40 | FEBRUARY 23 • 2023
T
he Hebrew Academy
of Montreal basketball
team had to take a long
and winding road to make it to
Farber Hebrew Day School in
Southfield.
After two canceled plane
flights and an unplanned
overnight stay in New York
City, the Hebrew Academy
entourage finally arrived at
Farber in time for the reason
for its trip.
The Heat made the most
of their stay here last month,
winning the championship
of the fifth annual David
Tanzman Memorial
Tournament, a six-team
competition between small
Jewish day school high schools.
While taking home the
championship trophy was
fun, said Hebrew Academy
coach Morrie Levy, what his
team will remember most
about the trip is the hospitality
it received from the Farber
community.
“Our kids loved their host
families,” Levy said. “They had
their laundry done, they were
fed even though we got plenty
of food at the tournament …
one of our kids went home
with a box of kosher Duncan
Hines brownie mix. He loved
the brownies, so his host
family made sure he went
home with a box of them.”
Snowstorms in Montreal and
Detroit canceled their flights
between the two cities, so the
17-member Hebrew Academy
group ended up flying from
Montreal to New York City to
Detroit.
While in NYC, the Hebrew
Academy group spent a few
hours overnight at a home in
Queens that is the residence of
a family member of a Hebrew
Academy assistant coach.
“We got to the home about
midnight and left about 3:30 in
the morning because we had a
6 a.m. flight to Detroit,” Levy
said.
While some of their
teammates slept at the gate
at LaGuardia Airport in
Queens waiting for the flight,
Hebrew Academy players
Eden Sorek and Aidan Knafo
were wide awake, continuing
their independent study of the
Talmud.
After arriving in Detroit, the
Hebrew Academy group took
Uber rides to Farber and got
there at about the same time as
was originally planned.
This was Hebrew Academy’s
second appearance at the
Tanzman tournament.
The Heat took second
place in 2019, losing in
the championship game to
Fuchs-Mizrachi School from
Cleveland.
Hebrew Academy replaced
three-time defending
tournament champion
Fuchs-Mizrachi in this year’s
tournament field.
The Heat were on fire at this
year’s tournament, winning all
four of their games including
a 62-36 victory over Farber
in the championship game.
Hebrew Academy small
forward Gabe Bodokh was
named the tournament’s Most
Valuable Player after averaging
about 25 points per game.
The four wins gave Hebrew
Academy a 7-3 record for the
season.
There are no seniors on the
Hebrew Academy team. In
fact, there never are seniors, at
least in U.S. terms. High school
ends in the 11th grade in
Quebec. There are about 250
students in grades 7-11 at the
Hebrew Academy.
Besides Sorek, Knafo and
Bodokh, also on the Hebrew
Academy basketball team
are Nathan Amar, Eliyahou
It took extra effort for the Hebrew
Academy of Montreal basketball
team to fly to Farber and win
the David Tanzman Memorial
Tournament championship.
Brownie Points
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
SPORTS
TOP: Hebrew Academy of Montreal basketball team assistant coaches
Shalom Zobin (left) and Daniel Shaul and Coach Morrie Levy arrive
home with the David Tanzman Memorial Tournament championship
trophy. ABOVE: Hebrew Academy of Montreal basketball players Eden
Sorek (left) and Aidan Knafo study in the early morning at LaGuardia
Airport during their team’s unplanned stop in New York City on their
way to Detroit.
PHOTOS COURTESY HEBREW ACADEMY OF MONTREAL