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Ayelet and Jamie Blumenthal

Robyn and Eric Hughey

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Birthright Sweethearts
Ayelet (Kon) and Jamie Blumenthal, married
three years, met on a Birthright trip 11 years
ago. She was on the Israeli staff; he was on
the American staff; and they immediately
clicked as friends.
"We were five years apart, so at the time it
seemed like a huge gap:' Ayelet says. "I was
18, just a kid out of high school; he was 23,
an adult with a job from America!"
After that summer, they would meet from
time to time in "the kind of easy friendship
that picks up out of nowhere:' But when they
found each other once again staffing another
Birthright trip, their dynamics changed.
"Suddenly we were a couple Ayelet
recalls. "Our first thought was, 'Oh, no! This
is a huge problem. How are we going to
make this happen when we live on two dif-
ferent sides of the world?'
"For the first year, we just kept trying to
break up. We would spend time together in
New York or Israel and then we would have
that tearful 'airport talk', where we would
decide to 'end it But each time we parted,
one of us would break down and call the
other. So we decided to stay in a long-distance
relationship while I completed my degree in
business at Hebrew University and Jamie was
in New York working in real estate.
"After graduation, I flew to New York, and
Jamie proposed in the airport! Detroit is our
home now, and we'll see where life takes us:'

Hillel Day School Alumni
Jennifer (Morse) and Bob Mattler have
been married 19 years. Although both
frequently attended Federation's Young
Adult programs, their paths had never
crossed until Florine Mark's daughter,
Lisa Lis, recruited Jennifer for a newly
launched Hillel Day School (HDS) alum-
ni committee.
At the first alum meeting, Jennifer
describes how a tall, handsome (and
slightly "older") man arrived late. "We
both noticed each other and made it a
point to introduce ourselves. For the
next six months, we flirted and bonded
over our passion for Israel (Bob was a
co-chair leading a Federation singles
trip that summer, and I had gone as a
participant the summer before).
"After yet another YAD event and
then a program at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek (yes, we had our synagogue in
common, too), Bob asked me to dinner
before one of our HDS alumni meetings.
Bob still says it was a 'business meeting'
(I think that our 11-year age difference

MSU Hillel-Oriented
Robyn (Berkowitz) and Eric Hughey
were just married in July. Perhaps
MSU Hillel Executive Director Cindy
Hughey knew that her son Eric and
new program associate Robyn would
hit it off together while staffing the
"Hillel" table together during student
orientation in the summer of 2008.
Robyn had only briefly met Eric
before the program began. "He seemed
quiet and reserved, a true guy's guy:
quite the opposite of me Robyn
recalls. "But every day, he entertained
me with funny stories and imperson-
ations, and as the summer progressed,
Eric and I became close friends:'
As Robyn started coming to work
every day telling "Eric stories:' Cindy
noticed. "She could see us falling in
love observed Robyn, "even if we
couldn't! My own mother advised not
to date my boss' son. I knew she was
right but, by December 2008, Eric and
I were already dating.
"Our relationship grew stronger and
on July 20, 2013, we were married.
Thanks to MSU Hillel, I not only have
a fulfilling and rewarding career, but
also have found my perfect match. I
believe that my decision to stay and
work in East Lansing was truly kismet,
and I could never have asked for more:'

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Jen and Bob Mattler

concerned him at first).
"We had been dating for a year and
half when we attended the United
Jewish Appeals Washington Conference
in D.C., and Bob proposed during our
trip!"
Best friends forever, soul mates and
lovers, Jennifer and Bob are blessed with
two sons, Morgan and Ari, daughter
Erin and a puppy named Riley (rescued
last April).

Sweathearts on page 14

Imagination Celebration!

Sing-Along Songs, Share-Along Stories
6 enough silliness to Warm the
Wildest Winter Day!

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February 13 • 2014

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