gregaaron: Yes, AZ, you must be right – Hashem obviously did not create enough boys for the girls.
AZ: greg: Hashem most certainly DID create enough boys for the girls.
Since AZ is being his terse self, I’ll try to explain.
The age gap theory assumes (and it’s intuitively correct, and, I believe, statistically proven) that more children are born each year into frum homes than in the previous year. There will therefore be approximately 3% more 20 year olds (both male and female) than 21 year olds; 6% more 20 year olds than 22 year olds, and 9% more 20 year olds than 23 year olds.
Although there are approximately the same number of girls as boys, there are 3% more 20 year old girls than 23 year old boys (this doesn’t factor in to the shidduch crises). There are also 3% more 20 year old boys than 23year old girls. This DOES factor in to the shidduch crises, since the older boys have generally been marrying the younger girls, leaving 9% of the girls unmarried. (AZ, you can correct me on the numbers, but I think I’m close.)
When AZ writes “Hashem most certainly DID create enough boys for the girls”*, I think he means that it’s a man-made problem, since He never said that the boys should marry younger girls.
As far as your bitachon, that’s wonderful for yourself, but on a communal scale, should we ignore the issue? If two girls and one boy lived on a desert island, should the girls have bitachon that they will both get married? Wouldn’t you advise one of them to leave the island? (I seem to remember AZ giving this moshol.)
*AZ: ????? ????? ???? ???? ?. ???’ ??”? ???? ????? ????