Shluchim Create Shidduch App For Australian Singles

By COLlive reporter

Three years ago, a group of Chabad Shluchim from around Australia created an initiative to help the Jewish singles in their communities find their Shidduch match.

Knowing that there are not enough singles in a single community to match up, they decided to work together.

The objective was to create a personalized experience whereby the Rabbis and Rebbetzins act as shadchanim and personally know the singles they are matching up. Thus the Shidduchim AUS WhatsApp group was started in July 2023.

The group currently has 70 members who are Rabbis, Rebbetzins and shadchanim from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and some of the smaller rural and regional communities. The chat is quite active, with multiple profiles being posted each month of singles from all different backgrounds and affiliations, said one participant.

Supported by funding from the group’s members, they employed someone to input all of the profiles into a database and have since turned the database into an app. Shadchanim have full access to all profiles, while singles who are featured on the app will be able to view other profiles with limited access.

Singles browse the app; if they see someone they would like to be set up with, they can contact the Rabbi/Rebbetzin who added the profile, thus keeping it as traditional matchmaking.

“As this project has evolved, Rabbis and Rebbetzins are discovering just how deeply their Jewish singles desire to find Jewish partners. Many of the singles have expressed immense gratitude that they have not been forgotten. It warms their hearts that someone is thinking of them and trying to find them their bashert,” said a member of the Shiduchim group admin.

This project is more important than ever, as many of the singles are living in rural areas where there are not many other Jewish singles around. “It is our obligation and responsibility to do everything we can to try to introduce them to people of their own faith,” a member of the group said.

Recently, an individual was hired to work on using the app to match singles and communicate with both the singles and their Rabbi or Rebbetzin.

Currently, there are over 200 singles in the Shidduchim AUS database, and many more are expected to be added with the launch of this exciting new development. The app will be launched on Lag BaOmer.

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