Largest Global Speed-Dating Event Marks Shift in Jewish Dating
As the sun set over Tel Aviv and rose in Honolulu, thousands of young Jews opened their screens for a virtual values-based dating night. Powered by Met@Chabad, Shluchim worldwide connected young Jews from Berlin, Buenos Aires, New York, Melbourne, and beyond in what became the largest Jewish virtual speed-dating event ever held.
“I’ve tried the apps, but they always felt random,” said Jessica L., 28, who joined from London. “Here, every conversation had purpose. Everyone was dating because they want to marry Jewish and build a future. It felt serious without being heavy, and it reminded me that I’m not alone in wanting that.”
The event, Met@Chabad’s Largest Global Dating Event, drew 10,135 participants across five continents and more than 1,000 communities. Together they logged 30,405 nine-minute dates, with 47% leading to a match, defined as both participants agreeing to meet again and scheduling a follow-up. More than 100 new Chabad House communities joined the effort for the first time, underscoring the global urgency and demand.
“Today’s young Jews want meaningful relationships,” said Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky, Chairman of Chabad Young Professionals International at Merkos 302. “They want life-partners who understand their history, share their values, and are ready to build something lasting.
In the wake of October 7 and the rise of antisemitism globally, many young Jews have expressed a new urgency to date Jewish. One Met@Chabad participant from Berlin said, “I used to think dating Jewish was optional. Now I know it’s essential.”
Young Jews have long turned to their Shluchim for life guidance, Torah study and community. But more and more, they’ve been saying the same thing: It’s hard to meet someone Jewish. Someone serious. Someone who shares my values. This event was the answer Shluchim have been quietly working toward for years, brought together, globally, in one night.
For Dassi Gansburg, coordinator of Met@Chabad, orchestrating a global matchmaking system across time zones and continents is fueled by a deep sense of the project’s cosmic purpose.
“Dating is hard. Virtual dating events? Even harder,” she said. “But out of billions of people in the world, you’re only meant to find one. That means trying every option, every avenue. At Met@Chabad, we’re doing our best to create that vessel.”
Unlike swipe-based apps, Met@Chabad is a curated ecosystem rooted in Jewish values. Each participant is personally referred by a their local Shluchim, creating a no-bots, no-ghosts environment where dating is intentional and marriage-minded.
The timing was intentional. Held just ahead of the Rosh Hashana, the event tapped into a season when Jews seek renewal and hope to enter with a prospective soulmate.
Since its founding, Met@Chabad has facilitated more than two dozen engagements and thousands of dates, nearly all of them long-distance. Each match is a testament to the power of harnessing the global Shluchim network coupled with values-first dating to connect Jews who might otherwise never cross paths. The Global event showed the impact at scale: tens of thousands of conversations unfolding from Tel Aviv to Sydney, Buenos Aires to Berlin.
“Met@Chabad is not a one-off event,” said Rabbi Beryl Frankel, Director of Chabad Young Professionals International at Merkos 302. “It’s a holistic system built by people who know their communities deeply, leaders who have been walking with their young adults for years, now uniting their efforts in one powerful moment.”
But the event is only the tip of the iceberg. Met@Chabad operates year-round with multiple entry points. Local Shluchim serve as personal coaches and matchmakers, leading workshops such as The Jewish Dating Course, offering relationship education rooted in the Rebbe’s teachings. They host regional in-person events, monthly virtual events, and Shabbos meals built on the Met@Chabad algorithm.
Dozens of gatherings have already taken place, from regional meetups to the largest in-person Jewish speed-dating event at the international CYP Shabbaton. The platform also extends to Met@Chabad Premium one-on-one matchmaking and coaching, ensuring that those who want deeper guidance can find it.
Taken together, these layers form a multi-pronged approach that makes Jewish dating intentional, guided, and deeply personal: a fusion of tradition, technology, and hands-on mentorship that is changing the future and present of Jewish life today.
To find out more about met@chabad or to register for next months virtual speeddating dating taking place September 28th, event visit metatchabad.com/speeddating.
