Over 10,000 Jewish singles to take part in world’s largest speed dating event

More than 10,000 Jewish singles expected for global Tu B’Av speed-dating event on Wednesday.

By World Israel News Staff

More than 10,000 Jewish singles from around the world are expected to participate in an online speed-dating event on July 29, which organizers are billing as the world’s largest speed-dating event ever held.

The event, scheduled around Tu B’Av, the Jewish holiday traditionally associated with love and matchmaking, is being organized by Partners in Torah, Aish and CoronaCrush in cooperation with more than 100 Jewish organizations across six continents.

Participants will complete a detailed questionnaire before the event and will then be matched based on their answers, preferences and, when relevant, location. Each participant will be able to take part in as many as seven brief video dates over the course of the evening.

The annual initiative has expanded substantially since last year, when 6,750 singles participated in 15,463 dates during a single hour. Organizers said the event led to dozens of continuing relationships and at least three marriages.

“Every year the response grows, and every year we hear new stories that remind us why this matters,” said Tehilla Friedland, chief operating officer of Partners in Torah and one of the event’s lead organizers.

“We are not just running an event. We are building a community, one date at a time.”

Michaela Tobias, community manager for CoronaCrush, said organizers had improved the matching system based on feedback from previous participants.

“Singles told us what worked and what didn’t, and we listened,” Tobias said. “This year’s questionnaire and matching are smarter, and we are ready to help even more people find each other.”

Among the couples who met during last year’s event were Gila and Neriya, whose relationship began with a seven-minute video conversation.

Gila, originally from London, had recently decided to immigrate to Israel when a friend showed her an advertisement for the event on Instagram. She initially hesitated before registering.

“I was sitting in the call with my friend, and we saw it,” she recalled. “I was like, why not? To think that I met my husband is really crazy.”

Neriya, an American who had moved to Israel to study in a yeshiva, was also uncertain about participating. He had hoped to meet someone who had already decided to build a life in Israel.

“There are only benefits to this,” he said. “Either you spend an hour of your evening and nothing happens, or you spend an hour of your evening and find, in seven minutes, the person you’re going to marry.”

After being matched during the event, the two spoke by telephone for another two hours that night. They remained in daily contact for several weeks before meeting in person.

They became engaged three months later after Neriya proposed in Jerusalem. The couple married in February, several months after their initial online meeting.

“It’s really crazy,” Gila said. “Almost a year later, I’m celebrating a year of meeting my husband. I never thought it would happen this way, but I’m so grateful it did.”

She encouraged other singles to participate even if they were skeptical about online matchmaking.

“Give it a try,” she said. “You really just never know where your husband is going to pop up from.”

“You don’t have to tell anyone if nothing works out,” Neriya added. “But you have nothing to lose by trying.”

Success after seven previous events

Another participant, Goldie, met her future husband, Barak, after previously attending seven speed-dating events over three years without finding a lasting relationship.

“I believe in putting myself out there as much as I can,” she said. “If Hashem wants me to find someone, then I have to allow for the opportunity.”

Goldie said she did not fit easily into a conventional communal category and therefore needed to explore different ways of meeting potential partners.

She nearly missed the online event after being invited to an in-person gathering at a friend’s home. After the host learned she had registered for the virtual event, he arranged a quiet room where she could participate.

“I was able to log in, and the rest is history,” she said.

Goldie was matched with seven men, including Barak, a Los Angeles psychologist whose parents are Israeli. Their allotted time ended just as they were beginning to connect.

Barak called her after the event, and the two spoke for another two hours. They continued speaking almost every day, and Barak soon flew to meet her in person.

Goldie said she was attracted to his direct approach.

“He didn’t play games or beat around the bush, and I really appreciated that,” she said.

The couple dated for six months and became engaged in Israel in February after Goldie traveled to meet Barak’s family. They married in June and plan to make aliyah.

“Moving to Israel was a deal breaker for him, and it was something that I wanted as well,” Goldie said.

“You never know. You could meet your spouse as I did,” she added. “Or, at the very least, you’re just meeting another Jewish neshama searching.”

Organizers said the participation of more than 100 partner organizations reflects growing recognition of the difficulties faced by Jewish singles, particularly those living in smaller or geographically isolated communities.

Previous events have included participants from Israel, the US, Britain, South Africa, Brazil, France, Sweden and other countries.

Rabbi Steven Burg, chief executive officer of Aish, said the initiative gives Jewish singles an opportunity to meet people they might otherwise never encounter.

“The Jewish response to building the future has always been through relationships and family,” Burg said.

“Every year this event brings together singles who might never have crossed paths otherwise, and every year we hear that it changed someone’s life.”

“Tu B’Av has always been a day associated with matchmaking in Jewish tradition, and it feels fitting that this event now carries that spirit forward for a new generation,” he added.