Jewniverse

An Ultra-Orthodox Dating Show (Please Hold the Hot Tub)

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They’re young. They’re single. They’re ultra-Orthodox Israelis. How will they ever find love? The old-fashioned way, of course—on a reality TV dating show.

Match Made in Heaven followed Haredi singles, their families, and of course their matchmaker Jaffa Parnes, for two years, as they went through the trials, tribulations, hopes and joys of finding their bashert. It was the first time a television series opened a window onto the ultra-Orthodox world of matchmaking. According to the director, Ronnie Kay, three of the couples she filmed went on to get married, but she herself (a secular Jew) remains single.

The show is not currently airing, but there is a documentary film in the works. If that doesn’t work out, maybe Kay can make a film about this reality show that never got off the ground, about the love lives of ex-Hasidim.

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Watch an episode of Match Made in Heaven (Warning: no English subtitles!):

Watch this newsclip and interview with Match Made in Heaven director, Ronnie Kay:

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