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.

