Publication: Boston Herald,
December 24, 2001
It's a mitzvah: Hub's singles find love at Matzo Ball
Most people in Greater Boston will be hanging up their stockings for Santa tonight. But another, smaller set will be pulling them on - just before they slip on their party shoes and head to Avalon for the Matzo Ball, the giant social event for Jewish singles held in the Hub every Christmas Eve.
Jennifer Burkin, a 32-year-old window designer who's going for the first time, said she hopes to "meet someone who is really nice, and we exchange numbers."
"But it's not like I'm going for a husband," she said.
Not everyone has such low-key aspirations. The Matzo Ball, in its 15th year, has a reputation for being a meat market - albeit, a kosher one. Andrew Rudnick, the Wellesley-based founder and president, hosts similar events in seven other cities and throughout the year.
Rudnick said he wasn't the first to see the potential in having a party Christmas Eve, but does take credit for a key decision - setting it in a nightclub.
"You don't feel like a bunch of nebbishes, which is what you feel like when you go to a hotel ballroom," he said.
Rudnick expects more than 2,000 people to attend the Boston party tonight (tickets are available at the door). Attendees will likely range from 21 to 50-something, but are mostly within the 25-to-35 set. His proudest number?
"We've had at least 1,000 marriages," boasted Rudnick - and that includes him. Rudnick met his wife, Catherine, at the Matzo Ball at Avalon three years ago.
Debi Shapiro met her husband, Rich, at a Matzo Ball party 11 years ago at the former Zanzibar nightclub. Debi had gone to the party alone - "the truth is my father paid me $50 to go" - and was passing by the bar when her eyes met Rich's.
"I said, `So can I buy you a drink? I have $50,' " she recalled. "The rest is history."
Married now with three boys, Debi said while the Matzo Ball is a lot like any other club party - "it's a lot of luck and there are plenty of jerks out there" - it has one distinct advantage.
"At least when you walk into the place you'll have something in common with everyone in the place," she said.
Rudnick doesn't shy away from the meat market label, acknowledging that "people who go to this event know why they're there." He even hires a crew of promoters who scour the city comping tickets to "the most attractive Jewish women" so they'll attend.
"Sparks are flying all over the place. There are a lot of people taking phone numbers left and right so they can work them the next few months," he said.
Marshall Farmelant of Shrewsbury has taken a few phone numbers over the years. The 41-year-old tax preparer estimated he's attended 10 Matzo Balls, but aside from one year-long relationship, his timing has never been right.
"My busy season (at work) starts right after New Year's (and lasts) until spring. It's a hard time for me to start seeing people," he said.
Still, Farmelant, who said his mother laments his single status every day, plans to go tonight. "I hope to get married. I'm no spring chicken."
In fact, many attendees have parents who share - if not eclipse - their enthusiasm for the Matzo Ball.
Gloria Burkin, Jennifer's mother, said her efforts to get her daughter to attend in the past were met with comments like, "Oh, Mom. What do you know?"
"Fortunately, she's going this year. I'll certainly keep my fingers crossed," said Gloria, who spoke via telephone from Vero Beach, Fla., where she is vacationing.
Gloria said she's "certainly hopeful" Jenny will meet "some nice guy, a mensch. "
"Why should she spend Christmas Eve sitting in the house?" she said.
Jennifer said she tries to take her mom's pressure in stride, noting she's better than she used to be.
"She did something awful in the past. She put in a personal ad without telling me," Jennifer recalled. "But she was seriously reprimanded for that."
Of tonight's affair, the Brookline woman said she is curious, though she fears "it might skew a little young for me." She will attend with a friend, a Japanese woman who is Buddhist.
"She's hoping there'll be some other (single) Buddhists there," she said.
There's a good chance of that, said Rudnick, who said the Matzo Ball has become more mainstream for non-Jewish people who either don't celebrate Christmas or are away from their families.
"It's a great alternative to watching reruns of `It's a Wonderful Life' or eating Chinese food," he said.
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