Cupids Dating Blog

It's sometimes difficult to find someone who you're not only attracted to, but also shares similar values. This is a secular world we live in, and many women are a bit put off by mixing religion and romance. Shyness can be avoided, but even the greatest amount of confidence can't overcome basic lifestyle differences. Men who follow the Jewish faith don't have it any easier than their gentile brethren, and finding a Jewish girlfriend or Jewish mistress can make for a terrible headache, even on Jewish dating sites.

More...

Jewish singles seeking same -- online and in person

Beside the circular bar, Jason, a salesman from Long Beach, N.Y., who would not give his last name, eyes a short brunette in a red sweater. A burly 32-year-old with a diamond-encrusted chai -- the Jewish symbol for life -- around his neck, Jason is a secular Jew who prefers to date Jewish women. Like most of the people here tonight, he subscribes to JDate, an Internet dating service for Jewish singles.
More...

Invisible in Hollywood: Jewish women

STEVEN SPIELBERG has done it again. He has managed to make yet another film about Jews that reduces Jewish women to caricatures. Only this time, instead of simpering victims, we are either loyal, hapless wives committed to tortured Jewish men, or kindly grandmothers who run a country but leave the real work to men.More...

You Don't Have to Be Jewish to Love JDate

FOR LOVE OF A MENSCH Agnes Mercado, a Catholic, recently started dating a Jewish man she met on JDate. Judaism, she said, is "so ancient and full of traditions that make sense to me."

More...

The Shiksa's Guide to Dating Jewish Men

With humor and emotion, Kristina Grish celebrates the terrific intricacies of multilayered, interfaith relationships in this girl-meets-boy dating guide. She waxes poetic about why Jewish men are great boyfriend material: They're smart, entrepreneurial...
More...

Jewish Mother, Catholic

I know your mother loves you, but I can tell you from endless experience that while she will of course one day accept whomever you marry, she will never make peace with the fact of you're marrying someone who isn't Jewish. It's the one line in the sand that Jewish parents do not compromise on, no matter how much or how much or how little Judaism they raise their children with.
More...

jewish chicks

I would not say that I have a “thing” for Jewish girls, however. I guess if all other things were equal, I would prefer to date a girl who would celebrate Christmas with me. But in the grand scheme of things, that is not at all important … probably like No. 946 or so on the list of things I want in a girlfriend.More...

Single Jewish women

So you’re over 35, single and want to find a husband — quick. Many a Jewish woman finds herself in this predicament. So like a superhero, author Rachel Greenwald is coming to her rescue.

More...

I am 19 and grew up not knowing of my Jewish blood.

I only datednon-Jewish women, mainly because there are few Jews in themiddle of Kansas, and because I never knew of my heritage untilrecently. I do not think it is fair to put restraints on love and say thatit has to stay exclusively in the same religion or race, butsometimes I think Gentiles do not understand where I come fromas a Jew.

More...

Dating advice

I am 22 years old and keep getting into the same argument withmy parents (since I started dating), because despite the fact that Ihave a serious boyfriend, they encourage me to find a Jewish guy.They act as though I don't have a "real" boyfriend.
More...

From Slate's "Dear Prudence:"

The problem is that we are Jewish and have mandated to our three sons that they must marry a Jewish woman. We are heartbroken that he is dating a non-Jewish woman. We are not sure if we should forbid him from dating her or if we should ...
More...

Advice Goddess: You're wasting yourself and blaming others

Dear Torn: “Torn”? Of course you’re torn. You’re a woman dating a misogynist - a woman-hater. This is like being a black girl dating a guy whose leisurewear is a pointy white hood, or a Jewish girl with a thing for neo-Nazis, or Elie Wiesel on a dinner date with Eva Braun.
More...

Clifton woman’s book helps Jewish women plan

Goldman’s "baby" finally is ready for birthing. "The Jewish Woman’s Weekly Planner + Creative Ideas for Inspired Jewish Living" (Pomegranate Press, $17.99) is the culmination of this graphic artist and writer’s long-held dream.More...

Communicating Across the Cultural Divide(s)

When I have a disagreement with my wife, Lisa--who is Hindu and was raised in South India--and resolution seems hopeless, I always ask myself: "Would we still be disagreeing if she were Jewish? Would we be able to communicate better on issues related to family or money or the amount of time each of us dedicates to work if we were the same religion and had the same cultural background?"
More...

A Kick To The Pink

The other piece that left the biggest impact on me was a Jewish woman dressed as an Orthodox Jewish man. She pulled it off too - hat, beard, glasses and suit. But in the photo she was cupping a bare breast which she'd pulled from her shirt. It was amazing - like those posters that when stared into turn 3-D and expose all kinds of shapes their common pattern is hiding.
More...

The New Preface for Jewish Supremacism 2007

What would happen to any politician or entertainer in the world who referred to Jewish women and little girls as Jewish whores? Am I now supposed to be called an anti-Semite because I simply dare to expose such hateful anti-Gentilism ...
More...

"Tzniut" Meme-- Modest dress by Jewish women

I'm well aware that non-Orthodox and non-Jewish women also have standards for how modestly they dress and I would love to read any blogger or commenter who cares to share her opinion. In the meantime I'm tagging the following: ...More...

The Fourth Estate - Chapter Five

"The Liberal Elite in Boston, New York, and LA will love it, but the men in the Midwest won't." "But women love Bobby all over," Mitchell smiled. "And Barb Peete has built up a lot of collateral in the black community. ...More...

Justice, Community, and Adrienne Rich

For me, Adrienne Rich’s unshakable convictions and her radical commitment to social justice are deeply inspiring. And as I type this from my office at the Jewish Women’s Archive, I realize that Rich really captures what JWA is and does:
More...

Emotions

When I think of all the beautiful jewish women I know in my life, that I love and appreciate, I wonder if she rolls in her grave that I love them? That I love the Italians that I played with as a child, in our racist neighborhood, that I love the black friends that I have, the Mexican women and men I know, would she have a problem with that?
More...

Craig-ing him on.

Feb- 1 YOU HAVE A DATE WITH DESTINY! Too bad Destiny's such a lousy kisser!

Feb- 1 A Jewish Guy seeking a Jewish woman. Is that so wrong?

More...

Dating Laws (or Who Would Rav Kook Date?)

Moshe, Moshe, answer me this: What will their friends think if they marry someone who is a different kind of Jew?They will think that all of the Jewish people are part of the same nation!was Moshe's reply.
More...

Blogs7 - Religion

Marrying a Jewish woman is probably the most important thing in the Jewish religion, at least for my family. I am not allowed to date a non Jewish woman let alone marry one. The basis of why I can’t marry a non Jewish woman is because ...

More...

Interfaith Questions Faced by a Jewish-Puerto Rican Couple

When I asked him the same question in return, his answer was quick and concise: “Jewish.” When I pressed him for an explanation, he had no trouble telling me that he enjoyed dating Jewish women because he found them to be smart, funny and usually brunette. I was amused and somewhat flattered.

More...

Commitment-phobes, aisle . To find the man/woman of your dreams, aisle 2...

Tips for Dating Guys Who Act Like Toddlers? I can write that book. Dump him. Immediately. If you’re a guy dating a woman who acts like a toddler? Dump her. Immediately. I guess that wouldn’t sell many copies. ...More...

Speed Dating

Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, originally as a way to help Jewish singles meet and marry.“SpeedDating”, as a single word, is a registered trademark of Aish HaTorah. “Speed dating”, as two separate words, is often used as a generic term for similar events.

More...

Handsome, smart, kind…. and briefly frum

i am a 40 year-old single (divorced) jewish man living in windsor terrace brooklyn (between borough park and park slope). I am tall, in great shape (avid tennis player---do you play?), accomplished writer and documentary filmmaker.
More...

Oh, those hot shiksas.

My son is 21, a junior in college, and seriously dating an 18-year-old freshman. He brought her to our house for Thanksgiving, and she is attractive and charming. The problem is that we are Jewish and have mandated to our three sons that they must marry a Jewish woman."More...

New York Magazine - Jewish Egg Donation

Here’s a riddle for your rabbi: If your baby is born from in vitro fertilization, and the donated egg isn’t from a Jewish woman, is the baby really Jewish? Although different branches of Judaism have different answers—Reform says it’s about how the kid’s raised;

More...

Into Hillard Quint's danger zone

Some of the Jewish women said Quint—who was raised Jewish but converted to Christianity, according to his ex-wife, Lisa Chapo, 39, of Atlanta—told them he only wanted to date other Jews. But women he met elsewhere said Quint told them ...More...

Mouse Trap

I know that this will come as a giant surprise to you...I get really excited about Jewish holidays. I guess this probably means that the whole dating a Jewish guy thing has worked out in my favor. I don't mean to say that I don't get excited about Christian holidays, but we only have two and you can pretty much expect to be eating the same thing on both days.
More...

