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A seven-minute program matches Jewish singles.

LISA BARSON
Special to the Jewish News

T

here are a number of
well-established ways
that Detroit area Jewish
singles meet each other:
Jewish Federation's Young Adult
Division, for example, hosts a wide
range of programs throughout the
year. Bars are good if you like the
atmosphere, and the Summer
Singles' Mission is wonderful if you
have the vacation time. Personal
ads and the Internet have proven
successful on occasion, but what
about those busy singles without a
whole lot of time to devote to the
process of dating?
An unconventional approach
called "Speedating" may be the
answer. Sponsored by Aish
HaTorah, the program has proven
successful in Los Angeles and
New York, so Rabbi Tzvi
Hochstadt decided to try it in
, Detroit.

The process is rather
Above, left to right:
Inez Garfield. "It was so
simple. An equal num-
Vicky Hochstadt of
much fun, totally origi-
ber of men and women
Oak Park registers
nal and different."
the participants.
are brought together
Garfield has lived in
once a month in a coffee
the metro area her entire
shop. The women sit
life, and has found it dif-
alone at different tables,
ficult to meet new peo-
each assigned a number.
ple. Yet out of the seven
The men are given the
men in her session, there
Brad Gordon
numbers in varying
was
only one she already
order, and they get seven and Inez Garfield
knew.
spending
seven
minutes at each woman's
Garfield says it is dif-
minutes together.
table.
ficult to meet men who
But there are a few
are looking for a serious
key rules to Speedating.
relationship. But through this
Participants are not allowed to ask
small, select group, she found it
each other's profession, where they
easy to determine someone's inten-
live, where they are from, and mos t tions. "In such a short period of
important, they are not allowed to
time," she says, "when you are lim-
exchange phone\numbers.
ited in what you can ask, you just
The seven minutes are to be
want to find out the most impor-
used to learn each other's interests
tant things."
and to determine the role Judaism
Registrants are_asked just one
plays in each person's life.
question when they call to make a
"I felt like a pawn in a giant
reservation: "Is your mother
adult board game," explains 41-
Jewish?" A positive answer means
year-old Farmington Hills resident
the person can sign up.

•

But in order for the program to
work, there must be an equal num-
ber of men and women. Often, an
interested individual is placed on a
waiting list until an equivalipt
number of men or women sign up.
The $10 registration fee covers
Aish HaTorah's advertising costs
and any charges that must be paid
to the coffee shop hosting. the pro-
gram.
Royal Oak resident Gene
Goodman attends learning ses-
sions sponsored by Aish HaTorah,
and heard about Speedating and
its success in Los Angeles. He
traveled to California to learn
what it was all about. "It's a more
casual, comfortable atmosphere
for meeting people," says
Goodnian. He thought it could
work in Detroit, and worked with
Rabbi Hochstadt to bring it here.
The concept is still new to the
area, and Goodman thinks many
people are still too shy to try it.
"The first time we did this we