it was an easy decision.
"I'm blessed to be financially indepen-
dent, and I played in the tournament to
have fun and help B'nai B'rith," he said. "I
was fortunate to win, so it was an honor
and a pleasure to donate the money:'
An ardent supporter of B'nai B'rith
and a longtime member, Jaffa is a past
president of the Harry B. Keidan Lodge.
This wasn't the first time Jaffa won
money at a poker tournament and
donated his winnings.
He made the final table last year
in a fundraiser for the Temple Israel
Brotherhood at the West Bloomfield
synagogue and gave his $180 prize to the
brotherhood.
Three years earlier, he won a tourna-
ment at Tam-O-Shanter Country Club
in West Bloomfield that raised funds for
the Israel Defense Forces. He donated his
$500 prize to the IDF.
"In my last five tournaments, I've
made the final table three times:' he said.
What's his secret?
"I'm a financial adviser, so I'm good
with numbers:' he said. "I'm also patient,
F
and I know when to hold 'em and when
to fold 'em"
Jaffa is the regional director for
Financial Network Investment
Corporation in Farmington Hills.
He and his wife, Sheri, will celebrate
their 45th anniversary in June. They
have two daughters and five grandchil-
dren.
Sherline, who is on the B'nai B'rith
scholarship committee, said the group
"started from scratch with no money but
good intensions."
Now there are plans to award three
scholarships of $2,500 each and two of
lesser amounts to students entering col-
lege in fall 2014.
The recipients will be selected in early
May, and they'll receive their scholar-
ships June 2 at the annual B'nai B'rith
Great Lakes Region Golf Classic at Tam-
0-Shanter.
"We're looking for future community
leaders who also will be ambassadors for
the scholarship program," Sherline said.
For a scholarship application, go to
www.bnaibrith.org/scholarship or call
the B'nai B'rith Great Lakes Region office
at (248) 646-3100.
The application and required docu-
ments must be submitted by March 15.
Businesses and individuals interested
in donating to the scholarship fund or
endowing a special scholarship should
call the office.
Hooping It Up
Another B'nai B'rith Great Lakes Region
basketball season has tipped off at the
Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield.
"We have four teams, the same as last
year. We lost one, but we gained one," said
Gary Klinger, region sports chairman.
"It's a small league — we don't want
to have less than four teams — but it's a
viable and competitive league:' Klinger
said.
Games are played Sunday mornings at
the JCC. After a 10-week regular season,
there will be a one-day playoff.
Downtown Fox, Great Lakes Region
and Zeiger each had a 2-1 record
through three weeks. Pisgah, the new
team, was 0-3.
"Pisgah is going through some grow-
ing pains, but they're improving; Klinger
said. "It takes time to learn to play
together"
Teams have eight or nine players.
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February 13 • 2014
49