Jews Love: Dating

So much so that we have a ridiculous number of websites that cater to us specifically. A rundown:

Jdate: According to their site their mission is to "strengthen the Jewish community and ensure that Jewish traditions are sustained for generations to come. To accomplish this we provide a global network where Jewish singles find friendship, romance and life-long partners within their faith."

Frumster: They say that "Frumster’s Jewish dating web site provides a private and comfortable environment for Jewish singles sincerely searching for a marriage partner. We maximize a member's prospects for success through hands-on management and innovative communication solutions." As the name would suggest, it tends towards the more traditionally observant. And more irritatingly (for me at least) categorizes people by observances such as what type of kippah they wear, and how often they pray.

FutureSimchas: The tagline is "brought to you by OnlySimchas" which some of you may know is the site that serves as a sort of billboard for engagements, weddings, and other happy occasions within the Orthodox Jewish community.

SawYouAtSinai: The only one of these services that has a matchmaker associated with it. Or several matchmakers actually. According to the site "combines the power of technology, the accessibility of the internet and the personal touch of a Jewish matchmaker to make matches that meet your unique personality and needs. Our experienced Jewish Matchmakers are from diverse backgrounds, and focus on different age groups, religious levels, locations and personalities. Our matchmakers work with Conservative, Modern Orthodox and Yeshivish/Black Hat Jewish singles from communities throughout the world."

Jmatch: I lied. Apparently Jmatch also has matchmakers.

JLove: Apparently "Jewish love begins here." Although I have found that Jewish love begins at shabbes meals, that is just me. They say that "JLove is devoted to preserving traditional values and keeping the essence of Jewish unity alive. We are committed to winning the hearts and minds of the global Jewish community and to do so JLove is dedicated to delivering the most outstanding service possible."

Did I miss any?

At any rate, the proliferation of these sites has had somewhat of a backlash. That is right, blogs about the horrors/joys of dating within the Jewish community, either online or otherwise. There are, of course, many many many dating blogs, but here are some of those that I particularly enjoy.

Jewcy has a dating blogger section. I wonder what it means that my first question on reading every entry is: "is [name of person being dated by the blogger] Jewish?" It isn't so much that I care whether or not they in-date, as that I am curious. I am such a yenta*.

The original Jdating blogger, Esther Kustanowitz, has a site JdatersAnonymous which is all kinds of fabulous. You should go and worship on the altar of her awesomeness. Or not, 'cause that is avodah zara**. On the same note, Nice Jewish Guy has a blog Attention Frumster Shoppers which details his post-divorce search for a soulmate. Cute Jewess just joined Jdate, and as lame as it sounds, I am kind of excited to see what happens. Meanwhile, Smeliana just deleted her Jdate profile.

Of those who are not affiliated with a particular site, my favorite (am I allowed to have favorites?) might be Amishav of Chai Expectations. He earnestly admits that his blog's raison d'etre is "shameless self-promotion" and he not only gives accounts of his dating prospects, but asks his readers to weigh in on such issues as "goatee or no goatee." I basically find it charming.

Although she does not blog exclusively about dating, Jessica of Suburban Kvetch does mention the golden rule; "Jewish dating rule #1: always date a Jew." (Sorry Harley, we can have a fight about interdating-vs-indating later) Leah Jones, of Accidentally Jewish (via Shebrew in this case) is having some trouble following that rule. According to her she dated more Jewish guys as a gentile than as a Jew, and in her column (see the link) explains why.

In a hilarious aside: I promised my father that if he could find me three boyfriend prospects, that I would move back to Virginia for grad school. Needless to say I can only imagine that he is spending his discretionary time on our home computer trolling Jdate for guys for me.

*Yenta is a Yiddish word and means a busybody, someone who is always in everyone else's business, especially as pertains to their romantic lives.

**Avodah Zara is the Talmudic/Biblical term used for idol worship or any other form of paganism.