300 Shadchanim Tackle Shidduch Crisis at Hagefen Conference

The Hagefen organization held its second conference for shadchanim at Yeshivas Aish HaTorah in the Old City of Yerushalayim last Tuesday. Three hundred shadchanim attended.

After davening at the Kosel, the participants gathered on Aish Hatorah’s rooftop, overlooking the Makom Hamikdash, to discuss the burning issue of shidduchim for older boys and girls.

Hagefen, headed by Rosh Yeshivas Oraisa, Harav Chaim Schmerler, has over 400 shadchanim and shadchaniyos under its auspices, who specialize in finding shidduchim for older boys and girls.

The organization has several departments, including one providing advice for parents and one to deal with medical issues. One of its main activities is holding gatherings where shadchanim meet to discuss tactics and compare lists, as well as hear advice from the experts.

The conference started with a panel meeting, featuring the mayors of chareidi cities: Rabbi Chanoch Zeibert, Bnei Brak; Rabbi Yaakov Guterman, Modiin Illit; and Rabbi Meir Rubinstein, Beitar Illit, who discussed the shidduch crisis in their cities. Other topics related to shidduchim included employment for chareidim and the housing shortage.

This was followed by a symposium on graphology led by the graphologist Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Ashlag.

At the conference, the shadchanim heard of the launch of a protected computerized database that collects all the data needed for shadchanim across the world.