There is an interesting dichotomy in the world of Jewish singles today. Although
Jewish singles can take pride in belonging to a religion that has endured for over
3,000 years; although Jewish singles can travel anywhere in the world and be able
to enjoy hospitality from another Jewish family, who not only can host but also
introduce Jewish singles to their Jewish singles friend or relative, the Jewish
singles testify to a tougher Jewish dating environment. A growing diversity on a
sociological and demographic level has led many Jewish singles to feel closer to
other ethnic minorities and has made the Jewish singles’ path harder to navigate.
The situation for Jewish singles today is much more complex than ever before. The
phenomenally high cost of Jewish education in North America propels the average
Jewish child towards a public school education with a very high representation of
ethnic minorities. Therefore, many average Jewish singles have been accustomed to
having boyfriends and girlfriends from many different backgrounds (see the Matrimonial
Divide, Seema Nayyar). Also, Los Angeles, which boasts 164,000 Jewish singles, is
still described as a very difficult place for Jewish Singles to find a match due
to its great distances, its mobility and a lack of a central hub where Jewish singles
tend to live. The 164,000 Jewish singles over the age of 18 have diverse interests
in activities, relationships and Judaism, but they wait longer to get married, instead
pursuing education and careers and will tend not to belong to Jewish institutions.
(Demographics and Sociology). Two Toronto Jewish singles have been at the forefront
of a very ambitious initiative to try and halt and even reverse the decline in Jewish
demographics. In Toronto, where there is a population of 56,000 Jewish singles,
The Jewish Singles’ World acts as a regular place to meet, a place where Jewish
singles can participate with other Jewish singles of a similar age, and deliver
a message to the total community of presently unreachable Jewish singles by a mass
media advertising campaign on the website. It is not a Jewish singles dating service
but instead a means of encouraging Jewish singles to be part of a Jewish community.
The above research
illustrates the dichotomy that despite the fact that Jewish singles are living in
a time of greater Jewish emancipation and expansion, they are not necessarily faring
any better in their ability to meet spontaneously. It is no wonder then, that with
all the difficulties in Jewish singles meeting their match, the latest research
has shown that internet dating is enabling the Jewish singles to avoid diversification
and instead to date with specific intent. Online Jewish dating enables Jewish singles
to actually be able to spell out their needs, to be more specific about what they
are about and rather than diversify, Jewish internet dating is allowing Jewish singles
to avoid assimilation by giving Jewish singles a better way to meet other Jewish
singles (The matrimonial Divide, Seema Nayyar). The experience of online Jewish
dating is surreal to say the least, a voyage into cyber space, it is something oblique
and transcendental, occasionally replete with video profiles, live chat rooms and
instant messaging. But what this sublime form of dating is allowing is for the young
Jewish singles in Pittsburgh, an area where they are outnumbered by an aging community,
to sit in a room and connect with other young Jewish singles all over the United
States, specifying the exact distance they are prepared to travel to date other
Jewish singles. The mothers who are concerned that their Jewish singles daughters
are not making enough effort to marry Jewish can suggest their daughters create
a profile on a Jewish singles internet dating service. The Jewish singles in California
who have no time to break out of a non-Jewish work circle to meet the “right person”
can now use an internet dating service, for those whose lives may have been used
to dating other ethnic minorities, they can now specifically note in their profile
they want to meet other Jewish Singles, and even post their profile to a Jewish
singles only website. Through Jewish Internet dating such as SawYouAtSinai.com and
JRetroMatch.com, demographic challenges can be met head on, reaching into the heart
and souls of Jewish singles; that is a great gift to the Jewish singles world of
dating.
About author:
Suzanne Zettel is a Jewish Matchmaker
on JRetroMatch and works with Jewish
Singles all over the world. She has her Masters in Social Work from Leeds
Metropolitan University and has worked as a Family Guidance Counsellor in Toronto,
Canada. As an employee of JRetromatch, Suzanne is able to use her many life experiences
and challenges to truly reach every one of her members, opening up their hearts
and souls so they can receive and appreciate the many joys of Jewish dating and
marriage. She is now living in Israel.
Other Articles
Jewish Dating 101: You reached
the age for “Jewish Dating” for marriage, now what
Love and Beauty
Make your profile count
In The Ballpark
Are You in Love with Love?
How to Find Your Soul Mate:
Secrets from the Kabbalah
The Silent Revolution of the
Modern Era
To "Settle" or Hold Out for
Happily Ever After
‘My Matchmaker Ignored Me!’
And Other Ways I Can Empathize
Cliffs Notes for the Jewish
Dater
The Ten Commandments of Dating
