10 | FEBRUARY 22 • 2024 J
N

A

n unlikely blending of a passion for Rubik’s 
Cube and the lesson of a Torah portion 
grew into a fundraising event coupling 
fun and fierce competition with donations and the 
raising of awareness about a meaningful cause. 
In preparing for his bar mitzvah service, 13-year-
old Eli Katz, a competitive “cuber,” learned that 
Parshat Bo features the words, “Let my people go,” 
a phrase befitting any individual or group seeking 
freedom. 
From that creed, he created a bar mitzvah project 
that would partner support for the Cooley Law 
School Innocence Project with the World Cubing 
Association (WCA). 
While brainstorming with his parents, Leslie 
and Mitch, about the practical lessons of his 
Torah portion, Eli’s dad suggested the connection 
to the Innocence Project that works to free wrongly 
convicted individuals serving prison sentences 
for crimes they did not commit. Eli’s grandfather, 
Lawrence Katz, a West Bloomfield criminal appellate 
attorney who has represented wrongfully convicted 
persons who were eventually released from prison, 
was enthusiastic about the idea and offered guidance. 
“I knew I wanted to focus on freedom because 

3-D puzzle competition raises 
funds for wrongly imprisoned.
‘Solve 4 Justice’

SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Eli Katz at a cubing competition

Solve 4 Justice 
Southfield 2024 
competition

JERI FISHMAN

OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER