28 | FEBRUARY 8 • 2024 J
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A

s about 250 people stomped 
through the snow and cold and 
into the stands of the Southfield 
Ice Arena on Jan. 13, Rabbi Menachem 
Z. Greenfield addressed the 26 hockey 
players in the locker room. The game they 
were about to play was a fundraiser for 
Matan B’Seter and Rabbi Greenfield, one 
of the rabbis involved in the organization, 
commended the players for their 
participation. 
According to its website, Matan B’Seter 
was founded in 1989 and provides critical 
financial aid to qualified families and 
individuals in the Metropolitan Detroit 
Jewish community experiencing severe 
financial distress, following the Talmudic 
principal, “The needy of your city take 
precedence.”
“
A lot of people don’t even know who 
we are,” said Dr. David Tenenbaum, a 
Matan B’Seter board member. “We help 
community members who are struggling 
with really tough decisions, like should 
they pay for gas for the car or diapers for 
their baby? We do our best to help out in 

tough moments like that and also help put 
people in touch with other resources that 
may be able to help them.”
They also pay shut-off notices and 
unexpected expenses. According to Rabbi 
Greenfield, about 150 local families receive 
money from the organization at least once 
during a typical year. 
In a video on the website, Board 
Member Stuart Snider said, “What’s 
amazing is that you can have two fellows 
sitting next to each other in shul, or 
anywhere else, wearing identical suits, hats, 
ties … and because of financial duress, one 
just received money from the organization, 
while the other just made a substantial 
contribution to the same organization. 
No one knows about the other’s situation; 
no one’s embarrassed. There’s no shame. 
Matan B’Seter helps with dignity; no one 
knows which families are in down times 
except the four rabbis who dispense the 
funds.”
Per Daniel Weingarden, the third 
member of the board, “The organization 
is always looking for creative ways to bring 

in more money to help. Since 2018, one 
of our biggest fundraisers is the Hockey 
Showdown, organized by Avrumi Lorkis.” 

THE GAME
Lorkis, 34, of Oak Park had first thought 
up the idea of the Hockey Showdown 
after being invited to participate in a 
fundraising hockey game in Chicago.
“When I saw how organized it was 
and how much money it bought in, I was 
inspired to bring it to Detroit,” said Lorkis, 
who quickly chose Matan B’Seter as an 
appropriate local charity. 
When Lorkis first told his friends about 
his plans, he was surprised at just how 
many responded with, “What a great idea, 
Matan B’Seter has helped me out in a 
pinch.”
He had no idea that so many people he 
personally knew had benefited from it — 
it’s that discreet. 
When Rabbi Greenfield addressed the 
hockey players pre-game, he told them 
their fundraising and this game had made 
an incredible difference. 
 “Rabbi Greenfield shared that funds are 
really tight, especially in this economy and 
with the war,” Lorkis said. “He said they’d 
been worried they would have to turn 
people away, but, Baruch Hashem, they 
hadn’t had to yet … His speech was really 
motivating.”
“Each year, the event gets bigger and 
better … The first year, we raised about 
$60,000 and had about 150 people in the 
audience, mostly family and friends. This 
year we raised more than $80,000 and 
about 250 attended the game. It’s inspiring 
to see how the community comes together 
to help each other,” Lorkis said. 
A lot of work is involved in creating 
the Hockey Showdown, with recruiting 
players, organizing teams, networking 
with local businesses, working on the 
fundraising, not to mention practicing 
— which most of the players do for fun 
together throughout the year anyhow. 
The event began on a somber note, 
with everyone thinking of Israel as Rabbi 
Greenfield led the crowd in a recitation of 

Hockey Showdown

Annual fundraiser for Matan B’Seter 
discretely helps Jewish families in need.

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

New bar mitzvah Daniel Radner 
drops the puck to start the Hockey 
Showdown. Shlomo Radner is on the 
left, Avrumi Lorkis is on the right.

PHOTOS BY LEON HALIP PHOTOGRAPHY

OUR COMMUNITY

