That’s life 7-16

We all depend on our friends for different things. You want your friends to be honest with you and tell you when you look fat in a dress, to let you know when you have spinach in your teeth or to help out when you are in a pinch. Sometimes there are uncomfortable situations that need to be dealt with and while it may not be easy to discuss, you rely on your friends to be there for you, through thick and thin. And just like they mean a lot to you, you know you mean a lot to them, too.

A number of months ago, one of my dearest friends, who I will refer to here as Aviva, sent out an email to a number of her closest friends. In it she advocated for herself and reminded all of us how much she wanted to be married. And while she has become much more proactive in the last number of years in her efforts to find her bashert — attending singles events and putting her name on the lists of shadchanim in various areas — she was taking it to the next level.

Aviva asked us to forward her information to other people, to tell our dog walker about her and to discuss her at Shabbat lunch. We should tell people how wonderful she is (which is true), how full of life she is (also true), and how she is going to make someone a wonderful wife (absolutely true). I know that it is a matter of time before I dance at her wedding but until then, I did what she asked and hoped that my talking her up will bring us that much closer to putting on our dancing shoes.

While on the phone with her last week, Aviva got another call and put me on hold. A couple of minutes later, she came back on the line and was laughing. “A friend I work with,” she explained, “just called me and said, ‘I found your husband.’” Wow, I thought, that’s pretty wild, and I asked her to tell me what she was talking about.

Intrigued and wary, Aviva said she asked this person for clarification. Her friend from work was originally from Miami and goes back every once in a while. It seems she was watching television when she found Aviva’s future spouse. “I was watching Big Brother,” she said, “and there is a guy on [the show] who is a podiatrist and he’s from Miami and he says he’s Modern Orthodox.” And after watching the episode, she decided he seemed like a really nice guy and would be perfect for Aviva. “When I go back to Miami next month,” she added, “I’ll find his office and make an appointment so I can check him out for you.” She was not having any foot issues in particular, but she was convinced that he would be the love of Aviva’s life and so she was going to check him out. Aviva appreciated her efforts and if nothing else, was very thankful that her friend was keeping her in mind.

Nothing surprises me. Years ago a cousin of mine who lives in Israel had a friend who was on an Israeli game show. A guy watching the show thought my cousin's friend was cute and he tracked her down. Once you find out what city someone lives in, chances are, you can find at least one other person whom you have in common. And that is what this guy did, and they lived happily ever after.

Who said television was useless? It may just be the most under-utilized shidduch tool ever. Move over JDate. Stranger things have happened.