The shidduch crisis has certainly been a dominant theme of conversation in religious Jewish circles. This article represents an attempt to help address the crisis in a small way. The best way to address it, however, is to explore exactly how we think about shidduchim.
A brief survey reveals that there are no fewer than six different methods employed by shadchanim. What follows is a brief synopsis of each of these methods. Following the synopsis will be a modest suggestion.
1. The “working memory” method. It seems that many shadchanim have about five or six candidates of each gender in their working memory. Working memory is defined as the information that the person can access immediately. Often the shadchan will choose the best available candidate in his or her working memory that would be compatible with the person the shadchan is currently thinking about.
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