EndTheMadness Guide to the Shidduch World

The EndTheMadness Guide to the Shidduch World is the definitive book on what's really wrong in the shidduch world and what needs to be done to fix it. It contains 267 pages of straight talk, including a comprehensive analysis of the various layers of the problems, practical solutions that apply to the entire community, and a wealth of supporting Torah sources and ideas. Features: The shidduch world explained to aliens How did we get here? And how do we get to a better way? Real lessons from the Torah The EndTheMadness Label Lexicon Stupid and insensitive things people say to singles The Dating Survival Guide for Orthodox Jewish Men Calculate your value on the shidduch market! Bitachon vs. Hishtadlus -- finding the right balance

The EndTheMadness Guide to the Shidduch World is the definitive book on what's really wrong in the shidduch world and what needs to be done to fix it. It contains 267 pages of straight talk, including a comprehensive analysis of the various layers of the problems, practical solutions that apply to the entire community, and a wealth of supporting Torah sources and ideas. CONTENTS Introduction .............................. .............................1 The Problem Chapter 1 – Truth Is Stranger Than Science Fiction ..................... 5 Chapter 2 – The Elusive and Illusive Quest for “Frumkeit” ......... 16 Chapter 3 – The Elimination of Natural Meetings ...................... 30 Chapter 4 – The Failure of the Matchmaking System ................. 35 Chapter 5 – Just Follow the Script .............................................. 42 Chapter 6 – The Rise of Feminism .............................................. 48 Chapter 7 – The Advancement of Technology ............................ 61 The EndTheMadness Label Lexicon .................................... 64 Chapter 8 – The Dreaded Shidduch Résumé .............................. 80 Chapter 9 – Stupid and Insensitive Things People Say To Singles ... 86 Chapter 10 – The Isolation of Singles ....................................... 100 Chapter 11 – False Hope (or what dating web sites should file for) .................... 102 The Solution Chapter 1 – Wise Words from a Blind Man .............................. 107 Chapter 2 – The EndTheMadness Covenant ............................ 110 Chapter 3 – Natural Meetings ................................................... 131 Chapter 4 – Events for Singles (NOT Singles Events) ............... 141 Chapter 5 – Matchmaking ........................................................ 150 Chapter 6 – HotKiddush: Online Meetings Revolutionized ...... 162 Chapter 7 – The Role of Singles in the Solution ........................ 171 Chapter 8 – The Role of the Community .................................. 177 Chapter 9 – Dating More Than One Person at a Time ............. 180 Chapter 10 – When Should One Begin Dating? ........................ 184 Chapter 11 – Should One Wait for an Older Sibling? ............... 186 Chapter 12 – Icebreakers ........................................................... 188 Chapter 13 – Short Lessons from the Torah .............................. 189 Epilogue .................................................................................... 194 Appendix The Dating Survival Guide for Orthodox Jewish Men .............. 197 The Shidduch Value Calculator................................................. 217 Debunking the Age Gap Theory ............................................... 226 The “Dhimmis” Among Us: Judaism’s Lower Class .................. 243 Appropriate Shidduch Questions ............................................... 251 Bitachon and Hishtadlus in Shidduchim (and elsewhere) .......... 256

Rabbi Chananya Weissman is the founder of EndTheMadness (www.endthemadness.org), an ambitious and unique effort to combat the angst and hardships associated with dating in the religious Jewish community. For more than a decade he has spearheaded this unique, volunteer effort to bring sanity and true Torah values back to the shidduch world. He has written dozens of articles on the subject in a wide range of Jewish newspapers, and is the author of several other books, which include: "Journeys Into Limbo", a collection of science fiction stories "Keser Chananya", a collection of original Divrei Torah mostly on the Chumash "Tovim Hashnayim", s soon-to-be published sefer on the role and nature of men and women as seen through the lens of primary Torah sources Rabbi Weissman is an educator and lives in Israel.