SpeedDating is the McDonald’s of the dating world. The latest fad of the singles scene has men and women gathering with accoutrements including score cards, name tags and suggested, enthralling questions (“Boxers or briefs?”). Each woman stakes her claim at a table while the fellas play musical chairs. As the men make their way around the room, they have seven minutes at each table or “date” to exchange barbs, pleasantries and judgment. In fact you can ask your partner anything except his or her age, place of residence or occupation. When the bell rings it’s off to the next date (usually eight in a night).
An innovation of Aish HaTorah (http://www.aish.com), an international Jewish organization that aims to strengthen Jewish community and promote Jewish marriage, SpeedDating has quickly spread throughout the United States. This service is touted as the alternative to the blind date for Jewish singles. Spending only seven minutes with each date may be a sweet relief to a whole evening with the date from hell.
At the end of an evening of SpeedDating, everyone indicates on a scorecard which of their dates appeal to them (if there are any). If there is a match (both daters circled yes) then the organizers give the man the phone number of his potential date. Ahhhhhh, speedy and sexist.
This new addition to the dating scene has become so popular that it was spoofed on an episode of Sex and the City. And other copycat groups have been popping up: QuickDate, Speedy Dating, Express Dating…
Now don’t despair if you haven’t been to temple since Cousin Harry’s barmitzvah. SpeedDating targets the unaffiliated Jewish population, people who mainly consider themselves Reform Jews. In fact Orthodox Jews are turned away in order to avoid matching those who attend temple on a regular basis to those who think they know what a temple looks like.
So with no fear of face-to-face rejection, only seven minutes of awkward conversation, and a plethora of potential mates, perhaps SpeedDating is the wave of the future.
It’s not Aunt Bertha’s form of courtship.
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