Mazel Toy!

Long-Distance Romance

Hurdles cleared for couple who connect
over 2,500 miles.

Leonard Poger
Copy Editor

heryl Resnick-Ettinger
was looking through an
online dating service for a
spiritual soulmate and magic
in a relationship. Joel
Steinberg had the same goal.
But there were a few draw-
backs, and a major one — he

The hurdles

between- them

were "blown out

of the window

when
we both
,

knew we were

each other's

beshert"

— Cheryl Steinberg

Sept. 27
Julie (Lesser) and Patrick Smyk
of Farmington Hills are thrilled
to
announce
the birth of
their son,
Evan
Parker
(Evan
Yaron).
Welcoming Smyk
Evan home
with hugs and kisses is his big
sister Hannah Morgan, 27
months. Delighted grandpar-
ents are Dr. James and Joani
Lesser of West Bloomfield and

.

October 6 . 2005

Cheryl emphasized in her
lived 2,500 miles away in
second
e-mail to Joel that
California.
"the
spiritual
aspect of my
In their online profiles of
what each wanted in a partner, eternal partner is non-nego-
tiable."
they stressed spirituality was
That turned Joel's interest
the primary aspect.
Joel, then 47, wanted some- from just pen pals to knowing
that Cheryl was indeed the
one who was a pet lover (he
one.
has two cats), younger than
After Joel's third e-mail to
40, without children and with-
Cheryl
in early 2004, they
in 15 miles of his Silicon
decided
it was time to tele-
Valley home in central
phone. Joel told himself, "Oh,
California.
the heck with it. Let's go
Cheryl, then 41, had two
sons, 9 and 7, was allergic to ahead and fall in love."
The first phone call was the
cats and lived in Southfield.
next day.
When he received a
They had two lengthy long-
response from Cheryl, Joel
distance
conversations, the
asked himself, "Why am I
second
lasting
20 hours. The
getting an e-mail from
couple
concluded
they may be
Michigan?" Initially, he felt
meant for each other and
that because of the distance
decided to meet. Six days
problem, they could just be
later, Joel flew in to meet
pen pals.
Cheryl at Detroit Metropolitan
The hurdles between them
Airport. They became engaged
were "blown out of the win-
last fall and were married on
dow when we both knew we
Aug. 26 by Rabbi Sherwin
beshert
were each other's
Wine at the Grosse Pointe War
[meant to be]," Cheryl said.
Memorial.
Her attitude: "Well, if it is
Joel, owner of a technical
meant to be between us, then
recruiting company, and
God will find a way to work it
Cheryl, a writer, used
out. It's not for Joel and I to
Match.com to provide their
solve it right now."

Dr. Tony and Joan Smyk of
Bloomfield Hills. Excited great-
grandmother is Elaine Lesser of
West Bloomfield.

Sept. 22
Jacalyn (Lesser) and Kenneth
Bishop of Portland, Ore.,
announce with
much love the
birth of their
son, Jace
Matthew
(Yaron el
Yocum).
Sharing in their
joy and excite-
Bishop
ment are

grandparents Dr. James and
Joani Lesser of West
Bloomfield, Allen and Rose
Bishop of Warren and great-
grandmother Elaine Lesser of
West Bloomfield. Jace is named
in loving memory of his mater-
nal great-great-grandfather
Jack Lesser and maternal great-
grandfather Ludwig Brandes.

Aug. 30

Vivian (Adler) and Daniel
Mouradian of Oak Park are
happy to announce the birth of
their second daughter, Shayna
Araxie (Shayna Vichna).
Welcoming Shayna home is big

Cheryl and Joel Steinberg

online profiles.
The two recently produced a
15-minute DVD recreating the
start of their relationship. Joel
is shown writing in his private
journal to his yet-unknown
soulmate and Cheryl is shown
sending him e-mails on her
laptop.
The journal was Joel's way
of conjuring up his soulmate
before they met, Cheryl said.
In the journal, he "described
me to a '1' — physically, spiri-
tually and the type of relation-
ship he wanted."
The pet issue was resolved
when Joel converted the
indoor cats to being outside
cats.
Cheryl's sons, Jordan and
Jaime, quickly connected with
Joel, referring to him as

sister Rose Anoush. Thrilled
grandparents are Dianne and
Henri Mouradian of Ferndale,
Barbara and Haskell Adler of
Southfield and great-grand-
mother Roslyn Goldfarb of
West Bloomfield. Shayna is
named in loving memory of her
maternal great-aunt Shana
Duben and family friend Sarah
R. Gittleman.

Aug. 30

Amy (Goodman) and Craig
Felhandler are proud to
announce the birth of their
beautiful daughter, Avery
Francis (De Vorah). Excited

"Daddy No. 2." At the wed-
ding, the boys walked their
mother down the aisle and
stood under the chuppah with
her parents, Sy and Sandie
Resnick of West Bloomfield.
Joel's parents are deceased.
Because of flexibility in their
careers, they can divide their
time between their California
and Southfield homes. Cheryl
is a freelance writer working
on a book and owner of the
Spirit of Motherhood business,
while Joel's recruiting business
is Internet-based, letting him
work from any location.
When the two are in
California, her sons live with
their father in the Detroit
area. El

first-time
grandparents
are Mark and
Teri Goodman
of Franklin.
Also sharing
in the joy are
bubbie and
papa Marcia
and Stuart Felhandler of West
Bloomfield. Avery is named in
loving memory of her maternal
great-grandmother Francis
Lutren and paternal great-bub-
bie Doris Felhandler.

Births on page 70

69