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A growing number of people who are still hale and hearty, many of them Baby Boomers, do not want someone else to someday plan and carry out their funeral, wake or memorial service. They want to be in control, even after death, so they leave instructions, down to the play lists, for a “celebration of life” that sounds a lot like a party.

Tradition! Yenta the matchmaker was a key figure in “Fiddler on the Roof,” set in 19th century Europe. But modern-day Yentas are alive and well in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities of America. Indeed, many young people would never meet, let alone marry, if not for the community matchmaker and the time-honored system known as shidduch.