Moshe Raichman is the founder of ChabadMatch, a global database of Chabad singles that has helped more than 450 couples get married. Originally from Houston, TX, Raichman married Ester Sobel from Brazil and made Aliya in 2004. They live in Bet Shemesh, and are active in the Chabad community.
“Shortly after moving to Israel,” shares Raichman, “I realized that a lot of my friends were still not married. Chabad is unique in that communities are spread globally, and it is common to have intercontinental shidduchim. Initially, Chabad was small enough that people mostly knew each other. Yet, as communities grew, it became necessary to create a database that could help matchmakers, parents and singles find potential options.”
Raicham continues, “This was before WhatsApp, and profiles were just becoming part of the shidduch process. ChabadMatch started as an experiment and I wasn’t sure matchmakers, parents, and singles would be on board. Slowly it gained traction, and after a year we celebrated the first marriage via the site.”
Eight years ago, together with Bracha Travdovitz and Nechama Amitai of Adei Ad, a Hebrew version of the site was launched. Today ChabadMatch has more than 22,000 singles that have registered on the site, over 3,500 active profiles (40% of which are in Israel), and 450 engagements.
Yet, ChabadMatch is more than the website. As Raichman says, “We realize the database is not enough. We organize regular in-person events for singles to meet matchmakers, including in Israel, several times a year. What I can recommend to anyone who would like to get married: always be proactive, reach out to matchmakers, search the site regularly, and attend events.” For more information: chabadmatch.com
