IFE
Sin e Ell •
Toronto's Jewish singles are very similar to their Detroit peers
HEIDI PRESS
News Editor
L
eo Rosten once wrote: The
Jews are just like everyone
else, only more so." Toronto
Jewish singles are just like Detroit
Jewish singles, only there are more
of them, about 30,000 (out of a
Jewish community of 130,000) to
Detroit's nearly 15,000 (out of a
community numbering about
60,000). Despite the nuances in the
way they speak English and the
differences in their national alle-
giances, Detroit's and Toronto's
Jewish singles really have a lot in
common.
A random sampling of some
Toronto Jewish singles showed that
the major difference between the
two groups is that house parties
are popular in Toronto, where, in
Detroit they are rare. Rhonda
Letofsky, 26, a credit collection
manager for a film processing com-
pany, preferred the house party ap-
proach.
You don't want to meet some-
one in a bar. You want a referral."
Letofsky said if there aren't any
parties, she'll avoid the bars. Sid
Dorfman, 34, an urban planner and
director of Metro Toronto Singles,
said singles tend to go to private
house parties because they are
"less intimidating."
The Jewish Community
Center-North is a great place for
Jewish singles to meet each other
on two fronts: in classes and at the
pool, according to Bonnie Green-
berg.
,
Greenberg, 31, who is in sales,
said the JCC-North pool is the hot
spot. "It's packed with tons and
tons of single people." Allen
Koffman, a 30-year-old
entrepreneur, concurred. Both the
JCC-North and JCC-Valley in
Thornhill with its numerous tennis
courts and pool were places where
singles have the best chance of
finding other singles. At the same
time, "a lot of people meet at
health clubs," Dorfman said.
"People are. very health conscious."
However; Dorfman admitted that
some go for social reasons as well.
Susie Azouz, 25, a chartered
accountant (CPA), who came to To-
ronto six months ago from
Montreal found that for her, the
best place to meet other Jewish
singles is at dances, like those
hosted by Dorfman's Metro Toronto
Singles. "I've. met a lot of people
that way," she said. Record store
owner Lon Appleby, 40, said after
his divorce he also went to singles
parties. "I made friends through
the parties. The circle keeps grow-
ing."_
Most of the singles said they
went on blind dates. According to
Azouz, blind dates "tend to be the
way most people meet the person
they're going to marry."
Stuart Jurmain, 32, a post
office employee, does not go out to
meet people. Instead, he said he
prefers to dabble in his hobbies,
and meet people through them.
Winnipeg transplant Elaine Wise,
26, an elementary school teacher
took a different tack. Coming to
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