Looking for love? Meet star of Netflix’s ‘Jewish Matchmaking’ in Boca Raton

If you’re Jewish and single, matchmaker Aleeza Ben Shalom would like to set you up on a date.

She’s always looking for more names to enter into her database of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. And if you attend her event in Boca Raton on Oct. 9, she may ask to take your picture and hear about the joys and woes of your dating life.

Ben Shalom is the affable matchmaker on the Netflix hit series, “Jewish Matchmaking,” which offers an intimate look at single Jews who are looking to get married, including several in South Florida. She said she has arranged more than 200 marriages since she began her business, which has now grown to 15 employees, in 2007.

In an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ben Shalom, an American-born Orthodox Jew who now lives in Israel, said single Jews should seek out a matchmaker’s services when they are not finding compatible people on their own.

“It’s like deciding to hire a personal trainer,” she said. “You’re not getting the results you want and are consistently struggling.”

The married mother of five said she helps singles figure out what’s most important to them in a spouse: Looks? Personality? Religion? Financial stability? All of the above?

She said she never passes judgment on her clients’ quirks: When a contestant on the Netflix series only wanted women with blue eyes, she worked to find matches with the right eye color.

Her services range in price from $25 a month to be placed in her database and get a few potential matches a week to $20,000 for VIP services, which include intensive efforts such as traveling around the world to arrange the setup.

She said one of the biggest obstacles to dating today is having too many choices.

“There are so many options and it’s overwhelming,” she said. “Nobody can make a decision. There’s a lot of ‘this person’s good, but someone else could be better.’ ”

In addition, many Jews today don’t think about getting married until their 30s or even their 40s, she said, limiting the pool of potential partners.

Ben Shalom said she keeps her database fresh through obsessive networking. “Let’s take a photo and put you in the database” is one of the first things she says to a new single acquaintance.

“We stop at nothing,” she said.

Here’s her advice on the best way to meet a mate.

• Project a sincere image of happiness. Walk around with a smile on your face.
• Become a great conversationalist.
• Show curiosity about other people.
• Display confidence, but not arrogance

“Confidence is so sexy,” she said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: “Aleeza Ben Shalom LIVE”

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 9

WHERE: Levis Jewish Community Center, 21050 95th Ave. S., Boca Raton

COST: $72

INFORMATION: levisjcc.org/aleeza.

IF YOU WANT TO BE IN THE SHOW: Singles age 21 and older can enter a drawing for a chance to be one of four contestants on stage. Raffle tickets are $36 per drawing entry, plus a $500 donation for each selected contestant. The drawing will be held on Facebook Live at 5 p.m. Oct. 2. For more details on becoming a contestant, contact Lisa Pincus Hamroff at lisap@levisjcc.org or 561-852-3268.