In general, this website stresses the importance of waiting until you are sure before getting engaged. However, there is another side to the story. There are advantages to marrying while young.

Some people say that it is advantageous to marry before you know what you are getting into. As you grow older, you know more about what you want, so it may be more difficult to decide.

This approach has a certain validity. A young couple can usually work out their differences and make the necessary compromises. They will then be able to get along together, raise their children, and have a good life together.

However, can the young couple always be expected to work things out and live together happily ever after?

No. Some early marriages will be more successful than others.

However, that does not necessarily mean that a marriage that follows every guideline in this website is guaranteed to be successful.

Will the young couple make fewer mistakes if they marry when young and work things out with limited information, or if they marry when older? That question and others make the issue still more complex.

Those who are older may have a more difficult time raising their children under optimal circumstances. They have settled into their own way of life as single people, and it may be hard to make the switch.

At what point do the advantages of marrying when young counterbalance the disadvantages of not knowing what you want?

Never. Both factors must be considered.

Those who can marry while young may be able to benefit more from the advantages of a married life.

However, if you're already 19 and still single, please don't feel that Jewish tradition would require you to marry the next potential partner who comes your way. Relax!