Speed Dating for Jewish Students: Matchmaker, Matchmaker, I Don’t Really Care if You Make Me a Match

With over 100 attendees, Boston Speed Dating offered a fun night of giggling with girlfriends or goofing off with the guys, with a side of speedy chats with potential matches last Thursday at BU’s Hillel House.  As was quickly apparent during the evening, most daters’ hopes were set on having a fun night at Hillel rather than meeting a future Jewish hubby or wifey.

Daters search for matches during their two minute chats at Hillel’s Speed Dating | Photo by Rachel Stine

“My mom wants the NJBs, Nice Jewish Boys,” said Ariella Berger, CAS ’13.  With a push from her mom, Berger came with her friend just to see what would happen without any expectation of finding someone to smash the glass at her wedding.  Apparently Berger wasn’t the only one; a majority of attendees said they came as a result of encouragement from their parents, but were sure to bring friends for backup to ensure a fun night.

“I’m looking for a Russian Jew,” said Oscar Genesin, ENG ’14, early in the night.  “It’s a deal breaker.  My parents are from the Ukraine, and they left for their religion…So, I feel like I owe it to them.”

“At least from my experience, parents want us to marry within the religion,” said organizer Aaron Diamond, SMG ’11.

The vast number of attendees packed into Hillel’s third floor dinning room created a challenge for daters trying to hear potential partners, let alone hold an intimate conversation.

Attendees were seated in lines of girls across from boys and were given two minutes with each person to strike some sparks or move on.  Each dater was assigned a number and given sheet to fill out the numbers of each person he or she liked and wanted to pursue dating.  At the end of the night, the organizers collected the sheets and later cross checked them for matches, aka two people who both wrote down each other’s numbers.  Daters then were sent the contact information of each of their matches to get together for first dates that with any luck would last longer than two minutes.

“I would like to meet somebody and date for more than two minutes, maybe five,” said Ari Morse, ENG ‘14.

Over 100 people showed up for the night’s festivities, and some awkward silences were bound to happen. | Photo by Rachel Stine

Married to his mission of keeping speed dating lively, the evening’s MC even facebook stalked the attendees during the night’s festivities, and called out various facts from their profiles.  However, despite his attempts most conversations dwindled down to the usual “Where are your from?”s and “What’s your major?”s.

On the whole, participants expressed that the night was enjoyable, despite the lack of future spouse finds.

“Nothing’s clicked yet,” said Tova Ramelson, CAS ’14.  “It mean, it’s more about the experience…and also to show support for Hillel.”

“Jewish people want to meet other Jewish people,”  said Diamond.  “We’re not pressuring people to find the perfect match, but at the same time it’s a good time to meet people.”

Though, there were a few exceptions as is bound to happen with any dating excursion.  I definitely heard someone try the line, “Too bad I’m not your derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves.”

Over the years, speed dating events have been held for Jewish students at various Boston schools, according to Diamond.  Sponsored by BU’s Orthodox Minyan Group, last week’s event was BU’s first ever Hillel speed dating night.  Guests primarily consisted of BU underclassmen, however a number of attendees came from various other Boston schools.

As a result of the evening, 55 matches were made in total, said Daniella Sehgal, CAS ‘13, another organizer.

About Rachel Stine

Rachel Stine (COM'12) is the Campus Editor for the Quad. She loves sailing the uncharted waters of BU's campus goings-on to uncover some of its deepest secrets and hidden treasures.

View all posts by Rachel Stine →

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