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MatzoBall Detroi+

Jewish singles now have their own
party on Christmas Eve.

Barbara Lewis I Contributing Writer

MaztoBall Matches
In many of its host cities, the MatzoBall
has become an anticipated network-
ing and matchmaking event. "The
people who go are interested in meeting
people Rudnick said. He met his wife,
Katya, at a 1997 MatzoBall.
Josh Sklar, 34, who grew up in
Farmington Hills, and his wife, Paula, 30,
met at a MatzoBall in Boca Raton in 2003.
He and Paula, who is from Chicago where
the couple now live, were both visiting
their grandparents in Florida.
"Josh had gone to the MatzoBall for sev-
eral years, but it was my first time Paula
said. "We were both with our best friends.
The four of us hung out, and he and we
just hit it off:'
Josh and Paula — both still in college at
the time — kept in touch. They married
in 2010 and now have a 13-month-old

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The owner was a little worried that the
event name might seem offensive and
wanted a Jewish organization to be listed
as its sponsor. So Rudnick started the
Society of Young Jewish Professionals.
The first MatzoBall was promoted pri-
marily by word of mouth and a few local
radio news stories. But it filled a void. The
event attracted 2,000 young Jews.
Rudnick realized he was onto some-
thing big. He could provide a quality
event for the huge audience of Jewish
young adults who are free from school
and work on Christmas Eve with nowhere
to go and nothing to do.
"It's the only day you can take a top
venue and turn it over to a Jewish popula-
tion," he said.
In 1989, he expanded the MatzoBall to
New York and Boca Raton and, in 1990,
to Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco
and Miami. Other cities have been added
since. Rudnick quit his real estate job to
devote himself to the Society of Young
Jewish Professionals.
In addition to the Christmas Eve par-
ties, the organization hosts cruises and
vacation trips, monthly meet-ups in
several cities and a weekly online virtual
MatzoMingle. All are geared to Jewish
singles aged 21 to 49.
Rudnick says he wanted to bring the
MatzoBall to Detroit for many years but
was stymied by state blue laws that pro-
hibited the sale of alcohol after 9 p.m. on
Christmas Eve. The ban was lifted in 2010.

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Josh and Paula Sklar met at the Boca

Raton MatzoBall in 2003, while visit-
ing their grandparents in Florida. They
married in 2010. Shae is 13 months old.

daughter, Shae. "She's our MatzoBall baby:'
Paula said.
Rudnick estimates more than 1,000
marriages have resulted from his
Christmas Eve parties. MatzoBall is now
seeing a second generation, as the adult
children of couples who met at one of the
early events are starting to attend.
Every city with a MatzoBall has a
local coordinator. In Detroit, that's Jenny
Feterovich, 39, of Bloomfield. Feterovich,
who came to Michigan from Russia as a
teenager in 1989, produces documentary
films and a PBS series, Start Up.
She's also a popular DJ with the nom-
de-disc Jenny LaFemme. For the past 16
years, she has hosted a private Christmas
Eve party for Detroit's Russian Jewish emi-
gre community.
She'll be leading the entertainment
for the Detroit MatzoBall, along with DJ
Gene, Freddy Lux and special guests.
Doors at Twist Night Club, 22901
Woodward, Ferndale, open at 8 p.m.
Admission is $20, and advance purchase
is recommended. For tickets, go to www.
eventbrite.com (search for MatzoBall
Detroit). Large parties can reserve tables
by calling Feterovich at (248) 739-6197.
Before the MatzoBall, Feterovich will
lead a group to serve dinner — including
matzo ball soup donated by Epic Kosher
Catering — at the Detroit Rescue Mission.
Those who help will get a free ticket to the
MatzoBall. Meet at 4 p.m. at the mission,
3535 Third St. in Detroit. ❑

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December 18 • 201 ,

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