Even the Army Couldn’t Keep Them Apart

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4 days after assembly on the relationship app J-Swipe in October 2020, Sharon Leona Poczter and Rabbi Michael Geoffrey Cohen advised their dad and mom that they have been going to get married.

That they had not but met in particular person, as there have been lots of of miles between them.

Dr. Poczter, 42, an affiliate professor at Yeshiva College and the chair of its technique and entrepreneurship division, was residing in Brooklyn. Rabbi Cohen, 37, was a chaplain within the U.S. Military stationed in Savannah, Ga.

“My dad and mom, to some extent, have been shocked,” mentioned Dr. Poczter, who holds a Ph.D. in enterprise economics from the College of California, Berkeley, and bachelor’s and grasp’s levels from Cornell College. However “they have been additionally completely satisfied for me, and completely trusted my judgment.”

Dr. Poczter, who had “dated rather a lot” by then, added that after days of speaking on FaceTime and the telephone with Rabbi Cohen “nonstop,” one thing about him gave her a “sense of security.”

Rabbi Cohen, whose first marriage of three years resulted in divorce in 2017, mentioned Dr. Poczter’s training and occupation had impressed him when he learn her relationship profile, together with the truth that she “appeared very clear, like, ‘That is who I’m.’”

Impressed to be equally forthright, “I advised her simply that — how very impressed I used to be,” mentioned Rabbi Cohen. From Nashville, Tenn., he’s a graduate of Brandeis College and earned a grasp’s diploma in Hebrew letters and a certificates in Jewish nonprofit administration at Hebrew Union School, the place he was ordained.

Dr. Poczter, who grew up on Lengthy Island, mentioned Rabbi Cohen “is multilayered in so many stunning methods,” citing his work as a rabbi and time within the Military, which included a psychological operations course at Fort Bragg’s John F. Kennedy Particular Warfare Heart and College.

“These two jobs don’t usually go collectively,” she mentioned.

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Their first date, in November 2020, “lasted 10 days,” Dr. Poczter mentioned. They met in Longboat Key, Fla., the place they stayed in a rental owned by her dad and mom, who weren’t there, and celebrated Thanksgiving collectively.

From Florida, Rabbi Cohen went again to Brooklyn with Dr. Poczter. He by no means precisely left, as a result of from then he lived between her place and his condo in Savannah till he completed his army contract. In August 2021, he was honorably discharged from the Military, and formally moved in with Dr. Poczter.

After 14 years as a army chaplain, transitioning to civilian life at first felt “completely different and tough,” mentioned Rabbi Cohen, who’s now the rabbi of Central Synagogue – Beth Emeth in Rockville Centre, N.Y. “I used to be used to a routine,” he added.

Earlier that yr, in March, he and Dr. Poczter turned engaged within the yard of their residence within the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. Additionally there have been Lobo, their 5-year-old German shepherd, and Smokey, their 8-year-old terrier combine, who had the engagement ring tied to his collar.

Rabbi Cohen mentioned that “the ring went flying” when Dr. Poczter eliminated it, inflicting him to spring to motion. “I left my ft and made a dive for it and caught it earlier than it obtained misplaced within the grass.”

They have been married on March 6, precisely one yr after turning into engaged, at The Resort at Longboat Key Membership in Longboat Key. Rabbi Philip Rice, a good friend of the couple, officiated earlier than 60 vaccinated friends, together with Dr. Poczter’s dad and mom and Rabbi Cohen’s mom and her companion; his father is deceased.

“We have been meant for one another,” the bride mentioned. “When you recognize, you simply know.”