Through the Kibid platform, a woman from New York purchased the honor of Chosson Bereishis in our Chabad House here in Netanya, Israel. I had never met her before — she wasn’t local and had no prior connection to our community. A few days ago, I sent a yearly update to all of our donors, sharing what we had accomplished together in the past year. This woman wrote back immediately, with incredible news. She told me that when she purchased the kibud, she did so in the merit of her brother, who had been searching for his shidduch for a long time. Just this week, she shared with me that her brother became engaged! She was overjoyed, and she expressed how strongly she felt that the zechus of Chosson Bereishis brought blessing and opened the gates of mazal for her family. In fact, she even invited me to attend the wedding in New York.
In 2023, Chabad in Nebraska connected with a buyer through the Kibid platform—someone not at all local—who purchased Chosson Torah for $500. After making the payment, the buyer was married within a few months.
Miriam connected with Rabbi Lipskar of Chabad at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Last year, through Kibid, she purchased the honor of the Chosson Torah. She paid it off slowly over the year. She was not present or in Orlando. She bought it remotely. Two weeks after making her final payment, Miriam met her future husband!
When I, Yosef, the founder of Kibid, was looking for a shidduch, I purchased Chosson Torah from Rabbi Liberow of Chabad in Colorado Springs. The asking price was $770, and I paid it off bit by bit over the course of the year. It wasn’t until Shevat that I made the final payment. Three days later, I met my wife.
Boruch* (name changed) bought Chosson Torah last year from Rabbi Yitzchok Bergstein at Chabad Jewish Center in Oak Park, Illinois, through Kibid. When he saw this year’s Kibid posts, he couldn’t wait to share his news: "BH, I am married now! Yosher Koach! I guess it works—it was the first time I did it, and BH, I am married now. Keep it up!"
"Yosef, last year you connected our Chosson Torah and Braishis aliyos to sponsors through Kibid, and I had two men buy them, thanks to you. I needed to physically call two men for the aliyahs, but I decided to honor two individuals—one who had been struggling with parnassah for years, and the other, a kohen in his 50s who had never married. The first man landed his dream job around Pesach time, but the process began within a month of Simchas Torah. The second man, the kohen, has been busier than ever in his life. We are still waiting to hear about a shidduch, but his life has completely shifted since the aliyah."