Mazal Tov So-and-So!
Mazel tov on the completion of Nazir!
In recent years, some organizations have been publicizing their conclusion that it is perfectly fine according to Jewish law for men to marry women who are older than them. However, one could argue that the Gemara in Sotah (2a) seems to imply that if one wants to marry his soul mate, he must marry a woman who is younger than him.
The Gemara says, “Rav Yehudah said in Rav’s name: Forty days before the formation of a fetus, a Heavenly voice proclaims, ‘The daughter of Ploni (So-and-So) is intended for Ploni (this baby).’” (Rabbeinu Yechiel of Paris explained that “40 days before the formation of a fetus” is another way of saying “at the time of conception.” Only a 40-day-old fetus is considered formed. At the end of Nazir we referenced this point; a woman only brings a korban after a miscarriage if the fetus was over 40 days old.)
Why doesn’t the Gemara simply state that a Heavenly voice proclaims that so-and-so will marry so-and-so? Why does the Gemara refer to the potential wife as “the daughter of so-and-so”? A simple solution would be that at the time of the Heavenly proclamation regarding this male child, his female counterpart hasn’t been conceived yet, so she is referred to as the daughter of some person, rather than as a person herself. Hence, in the preordained union, the male partner is older than the female.