OCTOBER 26 • 2023 | 43
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becomes part of the family. 
We never get mad at each 
other, and we never fight. I 
love playing on this team.”
The family atmosphere 
described by Slutsky does 
translate to the diamond.
“We’re a team, through 
and through,” he said. “We 
don’t rely on one or two 
guys to carry us. When 
someone is missing or one 
of our better players is 
struggling, someone picks 
up their production.
“I think everyone got 
on base at least once in 
the playoff championship 
game (Oct. 15), and 
probably half the team 
made a key, difficult 
defensive play.”
A three-run homer in 
the fourth inning by Dan 
Krauss put the Kosher Ribs 
ahead for good against the 
Jeters in the playoff title 
game. Aaron Benson, a 
new Kosher Ribs player, 
also hit a homer. Ace 
pitcher Jeff Hollander got 
the win on the mound.
Barry “Rat” Lepofsky 
was the plate umpire for 
the game, a little more 
than 24 hours before he 
was honored as a Pillars of 
Excellence recipient at the 
Michigan Jewish Sports 
Hall of Fame banquet. 
Thomas Donovan was the 
base umpire.
All of the league’s playoff 
games were played on the 
same day. League players 
observed a moment of 
silence before the games 
began to remember those 
whose lives have been lost 
in the war in Israel and to 
pray for peace.
That was a somber and 
sobering moment on an 
otherwise joyful day, albeit 
a bit cold, for a league 
that’s all about friendships.
In addition to 

competitive balance, a 
goal of the fall league is 
for players to make new 
friends with teammates 
from other congregations.
“While everyone 
enjoys playing on their 
summer league team with 
fellow members of their 
congregation, it’s fun to 
mix it up and play on a 
team with guys from other 
congregations,” Slutsky 
said.
Kosher Ribs finished in 
first place in the regular-
season standings this fall 
with an 8-2 record and 
earned the top seed in the 
playoffs.
The Jeters (7-2-
1), Mensches (7-3), 
Homeruntaschens (5-4-1), 
Marble Rye (1-9) and The 
Sandlot (1-9) followed 
Kosher Ribs in the 
standings. 
Homeruntaschens beat 
Marble Rye 30-3 and 
the Mensches scored a 
7-0 forfeit win over The 
Sandlot in the first round 
of the playoffs.
Kosher Ribs beat 
Homeruntaschens 15-3 
and the Jeters beat the 
Mensches 22-14 in the 
playoff semifinals, setting 
up the championship 
game.
Fred Stibor, Alex Vinter, 
Jared Cohen, Scott Litt, 
Dave Raminick, Jordan 
Wohl and Bassin also were 
on the Kosher Ribs’ roster.
The Jeters’ roster 
included player/manager 
Uzansky, Jeff Katzen, Ben 
Uzansky, Ryan Schneider, 
Andrew Schneider, Eric 
Woolf, Gabe Finkelstein, 
Les Finkelstein, Seth 
Cohen, Wes Lamey, Mark 
Wasser and Jeff Kaplan. 

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Noa Fallon 
Gillerman, 
daughter of 
Tamera and Leor 
Gillerman, will 
lead the congre-
gation in prayer as a bat 
mitzvah at Temple Israel on 
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. She 
will be joined in celebration 
by her brother Samuel. Noa 
is the loving grandchild of 
Rina and Arie Gillerman, and 
Judi and Jim Lolas. 
She is a student at South 
Hills Middle School in 
Bloomfield Hills. Noa’s most 
meaningful mitzvah project 
was creating a fundraiser 
and donating tzedakah 
to the American Cancer 
Society.

Adele Mya 
Portocarrero, 
daughter of 
Mindy Markowitz 
and Carlos 
Portocarrero, will 
be called to the Torah as a 
bat mitzvah at Temple Israel 
in West Bloomfield on 
Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. She 
will be joined in celebration 
by her brother Nathan. 
Adele is the loving grand-
child of Cookie and Jerry 
Markowitz, and Melanie and 
Carlos Portocarrero. She is 
the adoring great-grandchild 
of the late Shirley and the 
late Al Farber, and the late 
Lillian and the late Art 
Markowitz. 
Adele is a student at Royal 

Oak Middle School. Her 
most meaningful mitzvah 
project was donating tzeda-
kah to Leader Dogs for the 
Blind, an organization that 
empowers people who are 
blind or visually impaired 
with lifelong skills for safe 
and independent daily 
travel.

Hayley Lauren 
Schostak (Chaya 
Ariella) of West 
Bloomfield will 
become a bat 
mitzvah at Adat 
Shalom Synagogue in 
Farmington Hills on 
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. She 
is the daughter of Alexis and 
Mike Sherman, and Michael 
E. Schostak (fiancée, Debra 
Simon). Her siblings are 
Benji Schostak, Jason 
Sherman (stepbrother) and 
Eric Sherman (stepbrother). 
Hayley is the granddaughter 
of Jane and Harry 
Rozencweig, the late Barry 
F. Gultanoff, and Lillian and 
Lee Schostak.
 Hayley attends Hillel Day 
School of Metropolitan 
Detroit in Farmington Hills. 
She collected dance cos-
tumes and donated them to 
Dance Fairies, a nonprofit 
organization that collects 
gently used and new dance 
wear and donates it to aspir-
ing dancers in need around 
the world (dancefairies.org).

