NEW YORK (Yaakov M / VINnews) — For years, Rabbanim, shadchanim, and community leaders have been trying to solve the shidduch crisis.
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A breakthrough new study may provide key insights and data, which sheds light on the true nature of the crisis, and determine whether we should focus on different solutions than we’ve been trying until now. The data also may challenge some common beliefs that we have based on anecdotal experience and perception.
The research was published this month in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JSSR) by Dr. Yosef Sokol, a researcher and professor in the new PsyD program at Touro University’s School of Health Sciences,
Dr. Sokol’s team collected data which suggests that the vast majority of “Yeshiva Orthodox” girls eventually get married. If this is correct, it is a bombshell discovery.
To receive a free copy of this study via email, please email [email protected]
Many believe that due to an increase in population each year, combined with the trend of older boys to date younger girls, the dating pool has more girls than boys. If that presumption is correct, the solution essentially is to get boys to date and marry girls their age or close to their age.
However Dr. Sokol’s study would appear to suggest that there are relatively the same number of boys and girls in the dating pool. If that’s the case, the solution to the crisis should probably entail helping girls find (and marry) their eventual match, sooner than they currently are, by figuring out why some boys and girls take years to get married, and tackling the problem from that angle.
Dr. Sokol collected information on nearly 9,000 members of the Yeshiva Orthodox (YO) and Modern Orthodox (MO) communities in North America.
A number of the key findings refuted common myths about the perceived shidduch crisis. For one, the prevalence of singlehood in Orthodox communities is lower than one might expect.
The study found that in Yeshiva Orthodox circles, 92% of both men and women were married by age 30. By age 40, that number was about 98% of men, and 96.1% of women.
Rates were somewhat lower in Modern Orthodox communities, where 81% of men and women were married by age 30. Just under 90% were wed by 40.
Another widely-held belief is that there is a large disparity in marriage rates between men and women. Not so, says the study. In Yeshiva Orthodox communities, about 88% of men and 92% of women are married by age 28.
“While these numbers may or may not be considered a crisis depending on your viewpoint they don’t seem to match what many people fear is happening,” said Dr. Sokol.
In performing the study, Dr. Sokol sought to alleviate some of the stress that singles feel as they become older and await finding the right match.
“People think there’s a shidduch crisis, they panic, and may choose someone, or push their children to choose someone, that might not be good for them,” he said. “Of course, the community should support singles and their families and continue to be sensitive to those who are waiting to find their bashert, but I hope my research can provide more accurate information about our marriage system, help relieve some of the widespread anxiety, and enable singles, community members, and leaders to make more informed decisions. I believe our community needs more data-based approaches to identify solutions and programming that will be most likely to help.”
The research team included Dr. Yosef Sokol, Dr. Naomi Rosenbach, Dr. Yitzchak Schechter, Chayim Rosensweig, Chynna Levin, and Shifra Hubner.
The facts on the ground don’t lie. There is something significant missing from this research. boys have tons of options. girls can go months or even years without a single date.
Very small comfort for those who are suffering.
Good study. How did they collect the data? A lot of single yeshivish girls and guys are unlikely to respond to survey emails asking for personal data
These statistics Don’t help my 3 daughters aged 26-20 in shiduchim still unmarried at home
And girls getting married by age 40 what a נחמה
oy
If you believe this piece I have a bridge to sell you. Basically they have stated the equivalent of that 2+2=5 without any explanation for why that would be. There is a reason that if you ask 99% of people whether they had an easier time with boys or girls they will agree that it is the boys. Posting this just does a major disservice for reality and truth and is hurtful to the many suffering.
98% of girls get married by AGE 40!
This study relied on mainly online responses of people filling out a questionaire. This automatically missed out on 99% of the Yeshiva community.
The chasidishe sector has the opposite problem! Can anyone explain why?
2 percent unmarried by 40… 2 percent of what? A million? That would be 20,000 singles. That’s a lot of people.
Shkoyach . After all that amazing research, it’s hard to believe that nowhere in the article does it actually define YO and MO; something that shadchanim everywhere ask pointed questions from singles and need answers to, in order to set them up properly. There’s a large population that probably falls right in between.
Even if true, to have girls suffering till they are 40, even if they can have children, is a problem for most. Also, many start out getting a career so their husbands can learn, and by the time they get married they are not a match for somoene leaerning long term anyway.
statistics may not lie if you read them correctly. the fact remains most girls marry someone older than them even if 50% marry someone the same age that still leaves a huge discrepency as klal yisroel is exponentially growing and almost no boy marry someone older than them. mathematically a shidduch crisis. not just on paper we see it feel and know it despite any paper otherwise.
furthermore its very nice to get married but to count girls at age 40 getting married alot of whom cannot have famillies at all among other issues is a problem of itself
lastly the statistic doesnt reference divorce rate if someone gets married three times does the study suggest a three hundred percent marriage rate?
