Dear God, I’m Ready To Meet The One

by Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Dana Epstein, the young adult director of the Jewish Community Association of Austin, says that there’s no one thing that can help singles meet someone who shares their faith, particularly if they are not very orthodox in their religious practice. So their best bet is to get involved in the religious community’s social network.

Epstein once met a woman at a Hanukkah party hosted by YAD, a social networking organization that Epstein’s group runs. They fell into a fast friendship, and Epstein quickly decided she wanted to set her new friend up on a date with a colleague.

The next time the staff gathered for a Shabbat dinner, Epstein invited her friend and made the introduction. The two met, dated for two years, and married last May.

“It was through YAD, but also through friends, and through Shabbat – all those connections helped them find the person they would end up marrying,” said Epstein.