A Blossoming Beshert

Temple Israel's singles network has made some matches...
and is waiting for them to become permanent.

ELANA HARRIS

Special to The Jewish News

Eld TV's "Singled Out."
Bars. Personal ads.
Chat rooms.
Matchmakers. Friends
who think they're matchmakers.
Singles networks. Singles networks?
Yes, that's right — from Denver
to Baltimore and everywhere in
between, Jewish singles networks are
all the rage. And since January 1997,
Detroit has had one of its own —
the Beshert Connection. A some-
what successful one, it seems.
In less than a year, 26 people have
taken their names out of the avail-
ability category, having found a
"beshert" — at least for now. And

while there are no weddings planned
yet, Kari Provizer, director of the
Family Life Center at Temple Israel
which runs the Beshert Connection,
remains hopeful.
"The excitement has grown
through word-of-mouth," Provizer
says. "We're absolutely waiting for
our first engagement."
When Provizer started the singles
network, she had only 50 members.
Less than a year later, 350 have
signed up.
Naomi, a West Bloomfield resi-
dent and Beshert member since the
spring, thinks the program is great.
"It's a nice, very positive thing —
it helps Jewish singles connect. The
Beshert Connection is a really good
way to meet other Jewish adults, and
since I want to date Jewish men I'm
really glad something like this

exists," she says.
Although Temple Israel is home to
the Beshert Connection, any Jew in
Detroit can join. Members come
from all religious backgrounds and
levels of involvement, and members
range in age from 21 to 87.

Jewish singles
networks
are all the rage.

Lee, 35, who joined Beshert in
April, says that networking "takes
away a lot of the uncertainty of
blind dates. Before you meet anyone,
you know a lot about them — from
their likes and dislikes to whether or

not they smoke."
And, says Janie, 40, "there's no
threat of being turned down. You
call only those people who want to
meet you."
Thus far Janie has dated two men
through Beshert. While Janie leafs
through the books, Lee has let the
women find him. He's been quite
successful, too, having dated four or
five Beshert women.
For most, the Beshert Connection
is not the only way to meet people
— they still go the old route of fix-
ups and singles events.
Members say that what makes the
Beshert Connection, and singles net-
works in general, so appealing is that
they are truly low-key and non-
threatening. Members do things
their own way — they have ultimate
control over their dating destinies. ❑

HAPPENINGS

Saturday, Dec. 6

Mix and mingle, Jewish Professional
Singles. At the home of Jackie, 13324
Ludlow, Huntington Woods. RSVP
by Dec. 4, (248) 399-2283. Cost: $8.

Sunday, Dec. 7

Lunch and DIA film, Jewish
Professional Singles. Meet at noon,
Little Daddy's, Northwestern
Highway. Call Steve, (248) 356-7326.

Tuesday, Dec. 9

Information meeting for singles Cancun
trip. 7 p.m. At the Maple/Drake JCC.
Call Sharon, (248) 661-7721.

Wednesday, Dec. 10

Dinner and a show at Second City.
Cost: $28, members; $33, non-mem-
bers; $14 show-only. Call Sue Ellen,
(248) 851-1100, Ext. 3157.

Informational meeting, Israel trip,
Maple/Drake JCC. 7 p.m. Hear from
Shliacha Yael Waxman. (248) 661-
7721.

Coffee night, Jewish Professional
Singles. 7:30 p.m. At Muddee Waters.
(248) 398-9370.

Thursday, Dec. 11

Ruach Hadassah Hanukkah party. 7
p.m. At Nicole Schapira's house.
Cost: $6 members, $7 non-members;
please bring a small child's gift. RSVP
by Dec. 8 to Michele Chapnick,
(248) 258-0145 or Karen Davis,
(313) 455-2502.

Young adult lunch with Rabbi Harold
S. Loss. 12:30-1:30 p.m., Big Daddy's
Parthenon, West Bloomfield. Cost:
$12. Call (248) 661-5700.

Friday, Dec. 12

Second City Dinner in the Motor City,
Michigan Jewish Singles Network.

At Adat Shalom Synagogue,

Young Adult Shabbat Service. 8 p.m.

Farmington Hills. (248) 851-5100.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a
Match: Alicia Nelson speaks at Beth
Shalom's singles Shabbat service. 8
p.m. Oneg to follow. Call Kari
Grosinger, (248) 642-4260, Ext. 241.

Sunday, Dec. 14

Brunch at Einstein Brothers Bagel,
Orchard Lake and Maple, with B'nai
B'rith Leadership Network. 11 a.m.
Call (248) 788-NEWS.

Jewish Professional Singles and Ann
Arbor Schmoozers, Zanzibar
Restaurant. 11:30 a.m. Call Phyliss
Perry, (313) 973-8699.