Leah Furman

Residence : New York, NY

Biographical information

Leah Furman is an author, speaker and spokesperson. Most recently, Leah wrote Single Jewish Female: A Modern Guide to Sex and Dating (Perigee, September 2004). Leah spoke with countless Jewish women, some single, some married, and identified the issues that make dating such a distinct challenge for the SJF. The book represents the culmination of her research and includes a wide range of perspectives from Jewish women of all backgrounds. The book has received positive reviews from Jewish papers across the country and a starred review from Publisher's Weekly.

Leah wrote her first book with her sister Elina Furman. She interviewed hundreds of her fellow recent college grads to come up with The Everything After College Book (Adams Media Corp. 1998). Leah and Elina joined forces again to interview young entrepreneurs for Generation Inc: 100 Best Businesses for Young Entrepreneurs (Berkley Books, 2000). Leah Furman is also the co-author of The Everything Dating Book (Adams Media, 1999) and Our Boys Speak: Adolescent Boys Write About their Inner Lives.

She has been invited to discuss dating on TV shows such as Good Morning America, New York Today, E!'s Love Chain, Good Day Philadelphia, Jersey's Talking, Good Morning Arizona, Boston's WB in the Morning, and many others. She's also called upon frequently for expert dating advice by the editors of publications such as Cosmopolitan, Denver Post, Boston Herald and Men's Health.

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Leah came to the U.S. with her family in 1980. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and earned her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She currently resides in New York City, where she heads up the Dating/Relationship and Travel departments at Profile, a dating and relationship-oriented lifestyle magazine.

Discussion topics

• What's God Got to Do with It? Why you don't have to be religious to date Jewish This discussion focuses on Judaism as a cultural rather than religious identity. By addressing the possible twists and turns that our affiliation with Judaism may take in the future and discussing various effects of sharing a Jewish background with our partners, we get a better sense of the effect that being Jewish may have on our lives ... whether or not we consider ourselves to be religious.
• J-dar, J-date, and Jewtopias: Increase your chance of meeting a Jewish man In her research for Single Jewish Female, Leah Furman ran across dozens of women who claimed that they had a hard time meeting Jewish men. The truth is that there is a subtle difference between women who seem to meet Jewish men everywhere they go and women who couldn't meet a Jew if they were at a Kosher butcher shop ... in Tel Aviv. Leah Furman discusses this difference and names a number of places where Jewish men are in abundance.
• Playing or Straying: Navigating the choppy waters of interfaith romance While researching Single Jewish Female, Ms. Furman didn't speak only with Jews. She spoke with many non-Jews who had dated Jews. Their stories help inform this discussion of how to date and be sensitive to the needs of those outside the faith while staying true to your identity. Includes a take-home quiz.
• No Ordinary Jew: Can you handle different degrees of observance? He's Modern Orthodox, she couldn't be more secular. What's next? This dialogue about the vast differences that exist between various Jewish streams goes beyond defining the categories, but also gets people thinking about their own tolerance for divergent points of view. Includes a take-home self-assessment quiz for participants.
• Do Not Do Onto Others: Applying Jewish ethics to your love life Ms. Furman discusses how traditional Hebrew concepts like reciprocity ("an eye for an eye"), honesty, gender roles and self-preservation play into successful and ethical dating. Here, the long-time dating expert lays out an ethically sound system for saying good-bye to disappointment, getting what you want out of dating and finding a partner that is worthy of you.

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