Please post a link to the study.
For all those peeps commenting and being like Oiy vey this study is not true… if this study was performed correctly then is the same statistics used to make sure a lot of things are safe. Including types of therapy. Types of vaccines. The list goes on.
Facts don’t lie. Only people do.
In my own opinion, having people marry younger will lead to hardships. More divorce as kids aren’t mature enough. Also a girl who will be married at 18/19 and have 2 kids by 21 is throwing away her chance to go to college, get a degree, to support her husband learning in kollel.
Still worried about the crises, I have a great idea!! Why don’t we advocate that girls start dating later! At 21 at a minimum. They can date 21 year old guys for all I care.
Many crises solved…
i emailed the author of the study and he graciously sent me the whole report..
one point for now
RESPECT TO ALL – the team that sincerely researched & authored this study & the caring yidden at the NASI PROJECT who have invested millions to figure the possible causes…
which prove what we rational people have been saying for years, there is NO shidduch crisis, the age theory has been debunked, and obviously there will always be like there always was a few outliners who dont get married. by the MO there are HUGE numbers of perpetual singles look at their heilege upper west side.
By the Hasidic group, the opposite is true. Boys get married later vs. girls get married at a younger age. If a study can find the reason why that is happening, you can likely come up with a solution for both groups.
First define ‘Crises’.
I’m just laughing. Does this mean there is no shidduch crisis?
This is just common sense and basic math. If you think there are lots more unmarried girls than boys, you need to explain where they are coming from. We have the same 50-50 percent birth rates as everyone else. And we have not been in a war or anything else that could account for a lack of boys. Regardless of your feelings about the matter, the numbers don’t lie
So read these stats to the singles. The shidduch crisis does exist , we see them , and hear about them from family , friends and neighbors . There are more singles sites than ever before.
So what were all the Rosh Yeshivas talking about???
98% is LOW. That’s 2 in every 100 women. That’s a lot of people.
how many girls get married before they are 25
Why in the world is there such a paradox between Yeshivish and Chasidishe worlds.
By the Litvishe, girls have a much bigger problem finding a match. However, by the Chasidim the problem is the exact opposite. Bucharim have much more trouble finding a match.
Why?
please go to shidduchcrisis.com, and click on school graph. You will see that more boys than girls are born every year. year after year. Therefore by Chasidim who both start at 18 they have a problem with the boys.
By litvish he starts at 23 and she starts at 19 during these four years population increase causes the 1200 19 year old girls enter Shidduchim with only
1000 23 year old boys.
Summary Chasidim have excess inventory of boys yearly, and Yeshish have excess inventory of girls yearly. When next year’s inventory arrives, it’s with the same percentages.
Oilom Hatikun Boys should start Shidduchim one and a half years older than girls.
YO and MO is not the same as Black hats, or Charaidi. Charaidi Black Hats have 6 to 7 children per family, MO have 2 or 3 children per family. Population increase is not as big by the MO
Data research & data research & data research. Not a word about Hakadosh Baruch Hu! That is thee problem right there. Everything is numbers with no belief in the Aibishter kee hu zeh klal. If you believe in numbers,…..good luck.
It’s about an expiration date/time advantage. Here is my take/solution. The older the boy the more they shteig. So they have time on there side. Vs chasidishe system ends after 3 years. Shiur 4 (19 or 21) is considered expired goods… Vs the girl the older she gets the more money from work. She has time on her side.
The one who has time on there side can be more picky. To prove my point, by the chasidim the boys have it much harder than girls! Why? They have the opposite problem. Here is a reason for the myth.
Percentages are misleading.
“8% not married by age 30, & 2% not married by age 40”, could be 1000s of people.
The data was collected from 9000 people, which means 780 people not married, but extrapolate it to the rest of the community, maybe over 100,000 singles?
I am waiting for a copy of the full study – maybe that would provide more data.
I’m confused. By the time they hit 40, 98% of women are married and 88% men. Who are these women marrying, guys with multiple wives?
The study was most probably conducted by the same company that predicted Hilary Clinton’s presidential win over Trump back in 2016..
Remember, this article was written by the Sean Hannity of the Charedi press. Don’t take it too seriously.
Look at the names of the researchers. Since when did a Jewish university (if that can even be a thing, as ridiculous as a “Yeshiva/University”) allow men & women to do joint research projects & based on this huge breach of tsnius can their outcomes be trusted?