Now for some tangible effective practical suggestions how to encourage more shidduchim between boys 22.5 – girls 21, and fewer 23-19
Presently the average age of boys returning from learning in yeshivish stlye yeshivos Mir, Brisk, Rav Zvi Kaplan etc. is 22.5 with many first returning at 23+.
1. If yeshivos would set a age limit on returning boys from EY. Starting with a cutoff of 23 and slowly moving down to 22.5. It would create a situation were boys are starting to date 6 months younger.
2. (In yeshivos were boys are not allowed to date when they first come)
If come Tu B’shvat/Tamuz boys are only permitted to date girls 21 and older, and to date younger girls a boy must wait till after the zeman, then boys will have a strong incentive to date girls their own age.
3. Do not redd shidduchim to girls who are just coming home from sem. There are plenty of girls 20-24 that will have all the qualities that THAT boy needs.
The net result of such actions will be far greater close in age shidduchim without any real major change to the system as is.
Any one who feels there are other problems w/ the system so be it. However regarding the CRISIS as it relates to girls being agunos, it begins and ends with AGE GAP.
Lets get to work on closing the age gap without any ridiculous radical changes thta will never happen