8th Circuit Denies Asylum To Russian Jewish Couple Who Claim Persecution

Yesterday the US 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the denial of an asylum claim by a Russian Jewish couple who have been in the United States for 15 years. In Pavlovich v. Gonzales, (8th Cir., Feb. 14, 2007), the court upheld an ...
More...

what we deserve?

I especially feel her at the Shabbat service at Michfest, when I am sitting in a circle in the woods, holding hands with an intergenerational group of Jewish women. On the other hand, I think we create that presence, that together we ...

More...

Couple to share at Christian Fellowship

Doron are a Jewish-Gentile couple whose personal experience of God's power to heal and to restore inspires many. Their service over the past 25 years spans many nations, and in the heart of their labors is the essential oneness between Israel and the Church and between husbands and wives in God's ultimate redeeming purpose, according to a press release..

More...

One Street, Two Worlds

His wife was Jewish, and he says that their similar backgrounds added to their compatibility. When asked about his prodigious memory, he points to a Van Gogh print on his wall. think of a memoir as Van Gogh thought of painting. You never saw a cornfield like that.

More...

Sculpture exhibition tells ancient stories

Sevivon (also known as the "dreidel"), for instance, is the Hebrew name of a top which Jewish kids play with during Hanukkah. According to the legend, the Romans banned the Jews from learning the Torah when they invaded Israel, but Jewish...

More...

Jewish festival's films are must-sees for everyone

Davison and her selection committee are movie lovers, not just Jewish movie lovers. "These films have a Jewish interest," she says, "but they also have a ...More...

Mizz Manners

The heartbroken one demurred, saying he couldn't handle that. He told them he was a nice Jewish boy whose parents still loved each other very much, and that was what he wanted: a boy to grow old with. He didn't want the man he loved sleeping around, nor did he want to bang a bunch of other guys on the side. I thought it was kind of sweet.
More...

Excerpt from 'Body Surfing'

Mrs. Edwards, by contrast, is not afraid of the blunt question.
"Are you Jewish?" she asked as she was showing Sydney to her room.
It wasn't clear to Sydney which answer Mrs. Edwards would have preferred: Jewish being more interesting; not Jewish being more acceptable.
The doctor was Jewish. The aviator was not.

More...

Verizon Makes the Tribeca Film Festival Available to Movie Lovers Nationwide.

Beginning on April 24, Verizon customers can access an outstanding list of movie trailers and short films that will be making their debut at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. Verizon customers can experience the excitement of Independent film with access to short films that range from one women's journey through obsessions and distractions in "The Home" to the chronicle of love between a Christian boy and Jewish girl in "Kosher."

More...

Tuesday’s political round-up

Former First Lady Barbara Bush defended Mitt Romney yesterday against charges that people might hesitate to vote for a Mormon president. “I mean it was in 1897 that bigamy was outlawed in that church,” she said. “You know we have a lot of Christian wild people too, and a lot of Jewish wild people and a lot of Muslim wild people.
More...

Spreading Love ?

my friend told me that there are " Jewish Secret Agents(women) working in Pakistan wearing burga "these women are specially trained they walk on our streets without a care... because we will think that they are burga poosh but actually they are foreign agents.
More...

Jimmy and the Jews

"I realize that this has caused some concern in the Jewish community," Carter said. But there's no need to overreact, because he wasn't referring to policies within Israel, only policies in the Palestinian territories.

More...

Archeo-porn! Conspiracy Theory! Hallelujah!

In fact, when challenged on this point by Pilate, asking him whether he was king of the Jews, Jesus bluntly answered in Luke’s telling, That’s your rumor (”You say so”). In the Gospel of John, it flows thus:

More...

choosing friends

It was at a Jewish temple and run by Hispanic women, so her son, who was half-Irish and half-Chinese and baptized as a Catholic, was truly getting a diverse education. Jeremy laughed, his perfect teeth and to-die-for dimples on full display, and he greeted Donny with a firm handshake and pat on the back.

More...

5 Lessons I Have Learned From John Chow

Kentucky Term Life Insurance Www Redhead Matchmaking Services Jewish Wedding Rumah Untuk Jual Shah Alam Poems For Kids Arkansas Candle Bikini Party Paradontoza Sluzbene Novine Bih Ebony Hairy Women Hotel Saturnia Abnvoegs79603 ...
More...

Piltrafillas: gay hiv dating

In the USA, credit goes to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo. The Rabbi intended that dating method as way for Jewish mortals to meet in areas where they were outnumbered by non-Jews. Speed dating can be defined as an organized matchmaking event whose ...
More...

Jewish Wedding

A Jewish wedding is unlike any traditional American wedding. Filled with symbolism, metaphors, dances, prayers and multiple ceremonies, the Jewish wedding is much more than a simple commitment ceremony. Beginning with a matchmaking ...
More...

Know Your Jewish Community: Weddings

I wonder if there was some article published that claimed that Jewish matchmaking is entirely businesslike and devoid of feeling. At any rate Ellie of the Dilettante Handbook reposted an article about a mass Jewish wedding (20 couples) ...
More...

Making Matches Regardless of 'Tribe'

I am sickened to read that in the year 2007, college-educated women are still being told that "Jewish men don't marry shiksas," and that they should "Find someone from their own tribe" ("Make Me a Match," April 13). I am the daughter of a Jewish father and what Janis Spindel would call a "shiksa," though I would rather refer to my mother as an upstanding, hard-working, and intelligent former ...
More...

A date with Dar Williams and her guitar

She went back in time for the song, “If I Wrote You,” and then lightened the mood considerably with her “Teen for God,” which was written with the aid of her good friend, a Jewish girl whose parents had misguidedly sent her to Christian ...More...

J-Date Turns Jewish Man Anti-Semitic

Like Ahab and Moby-Dick, Birnbaum took to the internet to hunt his mythical creature, the nice Jewish girl. While specific traits are said to vary, the Unabridged Oy to Oy-Vey Dictionary defines “nice Jewish girl” as “a bride who ...More...

Jewtopia: Nachas or Shanda?

Adam, of course, would give anything NOT to be there, and attends but for the heart attacks that threaten to ravage his mother's health if he does not marry a nice, Jewish girl. From their mutual needs they hatch a plan: Chris will help ...More...

date up

I've been down that road before with Chicago Girl, and it's another elephant in the room. I'm sure it will get dealt with. But I'd hate to see what could be an otherwise great potential relationship crash before even getting off the ...

More...

LO's continued matchmaking

With all the talk of marriage, you would think that LO was a shadchan in training. She has certainly made it clear that she approves of the shidduch between me and PHD. We had a conversation the other day when she explained how she would like to call PHD "Abba" once we get married.

More...

Since he filled out my "boyfriend application"...

Does he have any scars that you know of? Yes.
Is he a Party dude or Stay at home?: He's up to doing most things I suggest.
Is he Outgoing or Shy?: Outgoing, I thought he was gay.Does he love his mama?: He's half Jewish....

More...

In Praise Of The Ass

The ass had to carry Mary, who was at least 8 months pregnant one hundred miles. The hormones had to be getting to her, she'd have been fat, and let us not forget Mary and Joseph were Jewish.

More...

An Exclusive Guest Blog By Ryvka BZ

My sister, who has drafted a Haggadah or two in her time, mentioned to me an article that she wrote about Pesach (Which is Passover, for all my beloved shiksa and shaygitz readers- love ya!) for a small newsletter in the Jewish community where she taught last year.

More...

Just browsing for other Jewish singles

Just browsing for other Jewish singles who may be interested in my site. I got sick of other Jewish dating sites being so greedy and instead of complaining I created JewishAmericanSingles.com...
More...

Friday Afternoon Hangover Crew

Do YOU have a friend that looks like Jesus? Does he belong to a Jewish dating site?Do YOU belong to a Jewish dating site?Do you have to have the fan on to sleep?

More...

Can You Hear Me Now?

to see if they have a new website, since the one they gave to the IRS (www.deputysheriffs.org) has plenty of info on hunting knives, skin care products, and dating tips for Jewish singles, but little on, say, deputy sheriffs.

More...

Chanukah Spirit???

Today's Jewish youth face existential threats to their Jewish identity in every facet of their existence. If you are thinking this is going to start being a lecture on Jewish-only dating, I promise you it is not, but I need to raise the ...More...

A dash of hope …

Helen is a huge Cure fan; in fact, I never really listened to The Cure until we started dating. I turn around to face her, my mind racing to produce some witty remark that will make her laugh and defuse the sudden tension, ...

More...

BLACK FATHERS AND TV

I haven't seen Lincoln Heights, but my 18 year old niece watches it and she loves it. She's currently dating a little Jewish boy, so she likes the fact that the daughter has a white boyfriend on the show. (pic left)ABC Family Takes.More...

Against All Odds

Having not yet met M, I braved the event as a yet another single Jewish New York woman. There were more of those in the room than pairs of Jimmy Choos. The event attracted the kind of crowd where you are bound to run into people from ...

