r 'AR: Pk ‘, - W ;la nOtai,' Scene _ Lauren and Rick Altman, with Jasper The Beshert Connection counts four marriages, two engagements, seven serious relationships and dozens of budding courtships at its two-year anniversary. JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR Special to The Jewish News T o say Lauren Altman was skittish about joining the Beshert Connection at Temple Israel may be an understatement. Twelve months after relocating to West Bloomfield from a 10-year stint in Los Angeles, the Michigan native found herself crossing . her fingers as she handed in a $36 check along with her application for the pro- gram. Perhaps it was that little bit of finger- crossing. Perhaps it was fate. But what- ever it was that got the 36-year-old to the bimah this past October, Altman is thankful it happened. Two months after saying Mni li dodi, vi dodi li" to Rick Altman, she still hasn't come down. "I have to say that I wasn't sure about joining [the Beshert Connection] at 1/8 1999 90 Detroit Jewish News Lisa Sandler wipes lipstick from hubby Matt Fein's face at their wedding recep- tion last month. first, but I am glad I did. Rick and I do a lot of laughing and we are always doing activities together," she said. "I am so happy. The Altmans are one of four couples brought together in wedded bliss by the singles network at the West Bloomfield Reform temple. Two other pairs have set wedding dates, and dozens more are in varying stages of courtship, including seven couples who pulled their individ- ual profiles from circulation because their relationships had shifted into high gear. Amazing stuff for a program that is celebrating its two-year anniversary. "It makes me feel so good," Beshert Connection director Kari Provizer said of the married and chuppah-bound cou- ples. "We are providing a service to the Jewish community and to the individu- als." Provizer created the program after a friend moved to Florida. Tired of the bar scene and blind dates, the friend turned to a Jewish singles network. Her friend was so jazzed by the results that Provizer began to wonder why there wasn't something similar in Detroit. "There are singles networks all over the country that operate in a similar fashion," she said. "It was just a matter of time before there was one like this in Michigan." In September 1996, Provizer gath- ered names of interested people, but didn't kick off the program until January 1997. The Beshert Connection grew steadily from there, now with over 570 individuals ages 21 to 92 on its roster. To join, applicants pay a $36 annual fee, then fill out a questionnaire, which includes queries about education, habits, hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes. Information from the questionnaire — including a photo, but excluding last names, addresses and telephone num- bers — is worked into a profile, assigned an administrative number and pasted into a book. Members view the books, read pro- files and indicate which person of the ...A opposite sex they want to meet. A post- card is mailed to that individual, indi- cating the pursuer's administrative num- ber. The pursued is asked to come in and view the interested party's profile. After reviewing the info, the person is asked to either send his or her telephone number or decline the advance. The concept of making matches or helping people find their beshert ("des- tined") in the Jewish community is probably older than marriage itself. For millennia, men and women have been given the title of shadchan, or matchmaker, and set about arranging marriages or encouraging hopeful matches. ."