The Matchmakers Network takes things to the next level

Rather than waiting for a matchmaker to make you a match, you can match with a matchmaker to help you find your perfect match. 

With more than 100 active matchmakers, The Matchmakers Network ‒ the brainchild of Chief Rabbi Dr Warren Goldstein and run through his office ‒ is helping singles of all ages and levels of religious observance to meet their beshert (soulmate). 

So far, in around 10 months, it has produced one engagement and more than a dozen couples who are dating. 

“Matches are happening all the time. People are constantly being introduced and meeting,” says Tova Goldstein, executive director of The Matchmakers Network. 

Since the launch in September, more than 300 people in the community have signed up to be matchmakers. They were trained by Aleeza Ben Shalom, the internationally renowned matchmaker and star of Netflix’s Jewish Matchmaking, at events in Johannesburg and Cape Town. 

More than 100 active matchmakers are now part of the network, with more being trained. 

One of the matchmakers, Janet Gelgor, says she joined as she had loved the idea of being a matchmaker since she was a teenager. 

“Since completing my online training with Aleeza Ben Shalom, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to connect with singles across Johannesburg and Cape Town. I’ve sat down with men and women of all ages, ranging from traditional to observant, and I have absolutely loved getting to know them and understanding what they are looking for in a life partner,” she says. 

The matchmakers themselves meet regularly. 

“Once a month, we have what we call breakout rooms where the matchmakers meet for coffee, and each matchmaker has a chance to share one of their profiles and then all the other matchmakers suggest ideas. Then they also take it offline and [try make matches],” Goldstein says. 

The network is close to launching a website, with an estimated 1 000 singles expected to sign up by the end of the year, she says. 

“The point of this is that there is the collaboration between the human and machine, and I don’t believe this has been done anywhere else in the world.” 

To be on this website, a single person will have to be matched with a matchmaker. 

“Once you’ve met with a matchmaker, she can share your profile and ask others in the network to keep an eye out for a suitable match. She’ll also give you a unique link to register on our website. There, you’ll complete your profile, and our algorithm gets to work. If it identifies a potential match, the system notifies both matchmakers. They then connect before passing the match details on to their respective singles,” says Goldstein. 

What will set the website apart is that everything will be completely confidential; no one will be able to access the profile of another single. 

“It’s all very private and personal. It’s between you and your matchmaker,” she says. “No one needs to put themselves out there; no one has access; no one can scroll through the website and check out who’s there.” 

The challenge for matchmakers is that making matches takes a lot of time. They must get to know a person and search for the right person for them, meeting with other matchmakers. 

However, the bigger challenge is to get as many single people into a room at once within the next year and onto the system so more matches can be made. Goldstein believes this is essential, especially because many singles believe there is no one to date in the community since it is so small. 

“Jewish singles are finding it increasingly difficult to find partners in their close-knit communities,” says Gelgor. “I believe the network creates a safe, non-judgemental way for Jewish singles of all ages ‒ whether secular, traditional, or observant ‒ to connect with other Jewish singles across South Africa.” 

“Our goal is to have as many singles as possible in the system, so they feel supported by the community of matchmakers and know they haven’t been forgotten,” adds Goldstein. “In a small community, many people feel like they’ve already met everyone and that there’s no one left to date, but that’s not the case. We want to help people meet, give them hope, and increase their chances of finding a partner. Ultimately, we want to strengthen the Jewish community by helping more Jews marry Jews.”