More...

Sex God Review

To the Jewish mind, heaven is not a place somewhere else separate from this place, it is "where things are under the rule and reign of God. And that place can be anywhere, anytime, with anybody." This is extremely important to ...

More...

Joy finds joy

6 Mar 2007 by Lazer Brody When I first ordered books and CDs from you, I had been dating a non-Jewish man for about 6 months. Your books and CDs elevated my thinking to such a level that I realized I could never be happy with someone outside of my real faith.

More...

The only problem is, he is Jewish and I’m Muslim.

i’ve been dating this guy for almost 9 months now, we have so much fun together and we’re not only together because we really like each other but also because we are best friends. The only problem is, he is Jewish and I’m Muslim.
More...

my thoughts on gay marriage.

It was Jew vs. Jew in a winner takes all match with the Romans stuck in the middle. Finally the Romans took the side of the Jews and and began slaughtering ...More...

Columbia's $100K dating game

Spindel didn't stop there, though, responding to a question about dating outside of one's religion: "Jewish men will date shiksas. They won't marry them.

More...

First Met Meme

At the dance I accomplished one and only one significant thing other than winning the night's door-prize lottery -- a free yearlong membership in a Jewish video dating service which subsequently netted me exactly one date...

More...

picking at a wound

I am not condemning my sister for dating a non-Jew. As was pointed out, I've done the same thing. I didn't celebrate Christmas with my non-Jewish boyfriends, but that's not the point either. If she spent Jewish holidays with her family ...

More...

gotta respect a woman with standards.

In my defense, I thought he was just Jewish when it all began - a progressive one who was white but had tendencies for black supremacy. Politically, we aligned well, so I figured that he'd automatically agree with my stance on ...

More...

My Story Part 6

My mom (being a jewish mother) was giving me some guilt and grief. She asked me, "Why aren't you dating Grace?" Out I blurted, "Because I'm gay." I thought about ending this part of the story there, but I figured I'd get some angry ...More...

Hamas and Fatah Unite: Invite Jews Back To Gaza

Right of return is just another stupid concept invented by our Arab neighbours as a way to keep us in contempt of our great Jewish allies." Link to above story. In other news, David Duke has been seen dating Halle Berry, Mad Zionist is ...

More...

Orthodox Assimilation On Campus

The student will get to college and think - I’m already going to ‘burn in hell’ for being here in the first place - why bother getting up for davening, learning a seder, dating a Jewish girl. ...

The engine room, cargo hold and Luangphrabang

Now, Purim is like Jewish Halloween dating back to the time of the Diaspora and the story of Queen Esther (not the story in the Bible) and how she saved the Jews from annihilation at the hands of Haman when in Persia. ...
More...

A 60-year-old treasure is found in Poland

Today a bar sits where the synagogue used to; the group wants to turn the building into a museum in honor of the destroyed Jewish community. Chelm was one of the oldest Polish Jewish communities, dating back to the 12th century....

More...

dating again

All I can think of are Trinity2’s rules for dating. Must shave, must wear a decent shirt, must not be late. There’s no way more than two of these is going to happen and I think it’s better to make plans to meet later....
More...

From Jew-hater to a Jew-lover

As a Muslim, you just grow up hating Jews. As soon as you start understanding things, you are brainwashed with how the Jews of Medina had insulted and fought with our beloved prophet. ...

More...

Recommending a book -one I'm re-reading

Ironically he rails in anger against his Jewish lover for her religion, yet I think in the volume is revealing what this led to...
More...

Thoughts in a Freiburg Cemetery

Heidegger immediately distanced himself from those of his former friends and colleagues who were Jewish—with the partial exception of his lover Hannah Arendt—and above all from Edmund Husserl, to whom he had dedicated his masterpiece.

More...

Finkelstein Case: DePaul Political Science Personnel Committee Rejects Dershowitz, et al. Charges of Academic Misconduct

Obviously, a single quotation proves nothing about whether and to what degree Hitler’s desire to destroy the Jewish people was widely known and supported in Germany before its implementation - that is precisely the point at issue in ...

More...

A liberal view of the Motu Proprio

An April 3 letter from Cardinal Walter Kasper, who among other things heads the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, responds to concerns from the International Council of Christians and Jews about the pre-Vatican II Mass, in light of controversial passages it contains regarding Judaism.More...

Good Thing I Didn't Have Anything To Say

As a result, post-high school I have dated only Jews. My elder brother has dated a mix, but thanks to my intervention is seeing (rather seriously) a Jewish girl (whom I like a lot independently of the match), but my younger brother hates Judaism. Guess which one of us went to a Jewish day school. If you guessed the Baby Brother, you are correct.

Full Story...

Jewish single in los angeles

So whether you’re a jewish single in los angeles or a Hindu single in Pittsburgh, rest assured in the knowledge that allaboutsingles.com can match you up to the right kind of person you’re looking for. This is a sponsored post.

More...

Member Messages Add your message

Distance helped their family in Brazil accept the change. “Now they even keep track of what the next holiday coming up is, and what we’re going to do to celebrate. They try to understand our way of life and they are happy for us, that we made our own choices. The grandmothers like the part that we have many kids. Even though by Jewish law we are no longer related to them, we respect them and we maintain a good relationship.”
More...

Borscht Belt jokes, as told by princesses

Then again, it's not often in a house of worship that you're reminded of the one about "how you make a Jewish American Princess scream during sex. ...More...

New political fear: gaffes on YouTube

Speaking before a Jewish group in Washington, D.C., on Monday, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson remarked that making money is “part of the Jewish tradition.” Thompson later apologized for the comment, blaming the slipup on fatigue brought on by a cold.

More...

Jewish University created

Bardin's vision of experiential learning through culture, nature and leadership and Kaplan's vision of education that inspires through teaching, training and embracing the diversity of Jewish life are a perfect match, said officials from both institutions.More...

What Is Love? And How To Find It.

After all, Jewish women know a thing or two about match-making and marriage.
More...

The complexities of Chrismukkah...

As I'm sure you're now aware, I'm one half of an oh so fabulous British/American same-sex coupling and whilst you may not believe this possible, we're far happier than George and Tony will ever be. But back when we started out in 1999 (when Prince was just a squiggle) I had a few lessons to learn about dating a Jewish girl from No Cal.
Full Story...

I am Jewish, he is Catholic... Can it work?

I am Jewish and my boyfriend is Catholic. I am very much in love with him even though my parents are firmly against our relationship and it has been this way for over three years now. Just the idea I would be ready to marry someone outside of my religion freaks them out. Based on your experience, do you think we can make it work?

More...

An Open Letter To the Women of JDate

To be fair though a close second has to be my subconscious fear / disdain / discomfort / bias against both Jewish women and internet dating. That said, further analysis is needed to determine whether it's the women or the system itself that lies at the heart of the failure.More...

Current mood: jewish dating

Current mood: jewish dating. so i'm going to find the cure for cancer and not release it to anyone untill NASCAR is outlawed. its your call congress.
Full Story...

Hillary the Favorite in Race for Jewish Donations

Democratic activists and operatives said Clinton will pull in large quantities of cash among Jewish donors not only because of what they described as her strong positions on Israel and domestic matters of interest to Jews, but also because of longtime ties with these activists dating back to her husband's administration.More...

Conspiracy Theory of the Year - and the Year is Brand New!!!!

Monroe was dating a gangster Sam Giancana in 1962 while Sam Giancana was working for the CIA . Both Bobby and John Kennedy were personal enemies of Sam Giancana and the CIA that he was working for. Somewhere along the line Marilyn must have overheard one of Sam Giancanas conversations that Sam and the CIA were going to kill Kennedy so Marilyn was probably trying to get the word out to JFK when she was killed...

Full story...

Dating When the Attraction Is a Beautiful Mind

“I just went there to do something fun, but of course, this is Manhattan, and the Jewish community, so everything is really a singles event even if it’s not,’’ said Dorron Lemesh, a software writer who attended his first Makor spelling bee three weeks ago.

Full Story...

Child of Holocaust shares family story

She told stories of how her mother was forced to give up her wedding ring and the earrings off her ears to Nazi soldiers, who would later take their home, saying it was too good for Jewish people....
Full story...

Suddenly single

After 12 years of marriage, I was sad to discover my generation's hook-up spot had shifted away from the bar scene. A drink accidentally spilled during a get-to-know-you chat will mostly likely end up on your keyboard these days, and don't get me started about the crippling case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Safely ensconced in the confines of what I thought was wedded bliss, I never considered that one day I'd bask in the glow of a monitor while posting my profile on a Jewish dating Web site for all the world to see. Still, I found myself eager to dip my toes back in the dating pool.

Full story...

Jewish Singles

People can live a life completely free of bias and still feel that their best match for romance is with someone who shares historical, religious or cultural ties. If being Jewish is more than just a lable to you, you might want to see ...More...

