Pushing Off Getting Married to A Later Date
The aforementioned two dinim are ruled by the Rambam (Hilchos Ishus 15:2-3; Hilchos Talmud Torah 1:5) and Shulchan Aruch (Even HaEzer, siman 1, 3-4): “If one’s soul has a great desire to learn Torah like Ben Azai and constantly clings to learning Torah and never marries, he hasn’t sinned, provided his yetzer horah doesn’t get the better of him.” “If one is busy learning Torah, and is very occupied with it, and he is scared that getting married may cause bitul Torah as he will need to find a parnosah, he may delay getting married, as one who is busy with one mitzvah is exempt from another, and certainly when it comes to Talmud Torah.”
According to the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch there is no deadline of how long one may delay getting married. However, the Rosh (Kiddushin 1:42) cited by the Beis Shmuel (s.k. 5) says: “It can’t be that there is no limit and that one can be mevatel [miss out] the mitzvah of piryah verivyah [procreation] all his days, as we only find people like Ben Azai were able to do this.” The Rosh concludes: ואיני יודע כמה זמן להקציב ללימוד זה – “And I don't know how much time to allocate for this learning.”
Special Blessing at Sheva Berachos
One of the berachos we say during Sheva Berachos is: שמח תשמח רעים האהובים כשמחך יצירך בגן עדן מקדם - "Gladden intensely, the companions who are beloved, as You gladdened Your creation in the Garden of Eden from days of old."
The question is: What special joy was there in the first marriage, that we bless every subsequent marriage to be like this?
Some answer: Many people have worries about livelihood after marriage, which involves many expenses, so the marriage brings worries about livelihood. Therefore, we say that if they merit their marriage should be like Adam HaRishon, about who we find in Sanhedrin (59b): Rabbi Yehuda ben Teima says, “Adam HaRishon was in the Garden of Eden, and there were ministering angels roasting meat for him and filtering wine for him”, we see that he had no worries about livelihood, therefore, we bless the chosson and kallah that they too should have no worries (Admor of Sanz shlita, cited in Madanay Asher 1028).
