20 | FEBRUARY 1 • 2024 J
N

OUR COMMUNITY

T

o date, there are almost 4,000
members on the Jewish Moms
of Metro Detroit Facebook page.
But there’s one special day a year that
the organizers don’t accept regular
posts about kids, recommendations for
restaurants or plumbers or posts on any
topic — except descriptions and pictures
of single men and women, which are
posted with the hashtag “itsashidduch.”
Fellow members are invited to express
interest for themselves, friends or
relatives and the hope, of course, is to
make matches.
And that’s where Robyn Weiner comes
in. The then-divorcee with two kids —
Remy, now 15, and Jakob, now 22 — was
scrolling Facebook one fine day in 2019
when a profile that her friend Shari
Smith had posted jumped out at her:
Peter Harvey, a widower with one son,
Ben, now almost 19.
“There were quite a few comments
expressing interest on the post,” Robyn
said. “But instead of commenting
publicly, I messaged her privately … and
Shari liked that!”

Shari called Peter to give him Robyn’s
phone number … and then nothing
happened for a little while.
“It took Peter a bit of time … He’s a
bit of a procrastinator,” Robyn said with
a laugh. Evidently, he’s also a romantic.
“He still has that piece of notepad paper
with my name and number written on
it!”
They texted back and forth to arrange
a date.
“I refrained from looking him up on
any social media beforehand, so it truly
was a blind date,” Robyn added.
Over Memorial Day weekend, the two
met at the hippo in front of the Detroit
Zoo. It rained the entire time they
walked around the zoo together. And
while rain can usually be appreciated
as a sign of mazel, it’s definitely not
pleasant to walk in the rain on a first
date with your carefully brushed hair
falling flatly to your face and your
carefully applied makeup running
from your eyes. (Not that Robyn wears
makeup, but still!)
Turned out Robyn had nothing to

worry about — ever chivalrous, Peter
lent her his coat. Despite the weather,
the two clicked.
“We spent the whole day talking non-
stop,” Robyn said. “It was by far and to
this day, my favorite day I’ve ever had at
the zoo … and I’m a nanny and annual
pass holder!”
Already anxious to continue their
conversation, they met the next morning
for breakfast. And the day after that at a
nature center.
“And on and on,” Robyn said happily.
“And now here we are.”
Peter and Robyn married in May
2022, and the native Detroiter and her
new husband who had moved here from
Rochester, New York, in 2013, made
Royal Oak their new home together.
They are members of Shir Tikvah in
Troy, and Robyn is a board trustee.
Sometimes it takes a whole
community. Thank you, Jewish Moms of
Metro Detroit #itsashidduch!

This column will appear biweekly. To share your

‘meet-cute’ story, email burstynwithjoy@hotmail.com.

‘From a Facebook
Shidduch Initiative’

ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

HOW WE MET

Peter and Robyn
The Weiner-Harvey
family at Epcot Center

Robyn and
Peter on their
wedding day