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6

41Juz.

Hank Greenwald, Tina Farentino
c7- and Jeff Reiter of A New Beginning.

IJ-1

The temples each began their
>- o wn
'version of the exact same ser-
Lg. vice: Temple Israel's Beshert Con-
i) nection launched last fall, while
Temple Beth El's started just last
month.
It seems to some that it would
be wise to pool efforts — to in-
crease the number of potential
dates for members. But thus far,
that idea has yet to take flight.
The most recent National Jew-
ish Population Survey found
more than 500,000 single Jews
between the ages of 18 and 40 in
the United States. The same sur-
vey revealed that fewer than half
of Jews today marry a Jewish
mate.
"A return to dating and mar-
rying within one's own religion"
prompted Temple Israel to start
the Beshert Connection, says Kari
Provizer, director. She stresses
that it's not a matchmaking ser-
vice — it's "self-selecting, self-
screening introductions."
For $36 per year, Jewish sin-
gles can join and periodically leaf
through the books. If you find
someone you'd like to meet (every-
one appears by first name only),
you fill out a postcard and put it
in a confidential box. Twice a
week, Mrs. Provizer mails the
postcards out.
'We don't want to make mon-
ey. We want to discourage as-
similation and help [singles] meet
other single Jewish adults," she
says.
Temple Beth El's Michigan
Jewish Singles Network charges
$50 for the same service, says Sue
Ellen Simon, Beth El's member-
ship and programming coordina-
tor.
"What we'd really like is for
people to let go of their fears and
come out for opportunity," she
says. As of mid-February, the net-
work had about 50 members,
with a mailing list of 250.
Open since October, the Besh-
ert Connection already claims
more than 100 members.
Metro Detroit is home to a bevy
of dating services. Several secu-
lar agencies provide technologi-
cally superior services, but with
no guarantee that you'll find a
Jewish date. The prices are high-
er, but some might say you get
what you pay for.
In an introductory offer, A New
Beginning Video Introductions
Inc. charges $375 for a two-year
membership, $475 for three years.
In return, members' computer-
generated videos are added to a
database of searching singles.
Another local service, Lunch
For Two, demands $575 to find at
least eight lunch dates in a six-
month period. While they do

-2
¢

(

Synagogue-
based dating
services catch
on in Detroit,
although some
Jews prefer the
secular
options.

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN

THE DE TROIT JEWI SH NEWS

STAFF WRITER

48

Find

oo busy to meet the
right Jewish per-
son? Or are you
simply meeting one
wrong date after anoth-
er?
Temple Israel in
West Bloomfield and
Temple Beth El in
Bloomfield Township
want to make it a little
easier to find your besh-
ert.
Both offer a pseudo-
dating service — sign
up, pay a fee and your picture and
vital stats will appear in a three-
ring binder type of scrapbook.

FIND ME A DATE page 50