The Jewish Matchmaker

What if your first date with your soulmate was a couples photo shoot with someone you’ve never met? In this episode, Aleeza Ben Shalom chats with Paisley Druin who started “Stranger Sessions” as a creative photography project that is a blind date for a couples photoshoot. Part photo session, part matchmaking. Will the couple like one another or stay together? Tune in for the results. From reading applications and social media clues to watching chemistry unfold through a camera lens, this conversation explores the difference between compatibility on paper and attraction in real life.

People say love is blind... and that's the problem. In this episode, Lori Palatnik and Aleeza Ben Shalom unpack why “love conquers all” is one of the most dangerous dating myths, what happens when attraction overrides clarity, and how ignoring one value mismatch can cost years of your life. From dealbreakers to objective dating criteria, this conversation gets into the uncomfortable truth about attraction, self-worth, and the decisions that quietly shape the rest of your life.

Aleeza:

- IG https://www.instagram.com/aleezabenshalom/

- FB https://www.facebook.com/aleezabenshalom

- YT https://www.youtube.com/@aleezabenshalom

- https://marriagemindedmentor.com/

Lori Palatnik

- IG @loripalatnik

- FB https://www.facebook.com/lori.palatnik.9/

- https://momentumunlimited.org/

You can love someone deeply and still slowly destroy the relationship over money. In this episode, Aleeza Ben Shalom and Rifka Lebowitz get into the silent expectations couples carry into marriage, the emotional weight behind spending and saving, and why so many people confuse financial stability with emotional security. They talk about dating people with money and the control that can come with it, surviving month-to-month, and the panic that hits when life suddenly costs more than you expected. This is the part of relationships nobody wants to admit matters this much… until it does.Aleeza:- IG @aleezabenshalom - FB https://www.facebook.com/aleezabenshalom- YT https://www.youtube.com/@aleezabenshalom- https://marriagemindedmentor.com/Rifka:- IG https://www.instagram.com/livingfinanciallysmarter/- FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/219528557090- YT https://www.youtube.com/@plusfinances- LI https://www.linkedin.com/in/rifkalebowitz/- https://rifkalebowitz.com/Join our community now and receive 24/7 of new & original content from the State of Israel.https://www.iltv.tv

What does it mean to finally belong after spending your whole life feeling different? In this episode, Aleeza Ben Shalom chats with Menashe Lopez about the unbelievable chain of events that started with his mother’s curiosity in a Texas library and slowly transformed a Christian church into a community obsessed with Judaism. Menashe opens up about growing up caught between worlds and trying to belong in Jewish spaces that didn’t always know what to do with him, why moving to Israel finally felt like breathing for the first time, and how music became the only language to hold everything he couldn’t say out loud.Aleeza:- IG @aleezabenshalom - FB https://www.facebook.com/aleezabenshalom- YT https://www.youtube.com/@aleezabenshalom- https://marriagemindedmentor.com/Menasheh: - IG @menasheh.lopez - YT https://www.youtube.com/@Nash_lopez- TT https://www.tiktok.com/@nash.lopez- Spotify: Nash LopezJoin our community now and receive 24/7 of new & original content from the State of Israel.https://www.iltv.tv

Why do people say they want marriage but date like they’re waiting for something better? Aleeza Ben Shalom sits down with Sarah Pachter, matchmaker, author, and co-host of Israel’s hit dating show Vort, for a conversation about attraction, timing, and why people talk themselves out of relationships that could actually work. From grocery-store matches and matchmaking instincts to rejecting her husband twice before eventually marrying him, Sarah gets honest about chemistry and commitment. This conversation pushes hard against the fantasy version of love and gets real about what it actually takes to build a relationship that lasts.

Aleeza:

- IG @aleezabenshalom

- FB https://www.facebook.com/aleezabenshalom

- YT https://www.youtube.com/@aleezabenshalom

- https://marriagemindedmentor.com/

Sara:

- IG https://www.instagram.com/sara_pacther/

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When grief has nowhere to go, it can turn into something dangerous fast. In this conversation with Aleeza Ben Shalom, Elana Israel opens up about losing her best friend, carrying a devastating secret, and using drugs to numb the pain until her life unraveled completely. From the streets of Kensington to 12-step recovery, making amends to nearly 40 people, and learning how honesty rebuilds trust, this is a story about addiction, faith, and why real relationships cannot survive without truth.

What if the person you want is not the person you need? In this episode, Aleeza Ben Shalom and Lori Palatnik explore the spiritual perspective on soulmates, marriage, and the choices that shape who you become with someone else. The conversation moves from the Jewish idea of destined soulmates into the hard realities of attraction, respect, toxic relationships, gray divorce, and why parents may know more than friends when it comes to choosing a spouse. This is about love without the fantasy and marriage without the escape hatch.

When fear, chemistry, and timing collide, dating gets real fast. In this episode, Aleeza Ben Shalom tackles the questions people usually wrestle with in private: why we ignore red flags when someone is attractive, what real investment in dating actually looks like, and whether you can want a partner without truly having space for one. She also gets brutally honest about dealbreakers, the fear of ending up alone, and why staying with the wrong person costs far more than starting over. Practical, direct, and deeply relatable, this episode goes right to the heart of modern dating.

Why do you hold things in… and then say them in the worst possible way? In this episode, Aleeza sits down with communication expert Elana Israel to unpack what’s really happening in those moments—when you keep things bottled up until they spill out, use a tone that puts someone on defense, or ask a question that shifts everything off course. This is a conversation about honesty, self-abandonment, and why keeping the peace can quietly cost you the relationship you’re trying to protect.

He grew up between worlds - Filipino by birth, Israeli by life - until he made a choice that would change everything. In this episode, Aleeza Ben Shalom sits down with singer Howie Danao to explore a journey shaped by identity, faith, and purpose. From questioning his place in the Israeli army to choosing conversion, and from October 7 to creating music that brings light to others, his path is anything but typical. And just when he let go of the idea of love… it found him. A conversation about purpose, peoplehood, and the moments that quietly reshape a life.