This episode is sponsored by Anonymous who is fond of Shalom Task Force & 18Forty. In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Channah Cohen, a researcher of the OU’s study on the “Shidduch Crisis.” Channah helps us unpack the two sides to this crisis—“Crisis of Process” and “Crisis of Experience”—and considers some potential solutions to the frequent cruelty of the current culture. Also in this edition, we hear the first-hand perspectives of a series of single Orthodox men and women. In this episode we discuss:

• What really is the Shidduch Crisis?
• How can we improve the experience of looking for love in the Orthodox world?
• What do we make of our messy, non-linear life stories while we’re still living them?

Tune in to hear a conversation about the highs and lows of being single in Orthodox Judaism today—and what we can do to treat unmarried community members with friendship and humanity.

Interview starts at: 9:49

Channah Cohen has held several positions in the OU, including an Applied Researcher for the Center for Communal Research, a Project Manager for the Department of Community Projects and Partnerships, and a Torah Educator for the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus. Channah majored in Psychology at Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women, and was chosen for the Murray Adler Leadership and Vision Award. She completed a master’s degree in Adult Learning & Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University, and is studying coaching at the School of Positive Transformation. Channah is interested in the intersection of religious education and psychology, and strives to learn and teach means of spiritual living that are resonant with the human experience. She lives in Silver Spring, MD with her husband and three children.

References:
“A Polite Request for Basic Sensitivity” by Dovid Bashevkin
“We Are Not a ‘Crisis’: Changing the Singlehood Narrative” by Anonymous
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Eliezer Yudkowsky
The Lion Tracker's Guide To Life by Boyd Varty
Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain