20 | OCTOBER 29 • 2020
L
isa Chaben has a special
gift for making connec-
tions.
The Metro Detroit-based
matchmaker has helped more
than 300 people fall in love and
find their perfect matches since
her first matchmaking venture
in the late 1990s. “I’
ve always
had that intuitive,
” she says.
As the pandemic changes the
way people date, often making
it more difficult to meet others,
Chaben is taking her match-
making business official with
the launch of Match with Lisa, a
personalized concierge service
for people looking to connect
with someone for a long-term
relationship. It’
s a service she
now believes is more important
than ever as many people are
feeling the strains of isolation
due to social distancing.
“People are lonely,
” she says.
“They struggle to meet others
and don’
t know what to do.
”
Because of this, Chaben says,
her phone has been ringing off
the hook with people looking to
find a romantic match. For the
matchmaker, though, helping
others fall in love is something
she has become an expert at
over the last 40 years.
Chaben, 57, who attends
Temple Israel, first noticed a
talent for matchmaking when
she was 16. She would go out
with her girlfriends and point
out who they should date. This
led to successful relationship
matches, some of which result-
ed in marriage.
She continued matching peo-
ple up through college and into
adulthood even as she worked
in real estate full time. Now
she’
s ready to take her business
national by rolling out services
to California, Arizona and
Florida.
“I love making people happy,
”
she says. “It’
s the best feeling.
You’
re creating a story.
”
Chaben now attends the
children’
s bar and bat mitzvahs
of people she matched up early
on in her career. Others she
matched up now have grand-
children.
Chaben makes matches
based on personality traits, hob-
bies, goals and mutual values.
Interested clients submit an
application through her website,
where they’
re asked to share
what they’
re looking for and
more about them.
Chaben will then look at
other applications to determine
who could match up or tap into
her personal network to see
what potential matches exist.
She’
ll then set up first dates
via Zoom, which, although dif-
ferent from traditional dating,
can often be less stressful for
people, she describes. “Before,
people would go meet in a
restaurant,
” Chaben says. “
And
you’
d always feel so awkward.
”
Through Zoom dates, people
can meet from the comfort of
their own homes and have more
say in the direction of how the
date goes, without having to
worry about making it through
a date that just might not be
going so well. It’
s that awkward-
ness, Chaben says, that often
makes it obvious to onlookers
when people are on their first
date.
Zoom isn’
t the only option,
though. With winter coming
up, Chaben has already planned
out a variety of date ideas for
those who do want to meet in
person. Snowshoeing, igloos
and sleigh rides are just a few
items on the agenda for people
who use her matchmaking ser-
vice, which sees everyone from
young adults, to divorcees and
widowers, to people who have
never been married.
For those who have expe-
rienced loss, though, Chaben
believes there is always an
opportunity to find a different
love, even if it’
s in a new form.
“You’
re never going to find
another love like that,
” she’
ll tell
people. “But you are going to
find a soulmate or someone that
you can connect with. Someone
you could go to the movies with
or someone you could spend
time with. You’
re going to find a
different avenue of love.
”
Matches are possible for
everyone, she says. “I tell people
this all the time,
” Chaben con-
tinues. “There’
s a pot for every
lid.
”
Visit matchwithlisa.com to learn more.
Local matchmaker has created more
than 300 successful love stories.
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
IN
THED
JEWS
Dating During
a Pandemic
COURTESY OF LISA CHABEN
Insurance Help
Do you need health insur-
ance? Enrollment for the
Affordable Care Act begins
Nov. 1, and you can talk to a
certified healthcare naviga-
tor at Jewish Family Service
through Zoom or over the
phone to help you.
If you’
re signing up for
health insurance for the first
time, learn about coverage
options, subsidies and tax
breaks. If you’
re already
enrolled, update your infor-
mation and review your plan
to ensure it’
s still a good fit.
The help is free and avail-
able to everyone. For more
information or to schedule
an appointment, contact Olga
Semenova at (248) 592-2662
or osemenova@jfsdetroit.org.
Thank God for
Israel — Online
Join the Jewish and Christian
communities as they unite
to honor Israel on an online
webinar presented by the
Friends of Israel Gospel
Ministry, Michigan Jewish
Action Council and Adat
Shalom Synagogue 7 p.m.
Nov. 1.
Participants will hear
from expert panelists on the
newfound peace agreement
between Israel and the UAE,
ways you can get active in
supporting Israel in your
local community, and the rise
of antisemitism and ways to
combat it from special guest
speakers.
Registration is required at
gofoi.org/thankgodforisrael.