Asking For A Friend - Timely Issues. Timeless Torah.

Can you leave your job and take your clients with you? If you transform your father's business, who really owns that success? When does healthy competition cross the line, and can schools or businesses actively poach staff?

In this episode of Asking for a Friend, Dayan Posen explores some of the most practical and misunderstood areas of Choshen Mishpat. From employees and employers to family businesses, partnerships and competition, we examine where halacha draws the line between legitimate business practice and unfair conduct.

Whether you're an employee, employer, business owner or simply interested in Torah's approach to business ethics, this episode offers practical guidance on navigating the workplace with integrity, fairness and emunah.

 

Timestamps:

**00:00–02:10** – Intro to the podcast, new Cheish Mishpat series, and definitions of *oni ha‑mehapech* & *hasagas gevul*.  

**02:38–03:47** – Core scenario: Reuven the long‑term employee vs Shimon the employer; ultimatum of partnership or leaving with clients.  

**05:58–08:10** – Employee’s mindset: “I built this; I want to own something for my family.”  

**08:10–10:46** – “Partner in profits” explained as **commission, not real ownership**; crop‑share analogy.  

**10:46–13:22** – Pros and cons of profit‑share: good incentive but no true security or equity.  

**13:22–16:54** – Leaving and taking clients: contracts, non‑compete/non‑solicit; whose clients are they?  

**16:54–22:22** – Source and nature of *oni ha‑mehapech* in Chazal; being called a *rasha*; public “naming and shaming” in theory.  

**23:47–29:08** – Practical application: approaching former employer’s clients, direct vs indirect; general advertising vs targeted contact.  

**29:08–32:36** – WhatsApp status, circulars, email farewell messages – what’s allowed, what’s too direct.  

**32:36–35:12** – Employers’ fear of training someone who later “takes the business”; possibility of halachic contracts.  

**35:12–42:08** – Poaching rabbeim/teachers; *metziah* concept; Ashkenazi vs Sefardi angles; *ba’al nefesh yachmir*.  

**42:08–48:02** – Fisherman/net story; when competition crosses into destroying someone’s parnassa.  

**48:02–56:22** – *Hasagas gevul* today: normal competition vs wiping out a niche business; monopolies and community benefit.  

**57:25–01:04:52** – Family business case: child grows parents’ business, ownership, siblings, and inheritance tensions.  

**01:04:52–01:09:07** – Children asking parents about expectations; importance of written clarity in family businesses.  

**01:09:07–01:13:19** – Closing hashkafa: *nasata v’nasata be’emunah*, link to learning the halachos, business as a daily arena for emunah.

Electric scooters have become a familiar sight in many communities. For some, they're a convenient way to get to school, shiurim, friends' houses and local activities. For others, they're a growing source of concern.

In this special mini episode, Rabbi S F Zimmerman addresses one of the most discussed topics affecting children, teenagers and parents today.

Are electric scooters simply a modern convenience, or is there a deeper issue at stake? How should parents respond when "everyone in the class has one"? Who bears responsibility – parents, schools, rabbonim, or the wider community? And what should a family do if a child has already spent hundreds of pounds of Bar Mitzvah money on a scooter?

A concise but important discussion offering Daas Torah and practical guidance on a topic generating debate across the UK, the USA and beyond.

Sponsored anonymously by someone who believes this episode could save lives.

When King Charles III recently visited Golders Green, hundreds of members of the local Jewish community lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the monarch. The visit sparked widespread discussion: why does Yiddishkeit place such importance on kings and royalty, and what is the Torah perspective on monarchy in the modern world?

In this special episode, Dayan Hool explores the halachic and hashkafic questions raised by the King's visit. Can one make a brachah upon seeing King Charles? Should a person make a special effort to see a king? What is the concept of כבוד מלכות? Can one shake the King's hand? And why is Hashem so often described throughout our tefillos as a King?

Drawing on sources from Chazal, Halachah and Jewish history, this fascinating discussion sheds light on a topic that captured the attention of so many in the community and reveals what earthly kingship can teach us about מלכות שמים.

 

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro: King Charles visits Golders Green  

01:09 – Why frum Jews are excited to see a king 

03:17 – The brocha on seeing Jewish and non‑Jewish monarchs  

06:03 – Does the brocha apply to King Charles III and presidents? 

