26 | JULY 20 • 2023 

OUR COMMUNITY

I

n 2018, when Bracha Berenson turned 30, 
she decided it was time to get married and 
start a family. 
“My father had a life-changing moment on 
his 30th birthday, and I figured if he could 
change his life at 30, I could do the same,
” 
Bracha said. 
Back then, Bracha lived in Sacramento, 
California, across the street from her sister 
Amie, and she worked as a residential care-
giver for a “swanky” senior living center. 
Bracha decided to date every single eligible 
Orthodox Jewish guy in her area until she 
found “The One.
”
“
After I dated all four of them and discov-
ered none were for me, I realized my best 
bet was to go online,
” Bracha said. Wary 
of creeps, she nonetheless joined JWed in 
August and aimed to give everyone she met 
a fair try.
“I decided to talk to everyone until I got 
bored of them,
” Bracha said.
In the meantime, across the country, 
DovBer Bennish, a Chabad man from Oak 
Park, was recently divorced and eager to get 
married again. He discussed it with Rabbi 
Hendel Weingarten of Lansing, who suggest-
ed DovBer pledge to financially help a family 
who was in a tough situation. 
“That would be a good segulah (remedy/
protection),
” Rabbi Weingarten told him. 
So, DovBer started supporting this family. 
That Saturday night, as he scrolled Jwed, a 
California woman by the name of Bracha 
caught his eye. 
Meanwhile, Bracha wasn’t having a lot of 
success on the website. The men she met 
were inappropriate, controlling or just didn’t 
hold her interest for very long. 
When she received her first message from 
DovBer, she responded. He asked what 
she was doing that weekend, and Bracha 
answered she was planning to attend a rabbi’s 
barbecue.
A few days later, DovBer messaged her 
again and asked how the barbecue was. 
“I was impressed,
” Bracha said. “It might 
sound small, but for internet dating, that 

stood out! He’
d remembered something I’
d 
said and asked about it. Nice!”
Soon the two messaged regularly, switched 
to the phone and played chess online.
“We were very evenly matched,
” said 
Bracha, and it wasn’t just the chess games. “It 
didn’t take me long to realize that this was 
probably a very good fit, but I knew we had 
to meet in person. As I kept telling DovBer, 
‘You can’t really know someone until you 
smell them.
’”
Within a month, DovBer traveled to 
California to meet Bracha. “He smelled very 
nice!” she said. Then Bracha traveled to 
Detroit to meet Dovid, DovBer’s then 7-year-
old son. 
Just one thing: Bracha hadn’t actually told 
her mother about DovBer. Soon after that, 
Amie cornered Bracha in the kitchen and 

announced, “Mom, Bracha has something to 
tell you!”
Bracha finally shared that she’
d met a man 
online and things were getting pretty serious.
“Who is he?” demanded Chaya, Bracha’s 
mother.
“His name’s DovBer. He lives in Detroit. 
He’s divorced and has a son —”
“What?!”
“It was amicable. He’s not an evil person,
” 
she said.
“Oh, I don’t know about this,
” worried 
Chaya. “Who is this guy? What does he do?”
“He does airline miles.
”
“What even is that?!” Chaya roared.
“I don’t really know, but he swears it’s legal,
” 
Bracha answered meekly. 
Later that week, a still-worried Chaya ran 
into Esty Levitansky — nee Weingarten, 
who’s Rabbi Hendel Weingarten’s sister and 
originally from Detroit! — who said, “I hear 
Bracha’s dating someone I know!” and sub-
sequently sung DovBer’s praises so high, it 
calmed Chaya down immediately. 
In March 2019, DovBer and Bracha mar-
ried in California, and later drove Bracha’s 
car for a multiple-day trip from California 
to Michigan on a mini-honeymoon. They’ve 
lived in Oak Park ever since.
The sweetest part? Dovid — who’
d been 
begging for a sibling for years — became a 
big brother twice over in a period of weeks! 
DovBer and Bracha welcomed Devorah 
Leah in December 2019. Two months later, 
Shayna (DovBer’s ex-wife) and her husband, 
Mordy Goldner, also of Oak Park, welcomed 
daughter Chava. Adorably, Devorah Leah and 
Chava not only share a big brother — they 
also share a playgroup — and their moms 
often carpool and do playdates with the girls.
In June 2022, DovBer and Bracha wel-
comed son Shlomo. 
Now, happily married and a busy mother 
of three, Bracha’s life has changed dramatical-
ly — she’
d indeed “turned her life around” at 
30, just like she’
d envisioned! 

 If you’d like to share your ‘meet-cute’ story, email 

burstynwithjoy@hotmail.com.

‘You Can’t Know Someone 
Until You Smell Them’

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

HOW WE MET

Bracha and DovBer 
Bennish at their 
wedding

Dovid Bennish with younger siblings Chava 
Goldner, Devorah Leah Bennish and Shlomo 
Bennish on Purim 2023

