“I’m confident in myself and I think I’m a gift to any man, but I also can’t lie and deny that I feel embarrassed because my family is different, and I’m afraid men will reject me because of it. I have two siblings who suffer from schizophrenia, and not every man can deal with that. It takes a high level of emotional intelligence.
“My last relationship ended in a very unpleasant way. I went to meet my ex’s parents over the holiday, and when I told his mother about my siblings, she said, ‘Wow, that’s scary. What if it develops in you too?’ The next day, he left me. I learned that I need a man who can accept my family and me together, who won’t judge, who accepts every person as they are and who will welcome me with open arms,” says Sivan Levy, 29, from Ma’ale Adumim, our Bachelorette of the week.
Levy works in digital marketing and social media. She has a degree in politics and communications and experience in public relations. Her daily routine begins early: She gets up, tidies the house, lights candles in honor of righteous Jewish figures, goes to work and then visits her mother and helps care for her siblings.
In her free time, she enjoys working out and playing sports, eating at restaurants and going to the beach, and occasionally goes out to clear her head. Once a week, she volunteers with AKIM, an organization supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and she also considers her work a hobby. In the future, she hopes to establish a business in the mental wellness field, most likely a personal empowerment center.
(Photo: Private album)
“I help people who lack confidence become confident,” she says proudly. “When I was in middle school, my brother began developing schizophrenia, and later my sister did too. Their schizophrenia isn’t congenital. It developed as a result of psychological stress. Living with them forced me to develop very high emotional intelligence, and by sixth grade I was already giving them motivational talks as if I were a 40-year-old psychologist.
“You have to understand that I had a very difficult childhood. I was afraid they would take me away from my mother because of the difficult financial situation at home. We lived with constant instability.”
When do you tell men about your childhood and your family?
“All my life, I was ashamed of my family because there was no money at home, so I wouldn’t go to friends’ events. My siblings were different, and no one came to my school ceremonies to watch me. I used to walk with my head down, looking at close-knit families celebrating holidays together while I was always alone. I tried to hide it so people wouldn’t pity me.
(Photo: Private album)
“In recent years, I realized I don’t want to be ashamed anymore. And if people laugh at me, that’s fine. Everything comes from God and everything is for the best. Today, I’m very proud of myself. I’m the youngest, but I became the pillar of the family. I hold the household together physically and emotionally.
“I chose to live close to my family, and I make sure to go there every day to cook, clean and help. That takes a great deal of inner strength. I believe the right man will see my heart and my devotion to my home and family.”
Amazing. Do you manage to find time for a relationship?
“I don’t have much time to go out, and I’m also not really the type who goes out partying. I haven’t met anyone through social media where it developed into a relationship, so I’m trying dating apps and making sure I set aside time for them. I had two previous relationships that started through apps.
“A few years ago, I got out of a very toxic relationship with a narcissistic man who verbally abused me and emotionally manipulated me.
“I couldn’t escape the trap I had fallen into until my mother intervened and told him never to come near me again. She saved me because during that argument he broke things and it almost became physically violent. I learned a lot about men and about myself from that relationship, and today I know what I’m looking for and what I need in a man.”
What are you looking for and what do you need in a man?
“I need a warm, sensitive man because I come from a deeply wounded place. I need him to be my home and my family. I want a man with strong, firm opinions, not someone who worries about what people will say, and someone who will stand by me against the whole world. That is absolutely above everything else for me.
(Photo: Private album)
“It’s important to me that he at least be traditional because I’m becoming more observant, and faith is what keeps me going in this life. Beyond that, he needs to be ambitious, motivated and driven because I’m like that too. I want to be able to give my family everything I never had, and more.
“It’s important that he be in a good, stable place and share the burden of running a household with me, because I already have another home to help maintain. And of course, he should be an independent man who knows how to take care of himself.
“Physical attraction is very important to me, and preferably he should be tall because I wear heels. And of course, self-confidence and mental resilience are very attractive qualities in a man.”
What is your biggest flaw?
“I don’t always know how to take criticism.”
What is love to you?
“Loyalty and caring.”
Do you believe in love at first sight?
“Of course. When two people are destined for each other at the level of the soul, you feel it and know it just by looking into each other’s eyes.”
When was the last time your heart was broken?
“Two months ago. The man who was my partner at the time left out of the blue, with no warning, as if I had never existed.”
What have you learned about yourself in relationships?
“That you must never become dependent on a man, only on God, and also not to expect anything because life is very dynamic.”
What is the most important ingredient in a relationship?
“Respect. You cannot have a relationship without mutual respect.”
(Photo: Private album)
What offends you?
“When people lie to me and aren’t genuine with me.”
In your fantasy, what is your ideal partner like?
“He is decisive and serious, with good values. He makes me feel like I’m his queen and that I matter to him. He respects me, gives whatever he can and accepts me as I am.”
Do you have any deal breakers?
“A stingy man or a hot-tempered one.”
Smoking?
“Preferably not, but I wouldn’t rule someone out because of it.”
What age range are you looking for?
“27 to 34.”
Would you consider a divorced man, with or without children?
“A divorced man is fine. A divorced man with children would depend on the situation.”
Tell us about your worst date.
“I went on a date and hinted that I was hungry, but he didn’t order us anything. Nothing at all. He said he works out and wasn’t hungry. We just sat there like two idiots, and I worked toward ending the date.”
(Photo: Private album)
Describe the perfect date.
“A date with a man who invests in me and makes me feel appreciated, takes advantage of the opportunity to spend time with me, shows me that I’m important to him and sends me flowers afterward to show his appreciation.”
Should a man pay on the first date?
“That’s a rhetorical question. And if there’s a woman who thinks otherwise, send her to me for lessons.”
What do you do in your spare time?
“Sports, taking care of my family, editing videos for my business and sometimes going out.”
What is your favorite place and why?
“My apartment because it’s my own space, and also the sea because it calms me and makes me forget my troubles.”
What makes you laugh?
“Anything. I can laugh at the silliest things.”
When did you last cry and why?
“A few days ago, when my mother was hospitalized. It tore me apart.”
(Photo: Private album)
How close are you to your family?
“I’m their pillar.”
What were you in a past life?
“A dolphin because it’s always positive.”
The last series you binge-watched?
“Vikings.”
What music do you listen to?
“Everything. I love everything.”
Tell us something nobody knows about you.
“I cry over nostalgic animated shows.”
How would your friends describe you?
“Funny, strong, smart and positive.”
What do you do on Friday nights?
“I spend time with my family, read a book and sometimes attend classes at a women’s religious seminary.”
So where can someone approach you?
“On dating apps or social media because I don’t go out much.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
“God willing, happily married with children, running successful businesses, helping save people and depending on no one.”