Seeking a Chabad solution to bring together unmarried young Jews
Seeking a Chabad solution to bring together unmarried young Jews


We are too often confronted by issues of very great urgency which demand our attention. At a moment’s notice, wars could erupt on the north or south borders. One wrong move in Syria and fighting could begin with Iran. And Arab terror has made Jewish communities vulnerable throughout many diaspora communities.

But there is another urgent matter which also needs our attention, and that is the inability of hundreds of thousands of young Jews in the diaspora to find a mate.

While some might find this problem to be a reflection of lifestyles these young people have chosen, more importantly is that there are future generations of Jewish souls to be saved if we can find the means.

Who could help in bring together these unmarried Jews? Maybe Chabad.

I have witnessed the miracles performed by Chabad, as they arrive in some far out city in Asia thought to have no Jews, open their doors and draw together dozens, then hundreds of Jews, to create Jewish communities where none existed.

I was recently with 75 non-observant young Israelis at Shabbat dinner in Hanoi. In Israel they go clubbing on Friday night, but in Vietnam they needed to celebrate Shabbat, and Chabad was there for them.

I have seen 200 Jews of all ages gather on Rosh Hashanah in Taiwan. I have eaten the Chabad’s kishke and brisket on shabbat in Beijing, sitting among 60 other Jews.

I have been with Chabad in the killing fields of Europe where Jewish communities were incinerated. Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia…..Chabad is there creating Jewish communities.

And I have seen miracles in Urbana, Illinois, where Chabad draws 200 Jewish University of Illinois students together for Friday night dinner. (A crowd of 40 on Friday night was considered a great success for the campus Hillel during the 1970s.)

So, what can Chabad do about today’s young Jews who cannot find mates?

Perhaps they could create their own matchmaking website. Or maybe they could recreate a digital version of the old shtetl matchmaker---let young people tell Chabad what and who they are looking for, and use a database of singles to try to find a match.

And why do I think this is a job for Chabad?

Within the Jewish world Chabad has developed a trusted reputation for its heartfelt sincerity. And it is trusted by all Jews--both religious and non-observant.

Many will ask, Chabad does not have enough to do already? It needs to take on this enormous task?

Yes, I think so. For Chabad has shown the Jewish world that it not only has the resources, but also the energy and imagination to tackle such an enormous problem.

We know that there are countless crises the Jewish world must devote its energies to. But these unmarried Jews have also created a crisis, which will impact the Jewish community for generations to come.

For what is at sake is nothing less than bringing together hundreds of thousands of Jewish young people, and from this generation will come millions of Jews to ensure a stronger Jewish future for us all.