In a recent episode of his widely shared Q&A sessions, Harav Gershon Ribner shlit”a, addressed a question posed by a group of bochurim deeply concerned about their role in resolving the ongoing shidduch crisis. The bochurim, who identified themselves as a group not eager to leave their American yeshiva early, asked a straightforward yet loaded question: “We want to stay in our current yeshiva, but we also feel an achrayus to help solve the shidduch crisis. What should we do?” Rav Gershon’s answer was equally straightforward — and striking: The best way to help solve the shidduch crisis is to stay in your American yeshiva through fourth-year beis medrash and then go straight to BMG or another yeshiva where you can begin shidduchim. Skip Eretz Yisroel entirely. The statement comes in the wake of an initiative, slowly being implemented in various yeshivos across the U.S., which encourages bochurim to head to Eretz Yisroel during their third year of beis medrash. The goal behind this movement, supported by many gedolei Yisroel and rabbanim across the U.S., is to have bochurim enter the shidduchim market earlier while simultaneously encouraging girls to wait longer before entering shidduchim, thereby narrowing the age gap and easing the current shidduch crisis. But Rav Gershon offered a dissenting view, voicing skepticism over the benefits of even including learning in Eretz Yisroel yeshivos as the model for bochurim’s aliyah. Rav Gershon argues that the pathway forward for responsible bochurim is to maximize their learning and aliyah b’Torah in their American yeshivos and then transition directly into the shidduch parsha at the appropriate age — not to insert an overseas detour that might delay, distract, or further complicate the dating process. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)