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 Jennifer was at a friend’s for Shabbos and right before Shabbos Jennifer’s phone rang but Jennifer did not answer, thinking it was too close to Shabbos. After Shabbos Jennifer picked up the message and it was from Channie Brum, one of the matchmakers on Saw You At Sinai saying that she just met.
The next day on Sunday, Jennifer had a chance to look at Randy’s profile and she saw many things that were appropriate and on target for her. She especially liked the way he described his personality (confident but without an ego), his outlook on life, and his interests and hashkafa. She could not really tell how he looked because it was obvious that the pictures were quite bad, but she decided to give it a try anyway because of what Randy had written in his profile. She thought to herself, “It is just one date, why not?”
Randy called Jennifer 6:30 that day and they met at Starbucks at 8:30. Randy claims that as soon as Jennifer walked in the door, he knew there was something different and special about her. The date was incredibly comfortable and natural and afterwards, on her way home, Jennifer marveled at how normal the date was, and how she was, for the first time, not second guessing what she said and what he said, and analyzing this and that. She felt that everything had gone smoothly and that was a great feeling for her
The second date was the very next day, and on that date Randy said something to Jennifer that made her think to herself “This one might really be a keeper.” At the end of the second date, Randy put Jennifer in a taxi, gave the driver money and asked the driver to take Jennifer home. Jennifer says that in over 10 years if dating, and plenty of guys, Randy is only the 3rd guy who had ever done that! As Randy was about to close the door to the taxi, he asked Jennifer if her could call her again, and she to him straight out, “yes.” Jennifer was amazed with herself because normally she tells the man to call the matchmaker, but in this case, she told him directly to call her . Even though she had never been that straight with a guy and her behavior was outside her normal range, she did not feel scared or nervous. Instead, she felt comfortable and she knew that this feeling was special and that it said something about their relationship.
Randy returned to LA that Tuesday and for the first week or so, the two spoke a few times. Then, Randy and Jennifer began speaking every night for 2-3 hours a night! When Randy came back to New York after one month to see Jennifer again, the couple saw each other twice and just talked for hours and hours while walking around the city, sitting in Central Park or eating dinner. At this point, Jennifer knew she really wanted to hold onto him.
Channie the matchmaker was involved every step of the way. Both Randy and Jennifer spoke to her almost every day about their expectations and perspectives, especially since it was a long distance relationship, and the experience was different given the physical distance between them,
While Jennifer and Randy were apart in different cities, it was difficult for both of them, and they spoke to each other and text messaged each other constantly. Jennifer made one trip to LA and after that Randy came to NY every second week to see Jennifer. Three and a half months after their first date, Randy proposed to Jennifer in New York. The happy couple is planning an early February wedding, iy”H.
Jennifer has been on the Saw Your At Sinai since its inception in 2003 and she says there have been hits and misses with various men until she met Randy. If it was not for the site and for Channie, Jennifer does not see how it would have been possible for she and Randy to have met each other. Mazel Tov to the happy couple! |
When Dena Kimmerling was a busy student, she really did not have the time to actively and successfully pursue shidduchim. A friend suggested that Dena join SawYouAtSinai, and Dena readily agreed, thinking that it was the best way to put herself out there, while maintaining a busy schedule.
Soon after Dena joined the site, she was sent the profile of Jack Volk. In reading his profile, she thought he sounded quite appropriate for her so she accepted. He was only the first or second guy that she had ever gone out with from the site and she was looking forward to meeting him.
The first date arrived, and Jack came to pick Dena up at her parents’ house. She invited him in to meet her parents, as she does on all of her first dates. Right away, Jack and Dena started joking around with each other—there was an instant click between them. Dena’s parents had an immediate good impression of Jack, and they told Dena that he seemed to be a quality person with a good “look,” or “chein” about him that they liked!
On the date during dinner, the instant connection between Dena and Jack became more and more apparent. The couple was extremely comfortable with each other—they laughed together and got along fantastically. As it turned out, Dena had not slept more than a couple of hours during the two previous night prior to the date. “I was all over the place and practically non-functional,” she said. “Before the date, I did not know how I was going to make it through the evening. But I stayed awake the whole time. I was totally there.”
What really clinched the date for Dena was when, at the end of the date, Jack got straight to the point and directly asked Dena if he could call her again for a second date. She was very impressed with his being direct, and his not playing games with her. It was clear that Jack wanted to date in a focused and serious way and Dena wanted the same as well. Of course, she told Jack that he could call her!
The second date arrived and the couple went bowling. The entire date was comfortable, easy-going, fun, and not at all awkward.
After the second date, Dena says she stopped counting dates, and the couple started seeing each other very often. A month into the dating, Dena and Jack discussed with each other that they saw themselves being together for a very long time.
