Prefer Jewish News on Google
Basheret, a free international matchmaking service for Jewish singles, launches on Tu B’Av
'Traditional dating is broken' says Yuliya Etingen, who describes the process of helping couples find each other as her 'personal mission'
Toronto-based international matchmaker Yuliya Etingen loves love; so much so that the married mother of two has chosen Tu B’Av, the Jewish Festival of Love and unofficial Hebrew calendar Valentine’s Day, to launch Basheret, a new, free global matchmaking platform open to Jews across all levels of observance.
The name for the initiative from Canadian and US non-profit One Jewish Future, (also traditionally spelled bashert or beshert) is a Yiddish word that means destiny, or fated, in relation to a soulmate and promises hope for Jewish singles worldwide, whether in the Americas, Europe, Southern Africa, Asia and Australia.
A lifelong matchmaker who describes the process as her “personal mission”, Etingen joyfully takes the spiritual and marital responsibility of the Jewish nation in her stride.
After working in advocacy, fighting antisemitism and building organisations in the private sector, almost three years after 7 October 2023 she “realised that the best thing that I can do is to help create a positive, hopeful initiative that will help strengthen the Jewish people and work on the Jewish future. If I make introductions right now, in decades there’s going to be thousands of families and hundreds of thousands of Jewish kids that wouldn’t have been born otherwise. I would feel that I have made an impact.”
Etingen told Jewish News that popular platforms such as Hinge and Tinder, where candidates can swipe ‘right’ for someone they are interested in, (or worse, in Gen Z slang, reject them by ‘swiping left’) “make people feel like they’re in a catalogue. People are out on a date and already scrolling to find their next match. It’s very hard to have a human connection when there’s not a lot of intention behind it.”
“Usually,” she continues, “matchmaking costs a lot of money – between five to $10,000, if not more. Basheret is an absolutely free service that is meant to help Jewish people from all around the world, no matter where they are. Jewish people tired of swiping, endless time scrolling and dating that doesn’t lead anywhere.”
Describing matchmaking as “usually not affordable and accessible to most people”, One Jewish Future is “creating a movement, consolidating all the databases and lists around the world, but getting people to apply directly; working with the matchmakers, with the Federation, with the Jewish organisations, and helping provide a matchmaking service for free.”
The intention is that through Basheret, every week, candidates will receive one carefully curated introduction with someone who shares their values, goals, and vision for the future, with the website promising “no subscriptions, no paywalls, no endless scrolling.”
If both parties are interested, they agree to a 30-minute video call and take it from there.
Etingen says that it’s “demoralising” for people looking for love having to spend so much of their time to find the next date.
“The whole process is not personal at all. And if somebody is actually dating with intention and they want to find a serious relationship, a personal touch is historically the Jewish way. Matchmaking has been around since the beginning of time for the Jewish people. This is the way that people met in the past, and with the foundation of technology to help make sure that we can provide the service at scale, I think this is a perfect kind of combination of both of those things.”
Her dating advice is simple: “you have to put your best foot forward. Everybody comes with baggage, with trauma, with very difficult history. You can talk passionately about certain things, like politics and religion, but you need to bring it up in a kind of diplomatic way to make sure that the other person is aligned without sounding evangelical about it.
“Don’t play games,” she adds. “Show interest, talk about yourself in an honest, trustworthy way, try not to be hard to get, really be honest and genuine in your intentions.”
With the ambitious goal of 100,000 on Basheret’s online ‘books’ in the first year, Yuliya Etingen’s vision is simple but profound: “I just want to help make beautiful Jewish babies and make a scalable difference in the Jewish world.”
Keep community journalism free.
Jewish News is free for everyone. No paywall. No barriers. Just trusted journalism for anyone who wants to stay connected to Jewish life in Britain.
If you value that, please support us.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Every day, we report on the issues that matter to our community. We celebrate achievements, support charities, challenge antisemitism and ensure Jewish voices are heard more widely.
From as little as £5 a month, you can help us continue to:
- Report on the stories shaping Jewish life in the UK and beyond
- Bring our community together through shared stories, events and campaigns
- Celebrate the people, culture and moments that define our community
- Support organisations doing vital work across Jewish Britain
You can make a one-off donation or become a regular supporter. Every contribution helps keep our journalism free, independent and accessible to all.
If everyone who values Jewish News gave a small amount, it would make a real difference to our future.