Matchmaker

Here is her story in her own words: My grandma desperately wants me to marry a 'Nice Jewish Boy' and have lots of babies and be married. To further this hope and goal of her's, she badgers her friends and anyone and everyone she knows ...

More...

datingsite

NAnt is a set of tools to monitor the latency frequency blue sapphires personal ad in a elenas models Domain invalid matchmaking playlist professional matchmaking agency for married men singles Name Talk marriege jewish matchmaking ...
More...

Why nice Jewish boys fall in love with Israel

Nice Jewish girl (Natalie Portman) with Nice Jewish Boy If there is one aspect of a nice Jewish boy’s lifestyle that is drastically altered whenever he sets foot in Israel, it is the dating scene. A nice suburbanite Jewish boy growing...
More...

Surpassing Value of Christ

What was the goal of every Jewish boy? Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you ...
More...

Comment on I love the Onion by nice ex-Jewish Boy

Instead of larking on who’s rich, who’s poor, who’s Shia, who’s Suni, who’s Jew, etc. wouldn’t we want to eliminate the turds toying with waking the sleeping nukie giant? We can finish this dance being of one mind: melted mutants watching each other decompose the slow stinky painful way. …or not… …There is a God… …and He’s merciful… “…freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose…”
More...

Great Day For Judaism

I like a good Jewish boy. With a sense of humor.” I’m here for you, Mandy! No foreskin. Love my mom. And funny? Oy Gevalt! You never heard such funny! Just check out the site. (Okay, most of it was written by a bunch of WASPs ...

More...

It's a living

He doesn't mind when I refer to his favourite hamburger joint up in Richmond Hill as Jew Burger or the Jewish dating website as, well, we'll leave that one alone. ...
More...

You're wasting yourself and blaming others

You’re a woman dating a misogynist - a woman-hater. This is like being a black girl dating a guy whose leisurewear is a pointy white hood, or a Jewish girl ...More...

Special To The Jewish Week

Who was she dating before?”) The show is the brainchild of Kahaney, who says it came about because, like women everywhere, Jewish comediennes want it all. More...

Dating Within Your Faith, Start In College

Students went to hear Doron Kornbluth, author of Why Marry Jewish, talk about the importance of dating Jewish or slightly anyone from your own faith. His messages were all intertwined and quite simple. People should marry people of ...

More...

The "New Black" in Dating: Spelling Bees

"I just went there to do something fun, but of course, this is Manhattan, and the Jewish community, so everything is really a singles event even if it's not," said Dorron Lemesh, a software writer who attended his first Makor spelling...

More...

Lesbian Dating for Professional Lesbian Singles

Our experienced Lesbian counselors offer old-fashioned and personalized Lesbian matchmaking ...Executive Jewish Dating is sophisticated Jewish matchmaking services for upscale Jewish ... Our experienced Jewish dating counselors offer old-fashioned and personalized Jewish matchmaking ...
More...

Match & Marry

A fresh look into the tradition of matchmaking that dates back thousands of years. The documentary features tales, anecdotes, and surprises of matchmaking, dating, and marriage in the Orthodox Jewish community.

More...

Executive Jewish Dating

Executive Jewish Dating is sophisticated Jewish matchmaking services for upscale Jewish professionals with a desire for a committed relationship. Start with a Free Consultation with one of our matchmaking profesionals Today.

More...

The Latest Chapter In Al Sharpton’s Sorry History

Shimshon Stock and his wife Martha ponder the state of Jewish matchmaking in the film Make Me A Match The passing of Shimshon Stock on Purim has caused shock and disbelief to so many people in Lubavitch around the world.
More...

Good Thing I Didn't Have Anything To Say

And I wonder why. Why is it that people who come from homes where two Jews inmarried don't feel that inmarrying is important? I know that there have been studies done on how young Jews feel that being Jewish is only one identity among many, but that doesn't really answer my question.
More...

More Than I Can Chew?

Turns out she's something of a Jewish feminist- you know, egalitarian davening etc. I had some experience with that with Chicago Girl. I told her that Intellectually I was ok with it, but that it might make me feel a bit odd culturally.
More...

Columbia Gals Learn Art Of Man-Catching

In response to a question about dating outside of one's religion, she replied by way of example, "Jewish men will date shiksas. They won't marry them. You don't want to set yourself up for something you're not going to finish.More...

Jewish Dating Help

Some sites specializing in Jewish dating and Jewish marriage actually provide facilitators qualified to give Torah based guidance. If you are looking specifically for help finding Jewish singles, there are numerous Jewish singles ...More...

firsts on the fourth and other things

I guess I should end with something on the positive side. Hmm, oh! I have overcome a big hurdle tonight. Tonight there was a first for me too. Since I received it in October as a house warming gift, I finally bared down, quelled my fear of electrical appliances, and opened up the Cuisinart.

Full story...

berlin

Yeah, let's stop here for a second. My years of dating experience has caused me to shape my relationship compatibility emotions. I try to be the opposite of every complaint that every woman has about a man. I am extremely lenient, have that nice guy touch, but still have that edge of being an asshole.

Full story...

Hillary the Favorite in Race for Jewish Donations

Democratic activists and operatives said Clinton will pull in large quantities of cash among Jewish donors not only because of what they described as her strong positions on Israel and domestic matters of interest to Jews, but also because of longtime ties with these activists dating back to her husband's administration.
More...

When Was Your Last Spiritual?

And how is our heart doing? A Jewish heart doesn't only pump blood; it pumps warmth and love. A healthy Jewish heart is the emotional center of the person.

More...

Jewish women to meet, talk and learn

"In Rochester, and probably in other cities, our community of women really love the opportunity to dialogue and exchange thoughts on issues that are pertinent to their lives," said Randy Morgenstern, women's division financial resource development director at the federation.
More...

Running for the Mother I Never Knew, But Will Always Love

Last year, I ran a race in honor of Ellen, raising nearly $2,000 in the process. The money will go to the Ellen J. Alter Fund, an organization created by her daughter, Jessica, which is dedicated to improving the lives of Jewish girls and women worldwide. The race was 6.4 miles - farther than I had ever run before. My password for the race: "4Ellen."

More...

Documentary on Upper West Side Dating

The 27-minute documentary, titled “Unattached,” explores the myths and realities of single life on the Upper West Side and considers whether there truly is a “singles crisis” in the Orthodox Jewish community. “It takes a close look at the community''''s difficult marriage of traditional and modern philosophies on courtship, and tries to shed light upon what the future holds for a growing generation of Orthodox Jewish singles,” the film student explained.

More...

Dating: Online Odyssey

I chose to turn to the online Jewish singles world of Jdate to escape what I perceived as the trap of modern college relationships.

More...

Are You a Jew and Single? Join a Jewish Dating Service and Connect with Others.

Joining a Jewish dating service is a great idea if you are single and actively practicing your faith or if you are a secular Jew. Why? Because especially in the United States, it can be easier to relate to others within your faith.

More...

The Jewish Mistress: She May Be Clicks Away

Men who follow the Jewish faith don't have it any easier than their gentile brethren, and finding a Jewish girlfriend or Jewish mistress can make for a terrible headache, even on Jewish dating sites....
More...

Smart Jewish Dating Strategies

We have all heard the good, the bad and the ugly about Jewish dating sites. Some people have news of nuptial bliss while others have tales of devastating heartbreak. Nevertheless, devising a good dating strategy that would make any ...
More...

James Bond 007 La Femme Nikita Style Video for Jewish Dating Site

I guess one day I might need the marketing skills too, but it’s mostly entertainment for me. Well, I came across a really funny and well done James Bond 007 La Femme Nikita Style video for a Jewish Dating website.More...

Jewish Speed Dating for 30s & 40s

We have room for 30 people - 15 men and 15 women. You will meet each member of the opposite sex for a 5 minutes chat session. Midway through the evening will be a 15 minute break for more mingling then we'll finish the remaining Speed Dating rounds. I will explain how it all works when everyone has arrived.

More...

More of my Jewish dating rules. Or something.

Plus, I would never have a chuppah, the rabbi, and a real Jewish wedding with him. Unless he converted but I don't see that in the future. How do I break up with someone whom I don't even know if I'm actually dating? dating jdate.

More...

Finally, a Jewish dating site

If there is a sub-group out there, they seem to have their own dating site. We started wondering if there were any dating sites out there catering to helping a gal find a nice old-fashioned Jewish boy we can take home to mom.More...

Finding a Sense of Identity

Speaking of moving closer to Judaism, I should note that coming into college I was all for dating non-Jews and could care less about anything Jewish....
More...

Finding a 60-year-old treasure

This is the incredible story of a collection of 178 family pictures, which were hidden in the walls of a house in Poland just before the Holocaust, only to be found some 60 years later and be returned to their rightful owners .

More...

Making a match: Successful amateurs say timing, similar goals important when planning dates for friends.

