As we mark one year since the pandemic changed our lives, we asked you to introduce us to your COVID heroes

At the end of December, I received a call from my friend Khavi Rosenshein. She remembered that we had built a home extension for my parents. Now that they were recently deceased, would we consider making it available for dates?

In pre-COVID times, dates usually met in hotel lounges, restaurants, malls, museums, and other public places. When the pandemic struck, most of those venues closed, leaving dating couples with nowhere to go. The solution was to solicit the use of private homes so that singles would have where to meet. The Lehmann’s List — which is available online and in print — is organized by city and includes details of each residence and the owner’s contact information. The List contains more than 200 entries in frum communities around the world, but Khavi told me there weren’t many in Queens, NY, where we live, and that most of the options were outdoors and totally unsuitable for winter weather.

What a wonderful way to commemorate my beloved parents, who were married for over 65 years! I stocked up on snacks and paper goods and filled the refrigerator with water and flavored seltzer. My daughter and son-in-law donated a bunch of two-player games, my husband printed up a sign with directions, and our dating lounge was launched.

Since then, we’ve been running a pretty brisk business. We host several couples a week, and unfortunately, we frequently have to turn down requests because the space is already booked. Some of the reservations are made by the boys’ mothers, and some by the guys themselves. Most of the girls are from Queens, but others come from Brooklyn or the Five Towns when the local venues are booked. We unlock the door and turn on the lights before the date starts, so we never actually know who we are hosting. We have gotten calls from two engaged couples who thanked us profusely for the use of our lounge. (One of them was a shidduch that I made!) A local girl was brought by a date to our “lounge” a few weeks ago, and she sent her brother over the very next evening with his date. And the young man who called today volunteered that he is a Shaar HaTorah alumnus who ate several times at our house when he was a student a few blocks away.

The system is the brainchild of Mrs. Chani Lehmann, who created the concept of private dating lounges and takes the time to update her list regularly. I have never met her, but I admire her greatly. Mrs. Lehmann’s innovation revived the crippled shidduch process and enabled numerous couples to meet and marry… including my own son and new daughter-in-law, who used several venues on her list for their dates!

l’zecher nishmos Harav Shmuel Yechiel ben Yosef Yitzchak and Golda Henya bas Yitzchak Halevi

—Brandie Geizhals, Kew Gardens, New York

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 854)