09:50 – Can a monarchy be abolished? Acceptance by the people  

16:14 – Seeing the king from afar: entourage, cars, and the brocha  

22:31 – How often can you say the brocha on a king? 

23:33 – Must you go out to see a king? Bitul Torah and mitzvah 

29:30 – Kavod malchus: honoring even non‑Jewish and wicked kings  

36:13 – Shaking hands with royalty: halacha and real‑world strategies  

43:28 – Praying for the welfare of the kingdom in golus

50:29 – Queen Wilhelmina and the Munkatcher Rebbe

54:23 – Dutch royalty, Rav Katz, and modern royal brachos

1:00:00 – Why we call Hashem “Melech”: kindness and authority 

1:04:06 – Dina de’malchusa dina and UK land law

1:05:20 – Closing: Malchus shel chesed and Malchus Shamayim

In Part 2 of our discussion on nisyonos, Rabbi Zimmerman explores some of the most relevant and challenging questions facing people today.

Can pressure from family, school or community become a nisayon in its own right? Is questioning Hashem always a weakness in emunah, or can honest struggle sometimes deepen a person's relationship with Him?

We discuss whether wealth and success can be as great a test as poverty and hardship, how to cope with challenges that feel constant and never-ending, and whether shielding children from difficulty truly protects them or leaves them unprepared for life.

We also examine whether people should search for reasons behind suffering, and how to navigate uncertainty, responsibility, mental health, and personal growth through a Torah perspective.

 

Timestamps:

0:00:00 – Introduction, recap of Part 1, framing Part 2 (modern struggles)
0:01:05 – Expectations, spiritual burden, joy vs obligation in mitzvos
0:05:04 – Personal enjoyment in avodas Hashem; “cog in the system” and individuality
0:08:19 – Each person’s unique purpose and contribution
0:08:46 – Balancing bitachon with hishtadlus; avoiding denial / toxic positivity
0:12:34 – Questioning Hashem, anger, and honest relationship with Hashem
0:19:10 – Modern nisyonos vs previous generations; changing Yetzer Hara
0:24:38 – Wealth and poverty as different tests; emotional equilibrium
0:27:32 – Never-ending struggles (e.g., shemiras einayim); value of the battle itself
0:30:09 – Children and chinuch; sharing struggles with kids appropriately
0:38:11 – Emotional/psychological struggles vs mental health conditions; seeking help
0:41:37 – Destigmatizing mental health; communal responsibility
0:44:26 – How much we’re responsible for others’ suffering; healthy boundaries
0:47:20 – Searching for “reasons” for suffering; middah k’neged middah and introspection
0:52:00 – Uncertainty in major life decisions; advice vs personal responsibility
0:58:15 – Finding meaning in nisyonos; Avraham’s legacy and our spiritual DNA
1:02:12 – Closing remarks and podcast wrap-up

In Part One of this two part series on Nisyonos, we explore one of life’s biggest questions: why does Hashem test people? Together they discuss whether all suffering is considered a nisayon, why some people appear to face greater hardships than others, the struggle of unanswered tefillos, and why bitachon can feel strong in some areas of life yet weak in others. A thoughtful and honest conversation on faith, struggle and spiritual growth. 

 

Timestamps:

- 0:00:00 — Intro and episode topic: Nisyonas (suffering/tests)  

- 0:01:31 — Three categories of hardship introduced: Aynish, Tafkid, Nisyonas  

- 0:05:13 — Discussion on how to discern type of hardship; common default = punishment  

- 0:08:00 — Purposes of Nisyonas: reward, reveal potential, show faith to others (Akedah example)  

- 0:11:00 — Physical vs. spiritual tests; hardest are choices between two good options  

- 0:18:05 — Prioritizing long-term mitzvah “investments” (learning with children, shalom bayit)  

- 0:26:18 — Role of tefilah: praise, gratitude, requests; different views on effects of prayer  

- 0:29:30 — Emotional processing of seemingly unanswered prayers; “not yet” and stored credit ideas  

- 0:35:00 — Why some suffer more: gilgulim, tikkun, soul capacities; tailored tests  

- 0:44:00 — Importance of community/support vs. suffering alone  

- 0:47:55 — Free will vs. divine foreknowledge: different frameworks and implications  

- 0:52:48 — Human cruelty within divine orchestration and moral accountability  

- 0:55:14 — Closing and preview of Part Two