‘‘I wasn’t thinking much other than the fact that I know two nice, educated, Jewish people who might hit it off,’’ he said. "I think that making a connection is a bit of luck. It’s mostly timing." Others who have successfully set up friends and relatives agree, though they say there are some guidelines to making it work.

More...

Aussie hosts seder in cyberspace

Meanwhile, Jewish life in the virtual world is flourishing. A sponsor has bought another Island, named Ir Shalom, which will house a kibbutz, Jewish historical museum, Holocaust museum and a new synagogue. Another recent addition is 2life – The Jewish Magazine in Second Life, whose Pesach edition includes a guide to living on Second Life and a Jewish matchmaking section.
More...

The New York Networking, Introductions and Activities Expo

Participating organizations include several social gathering groups, speed dating services, dinner and lunch groups, Jewish matchmakers, Catholic groups, image coaches and career services. Confirmed so far are: The New York Social Network, Social Circles, Let's Meet Out, Pros in the City, 8 at 8, Hurry Date, 8 Minute Dating, Meet Market Adventures, Dinner Party NYC, Breaking Bread, Holy Trinity CRC, Shoshanna's Jewish Matchmaking, Outdoor Bound, Club Getaway and Catherine Molitor image coach.
More...

Poll: Jews want to date Portman, Ali G

SomeoneJewish.com survey concludes UK Jews want to date Natalie Portman, Sacha Baron Cohen...
Full story

Living in a fantasy

After seven years abroad, I missed Israel, humus, the beach, my friends. But when I tried to renew contact, it was as if they'd disappeared. Except for big Momo...
Full story

Male view: Israeli women, US women

'Don't always assume that just because a guy starts talking to you he wants to have sex with you, that's more arrogant than anything.' Reader Jordan from Washington DC writes in response to 'Snobs, Jerks and Everything In between' ...
Full story

Israeli singles should say thank you

After hearing the problems of American singles, as they are portrayed in Dr. Dale Atkins' TV show, we can suddenly be glad that we live in Israel. Because in addition to all the usual trouble, our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora also have to make sure that their future partner is Jewish Sarit Perkol...

Full story

Why am I offended on his behalf?

His friend blew him off. Just like that, out of the blue, he called my significant other and told him they are done. Like a kid giving someone the silent treatment, they ...
Full story

Shoshanna's Jewish Matchmaking

Participating organizations include several social gathering groups, speed dating services, dinner and lunch groups, Jewish matchmakers, Catholic groups, image coaches and career services. Confirmed so far are: The New York Social Network, Social Circles, Let's Meet Out, Pros in the City, 8 at 8, Hurry Date, 8 Minute Dating, Meet Market Adventures, Dinner Party NYC, Breaking Bread, Holy Trinity CRC, Shoshanna's Jewish Matchmaking, Outdoor Bound, Club Getaway and Catherine Molitor image coach. ...
More...

Not your father's dating service

As Jewish dating sites struggle to compete for slices of the $500 million online dating industry, new dating models are being created to draw young people in. These sites, such as Frumster.com, SawyouatSinai.com, and Koolanoo.com have created a new paradigm that mixes the anonymity of on-line dating with real-life supervision. ...

More...

Singles scene

Jewish Single Parents and Jewish Singles Association – Dinner & movie. 6:30 pm Marco Polo Italian Eatery, 1260 Bison, Newport Beach. ...
More...

Documentary on Upper West Side Dating

Film student J.J. (Yehudis) Adler thinks that the Orthodox Jewish singles community on the Upper West Side of Manhattan is a fascinating sociological experiment: Drop hundreds of observant, dating singles into the center of a modern urban environment and watch what happens. ...
More...

Dicaprio to be Daddy-O, making Jewish baby with Israeli supermodel

The two have been dating for 15 months, and recently sent the local press into a tizzy when Leo popped over to the quiet Tel Aviv suburb Hod Hasharon to meet Bar's family, announce their engagement and, perhaps, the impending arrival of a new Jewish Israeli baby. ...

Full story ...

12 of 12

I'm excited about it, and have nicknamed it "The Jewish Love and Rockets"... For dinner I had the bread with some fabulous sausage soup that Leeann had left for me in the fridge. For dessert, a tangerine. ...

More...

A Jewish love Story

Do I have a nice Jewish boy/girl for you? That’s the question filmmakers Allen and Cynthia Mondell address in their latest film Make Me A Match. This insightful 59-minute documentary takes a look at the institution of Jewish matchmaking and the traditional and contemporary ways Jewish singles are searching for their soul mates. Filled with hope and humor; trials and tribulations, Make Me A Match is a film for everyone who has ever been single, along with the family and friends helping them make a "love connection."...

More...

The relationship that wouldn't die.

Some people are also ill-equiped to tell someone that they don't want to pursue the relationship any longer. We definitely encourage people to be sensitive to others in all things, but it is better to be up front and honest and not lead people on. If you continue to write emails to someone even though you know in your heart that this will never go anywhere offline, you are only leading the person on and will likely cause greater pain the longer you prolong this....
More...

easter sunday for jews

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday, you crazy Gentiles! Passover is still better, but those Peeps are darn tasty! Are they kosher for Passover? Is anyone wearing a cool Easter bonnet? ...
More...

DNA Age: Stalking strangers' DNA

As family history researchers know, paper records may contain errors, but a DNA match is a DNA match, no matter what the paper documents may say or not say.However, not all relatives are interested in participating. I have tested several branches of our family, but my own branch remains untested because of reluctance on the part of the few remaining male relatives.
More...

A match made in heaven?

I felt a pang when I saw the Jewish Week article Retreat And Advance: As funky Elat Chayyim closes its doors, some wonder if it will be replaced by a more upscale Jewish retreat center. The piece describes how at the end of this summer Elat Chayyim will move in with The Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. "Removing the Torah will be the final act by Elat Chayyim’s leaders before they close the retreat center’s doors, bringing to an end a grand experiment in the spiritual renewal of Judaism," Debra Nussbaum Cohen writes....

More...

mtDNA variation in Jewish populations

The mean pairwise difference in the Jewish population was 9.7 nucleotides. The gene diversity was 0.996, and the random match probability was 1.3%....
More...

Jewish Match Dating Site Members

Last week I reviewed Jewish Match. For those that follow Alexa rankings, it rates around the 300k mark. That tells me both something and nothing all at the same time. ...

More...

Online Dating: Can Social Networks Cut In?

Not enough love in your online dating world? If so, you haven’t looked very hard. From the biggies, such as Match.com, eHarmony, Yahoo Personals, to smaller, niche Web sites like ChristianCafe.com, JRomances.com (for Jewish singles), sites that offer match-ups, hookups and dating prospects are, well, blooming.More...

Company to support only "Jewish Ideas"

Bikkurim: an Incubator for New Jewish Ideas energizes and enriches the North American Jewish community by finding innovative Jewish ideas and nurturing them to sustainability. Matching entrepreneurial drive with organizational know-how, Bikkurim transforms the dreams of visionaries into a tide of initiatives that contribute meaningfully to Jewish...

More...

Jewish Love - Love Your Fellow Jew .

Acts of love and kindness are so much a part of Jewish Law that the word "mitzvah" (commandment) is commonly used to mean any good deed. ...

More...

Jewish Dating for Jewish Singles. Love & friends on JRomances.com

Are you Jewish Single? Are you looking for true love and new friends? You have found the right Dating Site. Welcome to JRomances.com, Jewish Dating Site for Jewish Singles looking for love, romance, friendship, matchmaking, online dating & relationships. Join free the Jewish Singles community and post your dating profile with photos. Take advantages of Online Jewish dating and matchmaking services: secure mail, instant messenger, chat rooms, Love Agent matchmaking, send to friend service, flirt, advanced statistics, hotlist, personal voice greeting and more options. Never loose your hope. Be sure: someone is seeking for you!

More...

Uncovering love and sex, Jewish-style

A new exhibition explores the relationship between Judaism and sexuality. Julie Szego reports. - The Age.

What did these sexual revolutionaries have in common? For one thing, each was Jewish and, given the culture's laid-back attitude to matters carnal, perhaps this is no coincidence. The relationship between the People of the Book and the mysteries of the flesh is the subject of an exhibition entitled Under the Covers - Love, Sex and Intimacy in Jewish Life, which opens tomorrow at the Jewish Museum, St Kilda. ...

More...

Jewish Love

“Jewish love. This trip is all about Jewish love,” says Momo, standing before us with his arms crossed behind his back, his belly jutting out underneath a blue collared shirt. “Israel is about love,” says Momo. “You have come to Israel and you will find love here.” ...

More...

What is Speed Dating

Speed dating is a formalized matchmaking process or dating system (a variant of a meeting system) whose purpose is to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Its origins are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo of Aish HaTorah, as a way to ensure that more Jewish singles met each other in large cities where they were outnumbered by non-Jews....

More...

Mr. Opportunity doesn't know my name

And not necessarily because they are looking for Jewish women, but because the families of the non-Jewish women they date refuse to accept them. That sucks. I mean, I know Jewish families that won't allow their kids to go out with ...
More...

