Jewish Mingle
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| Categories | Jewish, Jewish |
| Free Offer | Create and browse profiles, send instant messages |
| Pros | Send email, smiles, or cards, includes forums and live chat rooms for paid members |
| Cons | Automatically fills in some profile information that may be inaccurate |
Shalom! Welcome to Jewish Mingle. A Jewish online personals service for all Jewish women and men.
Review
JewishMingle.com is a member of a vast network of specialized personals sites obviously aimed towards the single Jewish community. I am always a little surprised when a religiously targeted dating site allows you to gloss over details when you sign up. All the sites affiliated with this company have a pretty lax requirement for details when it comes to the profiles, which unfortunately compromises their quality considerably. For example, I noticed when I read other members’ profiles they said whether they kept kosher or not. I couldn’t remember being asked so I went back and verified the system had entered a default of “always” and that my religious involvement was “sometimes” although I had chosen “other-unaffiliated” under the religion category. For some these may seem unimportant issues, but I find it more appropriate for unanswered questions to be presented as “no response” or “ask me”, rather than choosing a random default that doesn’t even agree with provided information. I give the site a six for profile quality since many subscribers had incomplete or contradictory profiles, thanks to the less than “kosher” sign-up process.
Despite not being compelled to give a full description, you can go back and complete several optional sections. Just remember if you don’t go back, the system may choose some interesting defaults in the absence of your given response. There’s a childhood-based personality test to take if you want to get Freudian about your possible compatible matches. You can also answer a series of questions about whom you think would make a good match for you. Besides checking off boxes, you rate in order of importance what sections should count for more overall.
In addition to basic e-mail, which requires a paid subscription, there are some free ways to show interest to fellow members. You can flirt by sending a “smile” or choose a predefined message with a choice of e-cards for everything from Passover to Earth Day. For more general communication, post a message on the forums where the subjects range from dating to news and current events. Also free to everyone is the instant messaging option. Once you upgrade to a premium membership, besides the aforementioned e-mail access, you’ll also enjoy live chat rooms. All these chances for connections earn this site 10/10 for quick contact. Jewish Mingle may miss the mark on profile quality but at least it delivers on the contact side of things.
Membership runs at under $20 a month, which is pretty standard for these kinds of sites. My only advice would be to check out the profiles before paying anything, since optional, the quality of profiles seem to depend on your local area. Also, women seem more committed to completing their details and adding a photo.
Visit Jewish Mingle for the contact options, not for the profiles.
Testimonial
On the evening of September 6, 2002 (Erev Rosh Hashana) “keyman” wrote to me and we started corresponding. We had both been looking for someone to share our life with for a long time. He had been divorced for 24 years and had ended a 12-year relationship 5 years before. I had been a widow for 11 years. He was almost 70 years old and I was 65. We were both terribly lonely. Anyway we started corresponding and it didn’t take long before we both realized that this was something special. “Keyman” lived in Orlando, Florida and I lived in Rochester, NY but somehow distance was not an insurmountable conisderation. Anyway, the end of Sept. “keyman” flew to Rochester for the weekend and as soon as he came into the airport terminal we both knew that this was it. Everything worked. Our interests were so compatible it was uncanny and we even thought alike. One of us would think about something and the other would say it. It was very unreal how much alike we were and still are. Anyway in October, my brother passed away in Rochester and “keyman”, being the kind and considerate person that he is, immediately flew there to be with me which to me said it all about the type of person he is. Anyway, I then flew to Orlando on Nov. 26th for Thanksgiving and we got engaged as soon as I got there and we were married February 16, 2003 at a very small but beautiful wedding in a shule under a chupah and I feel that this is a fairy tale that I never want to end.