Although I would love to help my frum gay friends find a shidduch, I really can’t go through with it. I tried to hook up two guys once but luckily, like most men, they had to have so much information before even agreeing to a date that the shidduch never happened. I think the shidduch crisis extends to gays and lesbians too. I have wondered if it would be better to find gays and lesbians a frum shidduch or let them risk it out there in the gay world at large. Luckily for me, someone has just opened the first gay shidduch dating website, taking gay shidduchim worries out of my hands.
Press release: The world’s first online dating site for gay Orthodox Jews, SameSexShidduch.com, has been launched today.
Orthodox Judaism prohibits homosexuality and those who are gay in the Orthodox world are often forced to hide their orientation to maintain their religious lifestyle.
According to the site’s founder Yehonatan Ben Shaul, “SameSexShidduch.com provides an anonymous means for closeted gay men and women in the Orthodox community to meet each other. As an old Yiddish saying goes, ‘Only a stone should be alone.’”
While the site is oriented towards dating, hence the use of the term ‘shidduch’ (a term for dating in the Orthodox community), its founder also sees it as a great means for conflicted religious gay men and women to meet like-minded friends and support each other in the struggle to stay religious and yet express their sexual identity.
In addition to personal ads, the site includes discussion forums and will eventually include posted teachings on the Torah from a gay perspective as created by members. There are no fees to use the site, however, donations are accepted towards the site’s maintenance.
According to Mr. Ben Shaul, “Above all else, I hope this site helps send the message that ‘yes, you can be gay and religious’ and that you are not alone.”