613 Seconds

This week we caught up with Rabbi Shlomo Goldberger, MSW, Executive Director of The Shidduch Center of Baltimore.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

After learning in Philadelphia, the Mir, and Ner Yisroel, I found myself employed in various capacities for about a decade. Much of my early work was based in sales, while the latter portion of my pre-Shidduch Center career focused on systems and operations management. And though I certainly did not realize it at the time, both of those skills have proved fundamental when it comes to shidduchim.

Tell us more about the Shidduch Center of Baltimore and its mission.

Center is four-fold, and it is hard for me to say that any one facet of our work is more vital than the others. We strive to create and facilitate increased dating opportunities for Baltimore’s single men and women (that is our official mission statement); to act as a one-stop resource center, addressing any and all shidduch-related questions and needs; to continually educate our community about the nuanced nature of shidduchim; and to do everything we can to make the whole process of shidduchim as smooth and as comfortable as we can for the hundreds of singles who are traveling that road.

Each year we provide direct services to over 500 Baltimore families, and B’chasdei Hashem, in under six years, we have set up over 1,100 different couples, resulting in 111 engagements for our community.

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Rabbi Shlomo Goldberger, MSW

What are some recent initiatives that the Shidduch Center has spearheaded, and some upcoming events our community can look forward to?

Earlier in the summer we brought 20 shadchanim to meet bachurim in Ner Yisroel, and just last month we held our annual event with Bais Yaakov and Bnos Yisroel where we had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to their graduates and give over essential tips and tools to those who are new to shidduchim. Bez’H, that event will be followed up with a Meet the Shadchan event where we arrange for 60-70 single women to meet 20 or more shadchanim over one special evening. We are also working on putting together a very unique event for the daters in our community who have been in shidduchim for a number of years. Of course, each segment of the dating community has different needs, and those varying needs must be approached in a manner that is most effective and most appropriate for each and every demographic.

And, as the cover of this issue of the BJH highlights, we have invited Rabbi Daniel Glatstein to address our community on the topic of shidduchim. As a renowned rav and international lecturer and author, Rabbi Glatstein will help remind us how crucial it is that we all keep our attention directed towards being there for our wonderful single men and women. The event is free of charge, open to both men and women, and will be taking place on Sunday night, Aug. 8, at BJSZ, at 8:30PM.

How can our readers get involved in this important work?

When it comes to shidduchim, there is no shortage of work to be done. But rather than talk about how people can go about making shidduchim, I would like to take a moment to discuss how we can all make the experience of singlehood a more pleasant one for our single men and women. It is no secret that marriage and building a family is a core Jewish value. And at the same time, it is equally apparent that there will always be single Jewish men and women who are looking forward to reaching that lofty goal. As each generation passes through that stage of adult life, they are no less deserving of our respect and recognition.

At the risk of stating the seemingly obvious, it is not enough to simply try and make shidduchim. For as long as someone is single, we must be able to see that talented and energetic community member as exactly that: a full-fledged community member. This means consciously making introductions in shuls and inviting single men and women to Shabbos and Yom Tov meals, even those who we know live here in Baltimore with their parents. It means talking to them like adults and welcoming their thoughts and opinions, rather than walking right past them. And it means involving them in our institutions and organizations and calling on them to lend their immense skills to the events and programs we run. While we are responsible to exert our proper hishtadlus, ultimately, it is up to Hashem when someone gets married. But it is 100% up to us how we treat and interact with our single men and women as they await the fulfillment of Hashem’s eternal bracha.