Danielle Selber is a modern matchmaker. She has helped connect more than 50 Jewish couples over the years.

Now, though, Selber is diversifying.

She’s matching young Jews with synagogues, as well. Selber and her employer, Tribe 12, the organization that connects Jews in their 20s and 30s to Jewish life, are hosting High Holidays Synagogue Matchmaking.

Participants fill out a form with questions about their Jewish background, preferred denomination and preferences for Shabbat practice, among many other details. The form takes about 15 minutes to fill out.

Then, Selber reviews the responses and matches individuals to participating synagogues for High Holiday services. Participation is free, though some synagogues will still charge full price for High Holiday tickets. Others are offering free tickets or reduced rates as part of the program. Personal budgets are a consideration when making matches.

The deadline to respond was Aug. 18 at 5 p.m. Forty people and 16 shuls signed up. The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Center City Kehillah helped support the program.

Selber decided to launch the initiative because she kept hearing about the struggle to find a synagogue from Jews in her matchmaking sessions. They wanted to join, but they either hadn’t found the right one or didn’t know where to start.

“I’ve never had people be just so grateful and relieved to have a resource for this kind of thing. They said, ‘Oh my God, I’ve been looking for this kind of help.’ Every synagogue’s website looks exactly the same. How can you figure out if it’s right for you?”

The matchmaker had a strong feeling that synagogues would be interested, as well.

“There’s a sense for synagogues that they need younger members,” she said.

Participating shuls include city congregations like Historic Congregation Kesher Israel and Society Hill Synagogue; suburban synagogues such as Adath Israel on the Main Line and Temple Beth Hillel-Beth El; smaller operations like Folkshul and YPC-Shari Eli; and Chabad houses such as Mamash and B’nai Abraham.

“The response has been great. We originally had reached out just to the Center City synagogues, but right away, synagogues from all over reached out wanting to be part of it,” Selber said.

Many individual participants were either new to the area or disconnected from the Jewish community.

“Post-Oct. 7, we found that a lot of people are either renewing or figuring out how they want to be involved in Judaism,” Selber said.

One respondent had just moved to Philadelphia from Central America, according to Selber. She speaks Spanish, so the matchmaker connected her with Congregation Mikveh Israel in Old City, a Sephardic synagogue where many members also speak Spanish.

But some respondents were already involved in the Jewish community.

“I was sort of surprised to see them on the list. They’re very involved in Jewish social life, but now they’re looking for that religious home,” the matchmaker said.

One of those participants was Cara Ozlek, of Northern Liberties. Ozlek, 36, helps organize Tribe 12 events and runs an outdoor group for Jews called Yids Off the Grid. While she’s attended services and other events at several synagogues, she hasn’t found the one to join yet.

“I thought it was a perfect way to find which place to go to for the High Holidays,” Ozlek said. “I grew up in an Orthodox shul, but I’m a Conservative Jew, so I’m trying to find something in between.”

Ozlek also said she wants a shul that separates kids and adults during services and maintains a strong commitment to Israel.

“I’m excited to see what the results come up with,” she said.

Based on the positive response to this year’s program, Selber wants to continue synagogue matchmaking.

“It could go one of two ways. It could be something where we turn the light on and do the High Holidays every year. Or it could be something more organic and rolling, kind of like matchmaking,” she said.

Selber is also piloting friendship matchmaking for Tribe 12.

“In my opinion, everything is matchmaking. Everything is about helping people connect to each other and find their place,” she said. “Most of our work is about strengthening social fabric overall as a way to address this loneliness epidemic. If we can give people a connection point, one spark of a connection can lead to an entire community.”

Selber used the example of a woman who became part of her matchmaking program back in 2016. During the pandemic, she reached out to Selber because she was looking for a synagogue.

“‘I want some kind of connection. Do you know one that might be right for me?’” Selber recalled her saying.

The matchmaker recommended the South Philadelphia Shtiebel, which was just opening up at the time. The woman became a member and started volunteering and attending events at the Shtiebel every week.

“That became her Jewish home,” Selber said. “One little moment can change your whole life. A lot of this is about being in a room you weren’t going to be in or being willing to take a risk.”

jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com