14 | SEPTEMBER 19 • 2024 J N Y ears before online dating was a thing, Temple Israel had what they fondly called the Beshert Connection. Singles would pay $36 to be part of this cutting-edge dating program of the time: a set of binders that contained lists of singles, categorized by age! Each single had two pages — front and back — filled with personal info. A person could come along during “open hours” and flip through the binders much the same way people swipe left or right these days on JDate, and let Temple Israel know if any listed single tickled their fancy. Temple Israel would then reach out to the single and, if they were equally interested, a date would be set. For his part, it was clearly Divine interven- tion that Matt Fein even heard about the Beshert Connection. He’ d grown up in East Lyme, Connecticut, attended a high school with only a handful of Jewish students and, in October 1995, moved to Sterling Heights for a job. Soon after moving in, he received a surprise welcome package introducing him to the local Jewish community. “To this day, I don’t know where it came from. Who even knew I was Jewish?” Matt mused. “But there it was, a little pamphlet explaining how the Beshert Connection worked. I thought, why not? So I drove over one day and signed up. ” Soon after that, Lisa then-Sandler, who’ d grown up in Oak Park, popped over to Temple Israel her- self, flipped through these binders and expressed interest in Matt. “ Actually, he’s four years younger than me, but I figured that the worst that could happen would be that he’ d say no, ” Lisa said. A few weeks went by, and Lisa didn’t hear any- thing, so she figured he wasn’t interested. “ Actually, I was interested but I was extremely busy at the time. I was in the process of moving to Waterford, so it took a little while to get back to Temple Israel, ” explained Matt now. By the time he got back to Temple Israel with a positive response, Lisa had forgotten what Matt looked like and was too embarrassed to ask him for another picture. “I went back to check out his entry in the binder again, but Temple Israel was closed and I had to go back another day, ” Lisa laughed. Lisa and Matt started talking on the phone and met for the first time at Starbucks in West Bloomfield. Their first date was watching Kenny Loggins at Pine Knob on Labor Day. More mem- orable than the actual date, according to Lisa, was receiving a phone call immediately after that date from her mother, who said, “Quick, turn on the news! Princess Diana was in a car accident … ” After six months of dating, Matt was ready to propose. He wanted to do it right, but just like there was no JDate, there was also no Google, so he had to get his info the old-fashioned way. One day, the couple was at the Farmington Hills library and Matt picked up a book titled How to Choose the Right Engagement Ring, before remem- bering, “Yikes, she’s right there. ”’ He quickly hid the book behind his back and exchanged some under- standing smiles with the kind librarian behind the desk while a confused Lisa thought he was trying to hit on the librarian in front of her! A short while later, Matt was watching a bas- ketball game with friends. Knowing Lisa was fond of sweets, Matt’s friends gave him a brownie for Lisa. Afterward, as Lisa and Matt watched a movie together, he put the engagement ring in a plastic bag inside the brownie, took a bite of the brownie and pretended he’ d bit into a piece of ceramic! “I’m glad Matt knew to wrap the ring in a plastic bag, ” Lisa laughed. “I read a story about a guy who tried the exact same shtick on his fiancée, and she bit into the ring, broke her tooth and needed a crown! I’m so glad that didn’t happen to me. ” Toothfully, Lisa was very surprised about the proposal. “We’ d never discussed getting engaged and had only been dating a few months!” Lisa said. “I was 32 when I got married. ” They married in December 1998 at Temple Israel, which was so excited that their Beshert Connection had helped facilitate the match that they shared it with the Jewish News. “ A JN reporter interviewed us, and a photogra- pher took pictures, and there was a great article about it, ” Lisa said. Today, the couple lives in West Bloomfield; Matt works as an engineer for General Motors and Lisa is an exercise physiologist, personal trainer and Pilates and group fitness instructor. Their son, Corey, 20, is currently studying urban planning at Michigan State University. Naturally, they are still proud members of Temple Israel. Although to this day, when either one of them is upset with the other, they’ll quip, “Well, what do you expect; we only paid $36!” This column will appear biweekly. If you’d like to share your ‘meet-cute’ story, email burstynwithjoy@hotmail.com. Temple Israel’s Beshert Connection ROCHEL BURSTYN CONTRIBUTING WRITER OUR COMMUNITY HOW WE MET TOP TO BOTTOM: Matt and Lisa today. Matt and Lisa Fein after they first met. The Fein family: Corey, Lisa and Matt.