Have Jews done better under Chistian or Moslem rule?

Let's say you're a Jew who likes women, all women, not only Jewish women; should you prefer to live under and witness Islam-Sharia's (relatively pre-ordained) or Christianity's (more open) treatment of women? or...
More...

Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen tops list of Jews other Jews want to date

In a list of Jews other Jews want to date, Sacha Baron Cohen star of Borat and Ali G tops the list of Jewish males that Jewish females wants to date. When it comes to females, Natalie Portman is top of the list for Jewish men who are looking for a celebrity to date. More…

Mel Gibson Sends E-mail Of "Love" To Jewish Community.

Months after Mel Gibson's stream of consciousness courtesy of Jack Daniels anti-semitic monologue, TMZ.com, the site breaking the original, claims to have another scoop. It's an e-mail between Gibson and his publicist, Alan Nierob, in which Gibson says, "Oi, let's end all this meshugass, and just let the Jews crucify me."...

More...

Jewish Kids Send Their Love

Israeli girls write messages of love on artillery shells at a heavy artillery position near Kiryat Shmona, in northern Israel, next to the Lebanese border. ...

More…

No match

He told Family News in Focus as many as half of Jewish girls at that time were named Mary, and Jesus was a common name as well. "My understanding is that there's no DNA connection between the persons in the tomb," he said. ...
More...

The Science of Blind Dating

We’re not the best match, but I’m not entirely convinced that if I went out with him again, it’d be awful.”), and a post-script updating our potential couple’s follow-up. In this case, our young woman e-mailed the Jewish Doctor, ...

More...

Jewish Love, Manufactured by Rab.

For all the kvetching Jews have done over Lisa Rab’s December story on the sorry state of Jewish dating in Cleveland, at least one shidduch (match) has resulted from it. Rab interviewed Eric Greenberg, a 29-year-old architect, ...

Full Story...

Making a match: Successful amateurs say timing, similar goals important when planning dates for friends

‘‘I wasn’t thinking much other than the fact that I know two nice, educated, Jewish people who might hit it off,’’ he said.‘‘I think that making a connection is a bit of luck. It’s mostly timing.’’ ...

More...

Why Marry Jewish?

why is it important to marry other Jews? Obviously the ultimate reason is the Torah itself. The best way to 'stop intermarriage' is to turn Jews on to Jewish ideas and life– and visiting this site is a wonderful way to do it.

More: continued here

Jewish dating non jew

I am dating a guy who is Jewish and I was born into a christian protestant/catholic family, although my family is willing to meet him and invite him to holidays/events , his are 100 % not willing even to just meet me. He says he is not religious and that marriage is a possibility and I truly feel his love for me, we are very compatible, but I am still discouraged from opening my whole heart up to him for I might be wasting my time. I am in love with him and met him on this site actually and we have been together for 8 months now, but there is still something waning about this relationship, the lack of family gatherings?? the easy-ness of just having a BBQ....I seriously need help. I feel like my beliefs are closer to Judaism then my own families beliefs. I would be willing to convert but this apparently isnt enough for his family...

More...

Non-Jew Dating a Jewish Man

I am a non-Jewish female dating a Jewish man who's parents are from Israel. We have been happy together for two years now, but haven't been able to convince his parents to accept us. We have told them that should we get married, I would definitely convert (as I have always had an interest in Judaism anyway). We've even broken up because of this but after a few months realized how miserable we were without each other. Do you have any advice to help us possibly appease his parents. I would hate to have in-laws who can't accept me, but I also don't want to have to give up the man I truly love...

More...

Why Should I Give that Nice Jewish Boy a Chance?

When you choose to date Jewish, you are saying that Judaism is important to you and that you must be with someone who can understand and share that. You are choosing to be with someone who has the same value system.
For those of you who cannot relate to that concept, you might be asking, "Why should I date someone Jewish? Why is it so important?"...

More: continued here

Finding the Heart of Singer's 'Love Story'

Sarah Schulman has a bit of the abracadabra about her, too. "Enemies, A Love Story," originally serialized in Yiddish by Singer for the Jewish Daily Forward 40 years ago, and then adapted into a novel-cum-film directed by Paul Mazursky, has now received the Schulman shazam, as she's added her own playwright's prestidigitation to present it as a new play, bowing Feb. 14 after a week of previews in a production by the Wilma Theater in Center City; the Jewish Exponent is a sponsor of the engagement...
More...

Strictly Kosher Nice Jewish Psychic Readings Just For Jewish Singles seeking their beshart .

Dating too many schmucks? Getting fed up?. Are there any mazel tov's coming into your life? You are Jewish and Looking through the Jewish Personal Ads for your beshart but then quite by divine accident you meet someone at a non Jewish singles event and he/she is not Jewish. OY VEY!!!!!!. You feel a soul mate connection, but he or she is not Jewish and you are not sure what to do. Will it work? Will he/she convert? How will your family feel? Maybe they already know and they are about to plotz. They are no longer calling you their little pushka, and you are sad. I know.....And I understand.

Birthright Journal - Part 5 - Jewish Love

My grandmother on the phone before I leave for Israel: “Joey, don’t get involved with any Arabs or women.”

“We are not a polite people,” says Momo, “my heart speaks via my mouth.” Shlomo “Momo” Lipshitz is president of Oranim Birth-Right Israel, one of the authorized tour agencies that shows Israel to the young Jews brought to the Holy Land for free by Birthright. It is his self-proclaimed duty to “bring one million young Jews to Israel.” Why? “Jewish love. This trip is all about Jewish love,” says Momo, standing before us with his arms crossed behind his back, his belly jutting out underneath a blue collared shirt. “Israel is about love,” says Momo. “You have come to Israel and you will find love here.”

I find Momo’s word’s hard to believe because of how they come out of his mouth; he is not talking to us, but barking orders, “You will find love.” I imagine him not in a blue-collared shirt and blue jeans but instead in green Army fatigues, a maroon beret sideways on his bald head. We sit in a room with a low ceiling. Around me are other Americans. We are all jet-lagged and overwhelmed to be in a foreign country, in a foreign hotel, listening to a man with a strange accent lecture at us.

The Shabbat candles, left on a table from the service a half hour earlier, burn low. “If you walk on the beach, here in Tel Aviv, and you see a pretty girl (and Momo tells us this is inevitable; all Israeli girls are pretty) you do not have to ask if she is Jewish. If you find your love on this trip, Momo will personally give you a free honeymoon to Israel.” There is whispering and Momo tenses up. “I am talking! When Momo talks you do not talk! Why were you talking?” He singles out someone on the other side of the room. “But, I wasn’t—” “I may be deaf from my tank service, but I am not blind!”

After you left meI let a dog smell atMy chest and my belly. It will fill its noseAnd set out to find you.
I hope it will tear theTesticles of your lover and bite off his penisOr at leastWill bring me your stockings between his teeth.- Yehuda Amichai – “A Dog after Love”

A New Jewish Love Day to Replace St. Valentine's

This past Valentine's Day, I was invited by Princess Cruise Lines as one of a panel of five "Relationship Experts." The premise of the February voyage was this: Fifty couples who had been corresponding for a period of time via the internet were now to meet in person for the first time, and we (Relationship Experts, that is) would be close at hand to advise and guide these "HTML Connections" toward becoming actual "Love Connections."

Now, a number of things surprised me as the days progressed. For one, I was taken aback by the number of Jewish singles on board who came to me asking why I was playing a lead role in celebrating a holiday named after a Christian saint. I quickly formulated a rationale: Anything that enhances love, regardless of source and origin, is to be encouraged by Jews everywhere, and especially by Relationship Experts like me. Thus my involvement in such an occasion was not only natural, but necessary. Besides, Valentine's Day had been thoroughly secularized anyway, right?

But upon my return to shore, I gave the subject further thought. And, upon intense retrospection, I came to realize that Valentine's Day is as Christian as Christmas. For a Jew to celebrate this sugarcoated, chocolate-frosted, cherub-infested holiday is the equivalent of noshing away on a bacon double cheeseburger and then drinking the wine out of the communion cup to wash it down.

Why this such sudden and extreme change of heart? Why have I become an opponent of Valentine's Day? Let's look a bit closer at this Saint Valentine. The setting is third-century Rome, and Emperor Claudius the Goth rules the land. Claudius' army is too small. Seems that young men are not eager to join the army and leave their beloved ladies behind. Go figure. So Claudius--reasoning that fewer nuptials means more soldiers--issues a decree that no more marriages can be officiated, and anyone caught doing so will be put to death. Meanwhile, back in the Roman churches is a guy named Valentine, who persists in marrying young couples despite the decree. Eventually, his luck runs out, and Valentine is sent to prison to await his fate. While there, he meets the young daughter of a prison guard, with whom he falls in love. So when at last the henchmen come for Valentine, he leaves her a simple note reading: "Love from your Valentine." And the rest, as they say, is history.

