Gabriel is pretty shy. The only dating app he's used is JSwipe — exclusive to Jewish people. He had a few matches, but struggled to actually land dates. He feels that if a girl could meet him in person things would work out, but the online world isn't his thing.
Gabriel knows 3 or 4 girls from his Jewish community he'd love to date, but he's too shy to ask them out. He's known them forever, it would be too awkward to do it directly. They're not exactly friends, but they share the same background.
He needed a less direct way to make a move, something that gave him context before the first message.