A lot of ink has been spread in trying to identify the cause of the "shidduch crisis" and to find a solution for it. Perhaps the following story actually discovers the real solution.

Kikar is reporting about a 5 year old boy who set up his 36 year old nursery school teacher, his gannenet, on a shidduch date. This young lad suggested his teacher date his neighbor, the guy who davens next to his father in shul.

Rav Zilbershtein told the story in his shiur this week. He said the gannenet had poured out his heart to the mother of this young child, and the boy overheard. The next day he comes to gan and he tells her that after hearing yesterday how old she is, 36 years old, and he has a neighbor that is also 36, and maybe they can get together and be chosson and kalla.

Rav Zilbershtein says the gannenet thought maybe as chazal say that prophecy is given to young children so she checked out the guy and they decided to date, and sure enough it worked out and they decided to marry.

So, the question was posed to Rav Zilbershtein if they owe the child shadchanus money, as they are Ashkenazi (do sefardim have a different custom regarding shadchanus money?) and the ashkenazi custom is to treat paying shadchanus money very seriously.

Rav Zilbershtein's psak was that they should be concerned for the punishment from heaven for not paying shadchanus money and should therefore pay the $2000 shchanus money standard fee to the child by putting it aside in a bank account for him for when he gets old enough to take it out.

So, perhaps by expanding the pool of shadchanim to people of all ages we will solve the shidduch crisis!