YIW shidduch initiative progresses

The second phase of the Young Israel of Woodmere’s “it takes a shul to make a match” shidduch initiative took place Tuesday night with an intense evening of brainstorming and networking in an effort to find a suitable match for local singles affiliated with shul members.

“We invited shul members to come and present any individual they’d like to help in terms of the shidduch process,” said Rabbi Shalom Axelrod, the shul’s associate rabbi, who helped coordinate the event along with Rebbetzin Margie Glatt and a committee of shul members.

Over 50 members in attendance were split and placed in five separate rooms and were asked to fill out a profile for at least one man and one woman in need of a match. Each member was then given roughly two minutes to discuss each person they wanted to present. Each room had one note taker and one “facilitator” to help move the process along.

The discussions, Axelrod said, were “open to anyone in their lives that they wanted to help” and not limited to members of the Young Israel. “The people here to present are not just family members, but people who have already married their own children and feel the responsibility to help out.”

Longtime Woodmere resident Gail Elsant, one of the presenters on Tuesday night, was pleased with the event, saying that it “helped me realize how much there is to be done, and that by working together and sharing information in a dignified manner, we can achieve great results.” Elsant was very impressed by the turnout “of so many people in our community who want to help others actualize their hopes for the future. This is clearly just the beginning of a very important community project.”

Shul president Shlomo Zuller was very pleased with the turnout and overall participation on Tuesday, and excited about the entire shidduch outreach process. Zuller pointed out how the shul was doing a tremendous service for the community. “The whole singles initiative, which the shul has been on the forefront of, has started out with tremendous excitement and is bringing out, on a community level, the need for a shul to be involved.”

Axelrod said that the entire point of these shidduch outreach events, there was a gathering in December introducing the shul’s goals and ambitions and unveiling their plans, was to maintain and continue conversation between shul members so that matches could potentially be made. “If we do facilitate a match, it will be an even greater success,” he said. “These are just efforts to try as a shul to address the issue and be helpful in making a match. It really does take a shul.”

Zuller said that the “shul prides itself on being on the cutting edge and at the forefront on the topics and issues that are important to our members.” Zuller also wanted to thank the committee members and rabbinic staff, “who have worked tirelessly on this and deserve a tremendous hakaras hatov from the shul members and from the many people who will benefit from this initiative.”

One Young Israel of Woodmere shul member talking about a single man or woman for just a couple of minutes could be the catalyst for a long-lasting relationship. The committee members who attended Tuesday’s intense evening of networking and brainstorming will continue this project and meet separately to discuss the singles who were profiled. The committee will then try to find the best possible pairings to create a bond that could last a lifetime.

“We invited shul members to come and present any individual they’d like to help in terms of the shidduch process,” said Rabbi Shalom Axelrod, the shul’s associate rabbi, who helped coordinate the event along with Rebbetzin Margie Glatt and a committee of shul members.

Over 50 members in attendance were split and placed in five separate rooms and were asked to fill out a profile for at least one man and one woman in need of a match. Each member was then given roughly two minutes to discuss each person they wanted to present. Each room had one note taker and one “facilitator” to help move the process along.

The discussions, Axelrod said, were “open to anyone in their lives that they wanted to help” and not limited to members of the Young Israel. “The people here to present are not just family members, but people who have already married their own children and feel the responsibility to help out.”

Longtime Woodmere resident Gail Elsant, one of the presenters on Tuesday night, was pleased with the event, saying that it “helped me realize how much there is to be done, and that by working together and sharing information in a dignified manner, we can achieve great results.” Elsant was very impressed by the turnout “of so many people in our community who want to help others actualize their hopes for the future. This is clearly just the beginning of a very important community project.”

Shul president Shlomo Zuller was very pleased with the turnout and overall participation on Tuesday, and excited about the entire shidduch outreach process. Zuller pointed out how the shul was doing a tremendous service for the community. “The whole singles initiative, which the shul has been on the forefront of, has started out with tremendous excitement and is bringing out, on a community level, the need for a shul to be involved.”

Axelrod said that the entire point of these shidduch outreach events, there was a gathering in December introducing the shul’s goals and ambitions and unveiling their plans, was to maintain and continue conversation between shul members so that matches could potentially be made. “If we do facilitate a match, it will be an even greater success,” he said. “These are just efforts to try as a shul to address the issue and be helpful in making a match. It really does take a shul.”

Zuller said that the “shul prides itself on being on the cutting edge and at the forefront on the topics and issues that are important to our members.” Zuller also wanted to thank the committee members and rabbinic staff, “who have worked tirelessly on this and deserve a tremendous hakaras hatov from the shul members and from the many people who will benefit from this initiative.”

One Young Israel of Woodmere shul member talking about a single man or woman for just a couple of minutes could be the catalyst for a long-lasting relationship. The committee members who attended Tuesday’s intense evening of networking and brainstorming will continue this project and meet separately to discuss the singles who were profiled. The committee will then try to find the best possible pairings to create a bond that could last a lifetime.