Aww. Sure, it's a sweet story, though more apt for a Wes Craven film than a day to honor love. I mean--dungeons and henchmen? And even if one insists that this story is really one of commitment to ideals and romance, how do we now choose to honor it? By overdrawing our credit cards? Really, what lovely traditions or rites have we borrowed from third-century Rome? Nothing! Rome didn't have Hallmark. Rome didn't have balloon-o-grams. So this is to be the day that we honor with talk of love and romance? I say no. Join the ranks. Revolt! Abandon Valentine's Day. I think I can hear your impassioned cries of outrage: "But Shmuley! I'll never get roses or dinner at Aureole again! Do away with Valentine's Day, and I'm relegated to a lifetime of all-you-can-eat Indian Buffet Nights!" Fear not, you watchers of Merchant-Ivory films and quoters of Shakespeare! I have not stolen your day of love but rather replaced it--and much improved upon it, I might add. In lieu of Valentine's Day, I encourage the repossession of our own Jewish Day of Love: Tu B'Av.

Jewish Love

"And you shall love your fellow Jew like yourself"

The Torah commands us to love our fellow Jew like we love ourselves. This is one of the most important mitzvot, because many commandments depend on it. For example, if one loves his fellow Jew then he would not steal from him, or hurt him in any other way.
A non Jew once came to the great sage Hillel saying, "I wish to convert on the condition that you teach me the entire Torah 'while I stand on one foot' - 'in a very short time'." Hillel accepted him as a convert and then told him, "What is hateful to you do not do to others, this is the entire Torah, everything else is commentary, go and learn."

Dating and the Single Jewish Celebrity--Or, How People Decided I'm a Racist.

Last year, I was in my "Letters to Celebrities" phase--when I saw a celebrity doing something odd or noteworthy or puzzling or interesting, I'd pen a letter to them. I never sent these letters--they were for writing exercise and for entertainment only. I sometimes explored an issue for myself or because someone else had asked me to, but for the most part, it was just for entertainment's sake.

But then there's this post, this letter to Zach Braff, that just won't die. People keep writing in, calling me "stupid," "racist," "tribal," and -- in my personal favorite -- a "fucking lunatic," all because I expressed a wish to see him with a nice Jewish girl.

I wasn't saying that you should cut little Chavaleh off from the family just because she ran away with Fyedka the Russian. (Hey, wasn't that the plot of the sixth season of Sex and the Shtetl?) Nor was it a statement calling for the alienation and ostracization of intermarried couples or interfaith relationships--I don't think anyone wins that way. All I was saying was that it would be nice to see a Jewish celebrity who married for both love and faith, and would serve as a symbol to those who are single and seeking.

Dating and the Single Jewish Celebrity--Or, How People Decided I'm a Racist.

Last year, I was in my "Letters to Celebrities" phase--when I saw a celebrity doing something odd or noteworthy or puzzling or interesting, I'd pen a letter to them. I never sent these letters--they were for writing exercise and for entertainment only. I sometimes explored an issue for myself or because someone else had asked me to, but for the most part, it was just for entertainment's sake.

But then there's this post, this letter to Zach Braff, that just won't die. People keep writing in, calling me "stupid," "racist," "tribal," and -- in my personal favorite -- a "fucking lunatic," all because I expressed a wish to see him with a nice Jewish girl.

I wasn't saying that you should cut little Chavaleh off from the family just because she ran away with Fyedka the Russian. (Hey, wasn't that the plot of the sixth season of Sex and the Shtetl?) Nor was it a statement calling for the alienation and ostracization of intermarried couples or interfaith relationships--I don't think anyone wins that way. All I was saying was that it would be nice to see a Jewish celebrity who married for both love and faith, and would serve as a symbol to those who are single and seeking.

Jewish Singles in the Military.

It is hard being a Jewish single in the military. We keep hearing about how we are supposed to meet and marry Jews, but where are they? How should we go about meeting the local Jewish community and the singles there? One solution is to turn to JRomances.com. This is a website where you are assigned a matchmaker to help you find the person you are looking for. Your personal information will only be viewable by other clients if they are matched with you. Otherwise, you will retain your privacy while a professional helps you to find happiness in a relationship.
I am a matchmaker on JRomances.com and I am happy to work with any member of the military. Please pass on the word to all of your friends.
ChloeJones

How I tried to save Beit Mishegas, and failed

This essay is going to have a surprising conclusion, for me as well as you, dear reader. A few years ago I single-handedly tried to save my synagogue, “Beit Mishegas” (House of Nutjobs), from itself. It was a heroic gesture, and it failed.
Beit Mishegas had decided to renovate its 1956-era building. BM is located in a wealthy mixed-housing suburb just at the tip of the city. It’s a stable, beautiful community with a police division nearby, the only kosher senior care facility in town, and the JCC, Federation and Jewish day school close by. A wealthy member hired a well-known synagogue architect from New York to draw up plans, and also footed the bill for a professional fund-raising consultant. The board held several town meetings to get congregational “input” on the plans.
The campaign raised an incredible $7.3 million in pledges. This is simply a staggering amount for our medium-sized midwestern shul. Every time I went to synagogue I glanced with amazement at the fund-raising thermometer next to the tripod with the architect’s rendering. It was thrilling to see the red line bursting past the goal. The congregation was as excited as if it were facing an expensive caterer’s buffet at a bar mitzvah kiddish.
That was the high point in the synagogue’s campaign. Then a cabal of members who favored relocation rather than renovation was allowed to hijack the campaign. For more than two years they struggled to change the collective mind of the board. There were more town meetings, some which included pseudo-demographics. Outraged members withdrew pledges, quit the synagogue or in general stayed around, but were demoralized.
About a year into this mess I could see where things were headed. As a member of the board, I wanted to do something to save BM from itself. I crafted a motion to thank those who worked so hard to study relocation, but to continue the renovation plans. Word got out about the motion and the board meeting room was packed. The discussion was one of the most depressing experiences I have ever had on a board or committee–and they’re usually depressing enough.
The rabbi, who privately had been supportive, expressed different views than what he’d told me. We’re a lay board, and those with more experience argued the dreaded “we need more time for study” argument. I’ve since decided that this rational-seeming argument is the death of good ideas. In the end, the question was called and no one voted for my motion–not even my second. And Beit Mishegas was destined for two more years of declining membership and “wait and see” maneuverings.
My feelings were deeply hurt and my emotions raw. I quit the board soon after. I gave up the chair of the Tikkun Olam committee. I watched most of my closest synagogue friends, many of the more spiritually involved, spiritually hip people, leave for the other conservative synagogue in town. I stopped chanting Torah. My wife and I debated whether to leave the synagogue as well. So far I’ve decided to stay–as part of a continuing, but failing, experiment in trying to produce cultural change. This synagogue has become–with a few bright exceptions–stubbornly institutionalized, opaque in its procedures, poor in communication, classist, and inelestic when it comes to new ideas.
More than two years after my original motion, the board finally voted to renovate. But in comparison it’s a modest plan of $2 million. New seats, air conditioning, carpet and an entranceway. Part of the modesty is due to an inability to raise more funds. The other part is that those favoring renovation are still active and now just biding their time.
I looked to the Torah for inspiration. Reading over our foundation stories, what did I see? Most of them do not rely on miraculous plagues, parting of seas, semi-miraculous post-menopausal pregnancies. Instead, God’s will seems to be worked out strictly on a human level–often involving trickery, deceit–stolen birthrights, selling your brother into slavery, calling your wife your sister, lying to Pharaoh about your ultimate intentions, and so on. Our stories don’t just seem to report these events–they celebrate them. I believe the attitude is that these, what we might call ethically questionable maneuvers, are appropriate for a small people pitted against a larger opponent. The patriarchs and matriarchs would have been quite effective on BM’s board.
The failure of my motion has affected my spiritual life in ways I still feel today. I’ve held onto my idealism so long (which is why I haven’t been able to belong to institutions for so long!). Maybe its time to shed the ideals and live in the human world. It seems rather ludicrous to conclude that the Torah teaches borderline behavior. But on the other hand, the failure to save Beit Mishegas from itself was part of my spiritual education. And it does seem that what I learned is this: as long as people are in charge, they will pursue underhanded means to succeed at their causes. What the Torah seems to say is that if your cause is just, you are permitted to use some ruses de guerre to accomplish your goals. The mitzvot limit such behavior, but within those limits there is some room for human maneuvering.

