Dear JDate,

In the winter of 2005, our worlds changed thanks to JDate.

I had just returned from spending a semester abroad studying at Tel- Aviv University. Feeling lost, confused and not finding my place back in New York, I decided to return back to Israel for just a couple more months to enjoy the summer. Enjoying my time, yet still knowing that my family and job were waiting for me in New York, I realized that I had no choice but to return home. After several long talks with my dear grandmother, I decided to follow her advice. She was convinced that my husband was waiting for me back in New York, and that I must go back. How she predicted this, G-d only knows. Luckily, I listened.

At that same time, Amos, who was born and raised in Israel, decided that Israel wasn’t the place for him at the time, and wanted to broaden his horizons. Debating whether he would pick up and go to either Australia or the United States, he decided to flip a coin, which landed on heads, meaning his big move would be to the United States. Within 48 hours from the time he made his decision to leave his family, friends and everything he knows, he purchased a one-way ticket to Florida. Going from job to job, and state to state, he ended up in New York.

Funny how G-d works.

After hearing several success stories, I decided to join JDate in an attempt to meet “The One.” Hoping to meet a nice Israeli man that was looking to settle down, I decided to test my luck. Amos, who was looking to settle down in New York, followed the advice of his friends back home, who told him that he might be able to meet people through JDate.

After repeatedly viewing each other’s profiles and conversing through emails, we finally logged in at the same time. We started chatting through IM and he immediately asked me for my phone number. He called that night. We were on the phone for over two hours. It was an obvious connection. We scheduled a date for that Monday, February 14, 2005 (Valentine’s Day). That was the day our lives changed. We instantly hit it off. Having many things in common, including our shared language, Hebrew, a love for Israel, our ambition for success and our desire to start a Jewish family (naming only a few), we knew instantly that we had found our soul mates.

We have been inseparable since that day.

In August 2007, I came home after an ordinary day at work and walked out of the elevator only to find a trail of rose petals leading me to the door of our apartment. I opened the door to see the whole apartment filled with roses in every color of the rainbow, rose petals and candles in every spot possible, and romantic music playing in the background. The personal chef and her assistant that he had hired for the night handed me a glass of champagne and walked me over to the middle of the living room towards Amos, where he was down on one knee.

Our marriage took place in a beautiful garden in Israel on July 8, 2008. Everything about it was perfect, especially the groom!

Wasting no time at all, we got pregnant three months later, and gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Saphir, on July 7, 2009 – by far the best anniversary gift anyone could ever ask for!

Thank you JDate for bringing us together. Due to your site and your efforts in bringing Jewish singles together, I have met my husband, the love of my life, my best friend, and the father of my daughter.

Thank you!

Karinne and Amos
Whitestone, New York