They say that when G-d creates your soul, He splits it in half. One half goes to you and one half goes to your soul mate. Tali and I are celebrating the re-attachment of two pieces of the soul. Our story began with a simple dream. Both of us dreamt that we would find the person to fill that empty spot in our separate lives. Since the moment we met, we never wanted to be apart. And…apart is what we have been!

One December evening, I was spending time with a friend of mine and he said, “Matthew, you should try JDate. You seem to be too vain in what you look for.” I laughed at the thought. Then he showed me his profile and proceeded to show me pictures of some of the women. I was floored! I saw this one picture of this woman and I remember my heart skipping a beat. I took out my credit card, created a profile as quickly as I could, and immediately Instant Messaged her (which was very outside of the norm for me). I wrote, “So I just spent $39.99 to talk to you…you have to answer me back.”

After waiting for what seemed like hours, she responded! After a short conversation on the computer, we switched over to the telephone. I remember the trepidation I felt when I picked up the phone to call her. My heart was in my throat. As the conversation moved forward, it was uncanny how much we had in common. Then the impossible happened. She said, “You know, Matthew. I’m waiting for the man who will want to dance with me to the same song that I want at my wedding. You wouldn’t know it though, it’s in Hebrew. I said, “Well Tali, embarrassingly enough, I have only wanted one thing regarding my wedding. My only wish is to dance with a woman that I think exemplifies my favorite song.” She said, “That’s amazing! But…you can’t possibly know this song because you don’t speak Hebrew.” Little did Tali know, that although I did not speak Hebrew, the song I had in my mind was a Hebrew song!

I became a little nervous and suspect. She was about to tell me the name of the song and I cut her off. “Wait Tali; let me sing a song to you in Hebrew first.” I began to sing this song along with a CD over the phone. This was the song I have thought I would get married to. The lyrics are as follows:

From the depths I called out to you
Come to me
Upon your return, the light will return to my eyes
I’m not finished, I’m not leaving the touch of your hands
May it come and light up to the sound of your laughter
From the depths I called out to you
Come to me
Against the moon that lights your way back to me
They spread out and melted against the touch of your hands
In your ears I whisper, and ask
Who’s that calling out to you tonight, listen up
Who sings out loud to you, to your window
Who gave his soul so you’d be happy
Who will give a hand and build your home
Who will give his life, and put it beneath yours
Who will live as dust beneath your feet
Who will love you more than all other loves
Who will save you from every living spirit
From the depths…
From the depths I called out to you
Come to me
Against the moon that lights your way back to me
They spread out and melted against the touch of your hands
In your ears I whisper, and ask
Who’s that calling out to you tonight, listen up
Who sings out loud to you, to your window
Who gave his soul so you’d be happy
Who will give a hand and build your home
Who will give his life, and put it beneath yours
Who will live as dust beneath your feet
Who will love you more than all other loves
Who will save you from every living spirit
From the depths…

There was only the sound of tears at the end. She was crying. She said, “Matthew, that is the song I was talking about.”

With that began a long-distance relationship from New York to California. Collectively, we could have put a small down payment on a private jet with all the traveling back and forth from California to New York and vice versa. Every delayed flight, every extravagance skipped over in order to save money to see each other, every sleepless night wondering when we would be with each other — it was all worth it to get to this point.

However, our story had just begun. The first time Tali and I met, we looked in each other’s eyes and I started to laugh and promptly said, “We are so together, I just know it.” Since that moment, we have stayed exactly as such and will forever continue to do so. We spent our first few dates exploring the streets of San Francisco, eating at the best restaurants, drinking fine champagne and dancing on a rotating rooftop overlooking the city. Trolley cars, the Ghirardelli Chocolate factory and Sea Lions at Fisherman’s Wharf – how much I loved spending time in a place that wasn’t freezing in January! The dates moved to New York, where Tali experienced the fast-paced lifestyle of New York City, her favorite Broadway show, Grease, an unreal dinner at John’s Pizza (if you haven’t tried it you haven’t lived) and me darting in and out of traffic on crowded city streets.

Eventually the relationship progressed, and we had to settle down and meet each other’s families. All I have to say is, “Wow, we are lucky.” I love her family and Tali can’t get enough of mine! Not to mention all the extended family and friends! What else could be more perfect! So…someone had to make the move. Tali is a champ. She decided that she would try out New York.

I can’t appreciate anything as much as the sacrifice Tali is making for me. However, I’m not surprised. I believe that Tali is a cut above the rest. I plan to spend the rest of my life showing her how much I appreciate her sacrifice.

I proposed to Tali in Central Park. I had a sketch artist draw our pictures beforehand unbeknownst to her. Then we walked down the street and I walked over to him. I asked him how much it would cost to sketch us. Then I asked him to show us an example. When he turned the example around it was a picture of us and the ring with the words, “Will you marry me?” underneath. I got down on one knee and asked for her hand. Best day of my life.

That brings us to now. Wedding plans? Although plans are very slowly moving into motion, we are truly enjoying our engagement and the love and support of everyone. I hope you enjoyed our story and can only hope that if you haven’t already, one day you will find a love like we have for one another. Our empty spot is filled. The soul is re-attached.

Matthew and Tali
Forest Hills, New York