L.A. Story: Not What You'd Expect

It's that time of year in the NBA when teams are either jellin' or their fans are yellin' for change.Here are some stories catching my eye with less than two weeks left in the regular season:The Lakers' Defense...Wait, did I really use Lakers and defense in the same sentence? I know their team 'd' is breaking down out top because Smush Parker has a hard time staying in front of anything, including a glacier. But it's still confounding how an icon like Phil Jackson, with his 9 rings and Hall of Fame rep, can't put a better, more cohesive, harder working defense on the floor than this one, which frankly just sucks. Phil gets $10 mil a year and that's the best defense he can come up with? I guess it helps to know the boss. And be dating his daughter.The Clipper Resurgence...It shows what a team game basketball is, and how chemistry counts for so much, when a so-called career journeyman point guard like a Jason Hart can enter the mix late and his steady decision-making is key in helping turn a season around. With 7 wins in 8 games going into the coming weekend, the Clips are back to .500 and should end up in the 6, 7 or 8 spot. Odd, but the glamorous L.A. team is heading in the wrong direction while their less celebrated Staples Center hallmates are moving toward the right one.Felt Forum, Here They Come: The announcement that likeable, articulate Billy Donovan will be staying at Florida was followed a day later by a second statement saying that his junior class is leaving as Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green are all going to declare for the NBA draft, foregoing their senior seasons and a chance for a rare 3-pete. So Billyball is in place with no one left to play it. By the way, have you had a chance to listen to Donovan speak? This guy shouldn't be running something as pedestrian as a basketball team. He should be running the country.Earth to KG: I like Kevin Garnett. In a non-romantic way, I love him. There is no one more dedicated, persistent or loyal to his franchise. But is his loyalty blind? KG has been in Minnesota for 12 years. I think they've been in the playoffs, but not far enough to matter, and now it's been three years right into the lottery. And at an old 30, Kevin's not a kid anymore, even if he looks like one in his milkman's getup as a Gator-Aid delivery man. That's what makes the following comments from him remarkable for either their sticktuitiveness or stupidity, you decide: "I was telling some friends the other day, my analogy is a house. I've helped build a house or I've built a house (in Minneapolis).[in Minneapolis]. It had old wood in it and I replaced it with special wood and it became a beautiful place. But now because things aren't working right, now you ask me to move out of something that I helped build. That's hard." Memo to KG: It isn't that hard. Pack up your family, call Bekin's, move to Malibu, where you already have a house, and I'm sure there's good wood there, too. Probably maple. Then, play for the Lakers. Problem solved. They'll still have a night for you in Minnesota, so everyone can have a good cry. But you'll have a chance to retire as someone other than Charles Barkley or Patrick Ewing, two other ring-less giants of the game who come immediately to mind.Matzah Balls: The firing of CBA coach Micheal Ray Richardson wasn't a case of anti-Semitic bigotry. It's just ignorance. The former New York Knick who overcame lots of drug demons to become a coach in the NBA minor league, put his size-14 in his mouth, saying: "I've got big-time lawyers. I've got big-time Jew lawyers."They got a lot of power in this world, you know what I mean? Which I think is great," Richardson told the Albany Times Union. "I don't think there's nothing wrong with it. If you look in most professional sports, they're run by Jewish people. If you look at a lot of most successful corporations and stuff, more businesses, they're run by Jewish [people]. It's not a knock, but they are some crafty people."Predictably, Micheal Ray was tossed out on his tucchus. Now here's the truth is stranger than fiction kicker: He's apparently married to a Jewish woman, and their kids are being raised as Jews, so go figure.Taxi, Please: According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, two unnamed Cleveland Cavaliers took a cab from their downtown Minneapolis hotel to the Metrodome for Monday's Twins-Orioles opener, then left a total tip of 50 cents for a $4.50 fare. I hope one of them wasn't Lebron, but why would he take a taxi to the Metrodome when he can just buy it?

When the dates were anything but speedy .

In the spring, a young man's fancy lightly turns to - a singles bar?
Dating has changed. Even the way singles meet singles has changed. Men and women did not go to bars in order to find someone to fill your place or mine. Men hung out in barrooms and talked to each other about their successes or failures in dating, and baseball was an equal-opportunity conversation.
A boy asked a girl to go to the movies with him. That meant paying for the movie plus, depending on the age, a trip to the drug store for an ice cream sundae. Then you walked her home.
That's right. The guy walked the girl home. During World War II, there were songs such as "I Don't Want to Walk Without You" and "I'll Walk Alone."
Actually, Walking My Baby Back Home was neat. (Neat was the "cool" of our day). You could walk with your arm around your date and not have a care about traffic or for paying attention to the road. Anyway, the girl's father felt more secure if the boy didn't have a car.

I remember that just before I left for the Navy, a girl and I went to see a movie and then walked to a favorite ice cream shop and then about a mile or so to her house. We did that in the rain. We put nickels into the jukebox, and one of the songs we played was "Blue Rain." The blue rain was a symbol for the dark days of the war, but that love song stayed with me all the while I was in service. I forgot the girl but not the song.
I was stationed at St. Alban's and close to New York City. My friend and I arranged a foursome. We went to see a movie on Broadway that featured a live performance by a comedian who peppered his routine with off-color stories.
When my date laughed, I figured I had it made. She would not have laughed if she hadn't "been around." It turned out that I was someone she didn't want to be around with. But that was one of the tests. If the girl passed, the guy would wind up walking into a drug store backward.
One of the truly great events of those early dating years was buying a couple of tickets to a dance. It seemed that every month some organization would sponsor a dance. It was not necessary to be an expert dancer, and there is no better date than to hold a girl in your arms throughout the evening.
I learned to do the steps of whatever dance music was being played, but I seldom got the rhythm right. Moreover, I still wasn't meeting the right girl. Well, I'd met her, I just didn't know it.
And that wound up to be the strangest date of all. A fellow worker gave me tickets to a lecture on psychology that was being offered at the Jewish Center. I knew who would be interested, and I grabbed those tickets and called that girl.
So what was really my first great date had me listening to a lecture with my future wife sitting beside me. I don't remember anything important being said.
So now, they have their first meeting at a singles bar, and too often, the future is simply whatever the night will bring.
I can't speak to that scene because I am not in it, but I still recommend a walking date.
Keep in touch.

Tomorrow is another day !: The fast way to fall in love

At a downtown cafe in Shanghai on a recent Saturday afternoon, 28 neatly-dressed single young men and women were chatting in pairs across the table -- another young woman is counting down the time with a bell in her hand.

``Time! Gentlemen. Please move to the next table for another eight minutes,'' shouts supervisor Li Keke, account manager of the www.color8th.com, the organizer of the speed dating. Convenience seems to be the order of the day, even when it comes to falling in love. Young people are no longer waiting to meet one person, only to find they're not right -- so they speed date instead.

The Website launched its first eight-minute speed dating gathering last month, with 30 participants. Everyone selected for the event has been chosen according to age, education and career. It's simple -- people are paired up and in eight minutes they have to share a conversation which may lead to another date. Participants are required not to ask each other for contact information.

If you find someone you want to see again, you write down their names on the dating card and hand it to the organizer. Two weeks after the first speed dating gathering, the Website received more than 200 new registrations.

The majority of the applicants are local white-collar employees with a university degree, aged between 22 to 35. ``It's a fast and comfortable way to meet people. It helps enlarge my social contacts,'' says 27-year-old Huang Xiao, a salesman.

``I don't care if I can't find a girlfriend there. I just want to try my luck, and if she is there, then that will be a big bonus.'' Huang's attitude is shared by many. According to the Website, nearly 70 percent of applicants list ``making friends'' a top priority. For some, speed dating is simply efficient and avoids an embarrassing disaster date.

It's cheap, too, with the cost around 50 yuan (US$6) for participating a gathering. ``The marriage rate in Shanghai has declined in the past decade, but it doesn't necessarily mean that young people are against marriage,'' says sociologist Gu Jun from Shanghai University. ``However, the Internet has isolated some people from normal social interaction. Speed dating is one solution to meeting people effectively.'' Gu says the speed dating scene in Shanghai is still very new and the organizer plays a key role in its success. Speed dating is said to have originated from an ancient Jewish custom.

Single young men and women getting together regularly, accompanied by their parents. In 1999, speed dating began to gain popularity along the western coastline of America and later spread to New York City and then to Canada and England. The speed dating scene only started up in China earlier this year. Major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenyang, Liaoning Province, have already embraced it. Shanghai native Wei Bing, 30, who participated in a recent speed dating gathering, stretches after the non-stop hello-and-goodbye finally draws to end.

``It's not as easy as I had expected. I have to think of a different topic to make it easier to start, it's really a big brainwork,'' Wei says. Jasmine Ye from the Shanghai PR Beginning Consulting Co Ltd says her company's first speed dating event was on Valentines Day this year.
``We are also planning to promote speed dating for people in the same business circle,'' Ye says.
The color8th Website is currently negotiating with an overseas company to launch the event in Japan and South Korea with the hope of exploring an gathering involving different countries. But both organizers say that they are not yet making money through the event itself. Long-term membership is the most profitable. ``If the client is satisfied with our work (the speed dating), they are very likely to become interested in our other events and subsequently register for a membership to get a good package,'' Li says. ``Speed dating doesn't mean much for the profit line but it's still good for business.''