Seven months later, on Chol Hamoed Sukkot, Dena and Jack decided to go to Build A Bear Workshop, a place where you can custom design and dress a teddy bear. The two were stuffing and dressing their bears when Jack made his way over to the personalization section of the workshop where he could design a specialized dog tag to put on his bear. Dena remembers that Jack was there for quite a long time and when he was finally done, he came over and tried to put the tag on the bear. He had difficulty with the tag, however, and Dena offered to help but Jack told her that she could not look at the tag until it was on the bear.
When Dena finally read the tag she saw that it said, “Dena, will you marry me? Love, Jack.” By the time Dena processed what she had just read, she realized that Jack was on one knee with the ring out! She was shocked! “I had no clue that he was going to propose to me that day,” she said.
Jack and Dena often ruminate about the fact that they really do not know anyone in common. “If it had not been for Saw You At Sinai,” says Dena, “I do not know how Jack and I would have ever met each other.”
The happy couple is scheduled to be married on March 20th, iy”H.
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When Ilana Lew came back to New York from school in Boston, she had lost most of her connections and networks in the frum dating world. One day, someone mentioned to her that she should sign up for Saw You At Sinai, but Ilana scoffed at the idea, thinking she would never do that . “I was skeptical about online dating,” she said. “I did not want everyone out there to know I was dating online—it did not seem tzanua to me.” But a few weeks later, Ilana changed her mind. She was serious about dating and she decided to sign up for Saw You At Sinai because it offered her the network of dating that she needed, as well as the privacy and classiness that was important to her.
Ilana had only been on the site for one month, and had only gone out with one other date from the site, when she was sent the profile of Danny Masri. At first, the profile did not seem an exact match to what she was looking for so she sent his profile to her best friend for a second opinion. Her friend told Ilana that she felt that Danny was definitely not a match.
The next day, however, Ilana decided on a whim to accept Danny anyway, thinking, “Why not just give it a try?” There were many good things about his profile that appealed to Ilana, including the fact that he was “down to earth, open minded, a chilled out personality, mature, funny, intelligent and very attractive.” She thought to herself, “You never know.”
So, the first date arrived, and guess what? “It was amazing,” says Ilana. She knew right away that this was a good thing and that something positive was going to come of it. On the date, Ilana and Danny went out to dinner for wraps but they were unsure of what blessing to make on the wrap. Was it Hamotzei or Mezonot? So Danny pulled out his cell phone and called three Rabbis on the spot and got an answer to what blessing was appropriate for that exact brand of wrap. Ilana was so impressed with Danny’s special connections with his Rabbis and his ability to reach them promptly and get an answer to such a question.
After the date, Ilana emailed that same friend who had previously said that Danny was not a match for Ilana with the title “I Like Him!!!” The friend was surprised, but of course very happy!
The very next day Danny called Ilana and the two proceeded to go out four times in the next two weeks. The matchmaker was not even needed at this point. Four months later Ilana and Danny were engaged. The wedding is planned for February 20th, and Ilana says, “It will make for an interesting story to tell our kids, iy”H.” |
“I recently moved back from Israel and had never dated in America. So I inquired from several friends how the dating process worked in America. I was swiftly referred to Saw You At Sinai’s website and for a minimal fee I signed up and became a member.
Soon after signing up Channie Brum, one of the shadchanim I had chosen, sent me a profile of a young lady, and I responded that I would be interested in dating her. Little did I know she would soon be my wife. Now the way SYAS works is first the man responds and then the man’s profile is sent to the woman and she has ten day to respond either yes or no. After the ten day period the profile goes into some sort of default and it is as if she responded no.So I sent my response in and waited, day 1, day 2, 3…..10 no reply. So that day I called up Channie and said “nu! Whats going on, her profile seemed so appropriate.” Channie, responded without delay and called Aliza on the phone and asked her why she didn’t reply. Aliza said that she was no longer an active member of SYAS and never got my profile, but that she was interested in hearing about me. So, Channie read her my profile... Now I usually point to my wife at this point when people ask how we met… As she describes it “my eyes welled up with tears and I looked over at my best friend and said I was just read my husband”.
That same day Channie called me back with Aliza’s phone number. Now I hope the story has been interesting so for, because it is about to get more interesting, I call Aliza and we get to schmoozing, where are you from?, what do you do?, where do you live now? …Passaic, oh yeah, me to. what street? on the corner of High and Ascension, oh yeah, I live on the corner of High and Westervelt, you live right around the block from me… It turns out that she lived around the block and we never met… Stay tuned because there is more, It also turns out that she was roommates with my best friends wife and that we were in Israel at the same time and even at several simchas together. All it took a website and a shadchan from Queens, who, by the way my wife only met after the wedding, to be vessels in reuniting to halves of the same soul…Isn’t it funny how H-shem works. Thank you H-shem and thank you Saw You At Sinai for helping me find my soul mate.”
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