‘Jewish Matchmaking’ showcases Scottsdale

Sisters

Matchmaking is an ancient tradition in Jewish culture, first recorded in the Torah. On May 3, Netflix turned the spotlight onto that tradition, known as shidduch in the Orthodox world, with the premier of “Jewish Matchmaking.” The show follows matchmaker Aleeza Ben Shalom as she modifies the Orthodox model to help Jewish singles — Orthodox, Conservative and Reform, as well as secular — find their forever partner. Over the past 15 years, Ben Shalom has successfully led more than 200 Jewish singles to engagement.

Scottsdale sisters Ophir and Tav Gross, willing to try things the “old-fashioned way,” appear in episodes six and eight, respectively, of the new reality show.

The Gross family are members of Congregation Beth Tefillah in Scottsdale and Ophir, 30, attended the Phoenix Hebrew Academy and the now-closed Jess Schwartz Jewish Community High School. Tav, 24, went to Pardes Jewish Day School in Scottsdale and then graduated from Chaparral High School. She just completed her master’s and, after an internship and passing a board exam, will become a registered dietitian in 2024.

Their Israeli mother, Avital (Tali) Gross, also known as Morah Tali, has been a Hebrew teacher at Pardes Jewish Day School for 20 years. “I feel like she’s probably taught half of the community’s children at one point,” joked Ophir. “We’re so rooted in the community.”

In March 2022, Ophir was on a Facebook singles group page when she saw a post that the new Netflix show was accepting casting applications. After researching whether the person who created the post and the company she worked for were legitimate, Ophir applied.

“They asked a few questions, asked for a bio and asked me to submit some pictures and my social media profiles,” she said. “So, I did all that and about a month went by and I didn’t hear anything.”

A real estate agent (Ophir writes a monthly column for Jewish News’ Home Services special section), Ophir saw a California number come through on her phone and, thinking it was from a listing agent, she answered. Instead, it was a call from the casting company.

That phone interview lasted for over an hour; she made it to round two and an additional phone interview. After that, she did a video interview “to make sure I was suitable for TV,” she said. SEE MATCHMAKING, PAGE 3

Tips for online banking safety

Greater Phoenix area banking professionals share advice on how to safely digitally bank. See page 19.