The ripe old age of 35

Below is a roughly translated story related in Hebrew at Kikar Hashabat.

On the night of Shabbat, Parashat Ki Tisa-Para, a member of Moetzet Gedolei Ha-Torah and Rabbi of the Ramat Elchanan neighborhood in Bnei Brak, Rabbi Yitzchak Zilbershtein, recounted a story about a shidduch which involved HaGaon HaRav Aharon Leib Steinman.

A yeshiva bachur who had reached the age of 35 and still had not found his marriage partner was suggested a 26-year-old woman.

The young man came to HaGaon HaRav Refael Shmulowitz zt "l and asked, "If I tell the young woman my exact age, it is reasonable to assume that she will not want me because of the nine-year gap between us. Can I 'reduce' my age, and say that I am 32 years old, for example?"

Rabbi Shmulovitz told the young man that he was going to Bnei Brak that evening to speak with the Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shteinman Shlita, and he would present the question to him."

Rabbi Zilberstein related, "And what did the Rosh Yeshiva say? - Listen to the wisdom of the Torah!"

"This bachur has one drawback, and that's his age; does he want to have another disadvantage of being a liar?"

Maran said that the bachur should tell the truth.

The young man revealed his true age, and that same day a plate was broken as the couple got engaged.

After the betrothal, the future bride told her bridegroom, "I wanted you to know that I was debating whether to get engaged to you, so I decided I would ask you how old you were although, in realty, I knew your age. If you had lied, I would have not got engaged to you. Because you told the truth, I decided that you were to be my chasan.