A Full Fall Ahead at Ahava Northwest: August Business Updates
We have a full few months ahead at Ahava Northwest! With the High Holidays approaching, followed by some very exciting personal milestones for our small team, we wanted to give everyone an early look at what to expect through the end of the year.
Important Dates & Closures
Ahava remains open and actively matching throughout the remainder of 2026, but please expect a slower pace and longer response times during this busy season.
High Holiday Closures
September 11–14: Rosh Hashanah
September 20–21: Yom Kippur
September 25–27: Sukkot
October 2–3: Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah
Team Leave & Time Off
October 1–November 30: Katt on parental leave
October 25–November 7: Whitney & Beni's wedding and time off; Ahava will be largely offline
November 25–December 12: Thanksgiving, honeymoon, and Hanukkah time off; Ahava will be largely offline
As a reminder, Ahava is also generally closed on Shabbat and Yom Tovim throughout the year. However, we are not Shomer Shabbos so you may still see pre-scheduled social media content and occasional replies during these times.
High Holidays & September Slowdown
September's High Holiday season is naturally a somewhat quieter time for matchmaking. Between the holidays, back-to-school schedules, travel, and time with family and community, we typically see fewer new profiles and less dating availability during this part of the year.
Outside of these closures, Ahava remains open and we are still actively matching. September may simply move at a somewhat slower pace as our members and our team move through the rhythm of the holiday season.
Some Big Life Updates From Our Team!
This year's busy season doesn't stop with the High Holidays!
Our Marketing Assistant, Katt, whom many of you may recognize from working with her to get your deidentified profile online, is expecting her first baby with her partner in early October! We're thrilled for their growing family, and Katt will be taking October and November away from Ahava. During her leave, much of our social media and newsletter content will be pre-scheduled and likely a bit lighter than usual. The marketing@ahavanorthwest.com inbox will still be monitored, but responses may take longer.
And there's another simcha right behind it: Whitney and Beni are getting married at the end of October! We'll be taking time away for our wedding and, later in the year, our honeymoon and some purposeful time off to celebrate and enjoy being newlyweds.
What This Means for Matchmaking
Most importantly: we are still open, and we are still matching!
Between the High Holidays, Katt's parental leave, our wedding and honeymoon, and the usual end-of-year holiday schedules of our members, Ahava will be operating at a slower pace through much of the remainder of 2026.
You may notice longer response times, slower turnaround for new and updated profiles and outreach, and fewer Ahava-hosted events and programs during this period. We're a very small team and need to make room for our team members to navigate these life transitions, spend time with family, and take genuine time away.
If you're waiting for a match, we haven't forgotten about you, and matchmaking isn't on hold. We'll continue reviewing potential matches, welcoming new members, making introductions, and supporting matches already underway. Matches can and absolutely will still happen! We simply want to be transparent that some of our behind-the-scenes work may take a little longer during this particularly full season.
We're incredibly excited about everything ahead: the High Holidays, a new Ahava baby, a wedding, a honeymoon, and plenty of matchmaking along the way.
Thank you for giving our team the space to celebrate these milestones, observe our holidays, spend time with our families, and rest. We're so grateful to have this community celebrating alongside us. ❤️