Adopt a Shadchan is an organization like no other: connecting shadchanim and creating new initiatives to help people looking to get married. Read all the details here!
We’ve all heard the gemara quoted, ‘Kashin l’zivugan k’krias yam suf,’ but more than just hearing the phrase, we’ve all felt it. We all have someone (and some of us, many more than one) davening to find their zivug. On some level, we’ve all tried to do something about it. Davened, tried to redt shidduchim, and maybe davened more.
One incredible organization, Adopt a Shadchan, tackles the shidduch crisis head-on. We got to speak with Lisa Elefant, one of the founders of Adopt a Shadchan about what this organization really does and how we can get involved. ‘Adopt a Shadchan,’ Lisa explained, ‘is so many different things. First and foremost, it’s a network of female shadchanim across the country, dedicated to working together and supporting each other in redting shidduchim. The shadchanim, all vetted, are on a Whatsapp group where among so much more, different cities take turns posting ‘adopted’ singles and work together to redt shidduchim. To date, from this chat alone, over 100 shidduchim have been made.’
Adopt a Shadchan also has a private frum shidduch database, where singles can upload their resume for only strictly vetted shadchanim to view and make suggestions. Several shidduchim have been made from this database too.
Over Covid, when dating nearly stopped, Lisa began supervised group Zoom-dating, and while initially far from ideal, within 6 weeks of starting they had made their first shidduch. As more and more single people joined their initiative, Lisa began to take their feedback and accept their help to take Adopt a Shadchan to the next level. Lisa and her team, including Ruchi Giberstien, Aviva Ghermazium, and Daniella Feldman from their Ohr Moshe division (focusing on singles ages 30 and above), realized there was so much more they could do, especially with input from the single people they were servicing.
Some more initiatives they began since then?
- 1-2 speed dating events per month geared toward different age groups. The participants are carefully vetted and are able to participate in a very frum and kosher environment.
- ‘Prayer Pact,’ a tefillah initiative where girls daven for other girls, boys for boys, mothers for mothers, and shadchanim for other shadchanim for 40 days. Everybody davens for someone in their same boat’s success. They’re up to round 8 now, and 115 shidduchim have been made from this tefillah initiative, and counting!
- ‘Be My Guest’ Shabbos meals, where families from different communities are encouraged to host singles for a Shabbos meal in a setting where they can meet in a comfortable environment. As with all initiatives, the singles are the superheroes, involved in the planning and executing of all of the events.
- ‘Wedding Redting,’ where shadchanim come to weddings after the chuppah and before the first dance to meet singles, at a time when they’re already gathered and ready to meet shadchanim.
Is this as inspiring to you as it is to us? We asked Lisa how we and our readers could best get involved. ‘What we need,’ she said, ‘is more. Our shadchanim spend hours upon hours working on initiatives and shidduchim and deserve a salary! We need a center, a home base, where we can pay shadchanim to continue this amazing work. We want to keep running these events, coordinating these initiatives, and spending all the time that we do on shidduchim, but we need support.’
Want to be a part of the movement? You can donate by zelle to adoptashadchan@gmail.com or by mail to 1164 East 24th st, Brooklyn NY, 11210. If you want to volunteer, or know someone that can benefit from Adopt a Shadchan, reach out to adoptashadchan@gmail.com to get in touch with the Adopt a Shadchan team.
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