Asking For A Friend - Timely Issues. Timeless Torah. – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Technical and general information from the podcast's RSS feed.

Asking For A Friend - Timely Issues. Timeless Torah.

Kehillas Federation

Religion & Spirituality

Education

Frequency: 1 episode/14d. Total Eps: 20

Asking For A Friend is a podcast where real life dilemmas meet clear, thoughtful Torah perspective.

Hosted by Mena Reisner, each episode features conversations with Rabbi Zimmerman, Dayan Hool, or Dayan Posen, Rabbonim with decades of experience in mediation, dinei Torah, shidduchim, family dynamics, business disputes, and the complex situations people face every day.

It’s not personal psak and it’s not a shiur.
Just honest, grounded discussion on the issues people grapple with behind closed doors, and how timeless Torah principles guide us through them.

New episodes every two weeks.
Questions or suggestions: podcast@federation.org.uk.

Read moreCollapse

Site

RSS

Spotify

Apple

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
24/08/2026
#27
🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
23/08/2026
#33
🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
22/08/2026
#24
🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
21/08/2026
#14
🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
20/08/2026
#43
🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
19/08/2026
#39
🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
18/08/2026
#45
🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
17/08/2026
#57
🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
16/08/2026
#44
🇬🇧 Great Britain - judaism
15/08/2026
#37

Spotify

🇬🇧 Great Britain - religion & spirituality
21/07/2026
#49
↘
🇬🇧 Great Britain - religion & spirituality
20/07/2026
#48
→
🇬🇧 Great Britain - religion & spirituality
19/07/2026
#49
↘
🇬🇧 Great Britain - religion & spirituality
18/07/2026

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.

See all

http://www.vayidom.com/
1 share

RSS feed quality and score

Technical evaluation of the podcast's RSS feed quality and structure.

See all

RSS feed quality

To improve

Score global : 62%

Publication history

Monthly episode publishing history over the past years.

Year

Latest published episodes

Recent episodes with titles, durations, and descriptions.

See all

#1: Bringing Up Children in Today’s Generation: With Rabbi Zimmerman

Episode 2

Sunday, December 21, 2025 • Duration 01:15:42

In the first episode of Asking for a Friend, Mena Reisner sits down with Rabbi Zimmerman to explore the questions shaping today’s Jewish childhood. Why are so many more children anxious? Has therapy become too normalised? Should parents be concerned about the sheer amount of instant frum entertainment? What should we make of teenagers constantly travelling abroad? And how does a parent respond when a child says, “But everyone in my class has it”? A wide-ranging and honest conversation that opens the series by giving voice to the dilemmas parents think about all the time but rarely discuss openly.

Chapters:

[0:00:00] Introduction to Podcast and Purpose

[0:02:53] Resilience and Adversity in Modern Childhood

[0:07:21] Emotional Understanding vs. Emotional Determination

[0:09:06] Therapy - Purpose and Pitfalls

[0:10:10] Labels and Diagnoses in Modern Education

[0:15:31] Spoiled Generations and Parental Influence

[0:19:36] Responding to Religious or Educational Drift

[0:24:27] Navigating Teenage Trips and Social Pressures

[0:58:41] School Selection and Expectations

[1:05:36] Defining Success Beyond Traditional Paths

[1:12:54] Closing: Back to Basics

[1:14:01] Closing Remarks and Listener Invitation

Read moreCollapse

Introducing: Asking For A Friend

Thursday, December 4, 2025 • Duration 02:43

Asking For A Friend is a new podcast from Kehillas Federation, exploring the real questions that come up in everyday life, in halacha, hashkafa, chinuch, relationships, community, and everything in between.

Hosted by Mena Reisner, each episode features one of the Federation’s senior Dayonim, Rabbi S. F. Zimmerman, Dayan Posen, or Dayan Hool, offering grounded Torah perspective drawn from years of guiding families and communities.

This trailer offers a first look at the conversations to come.

New episodes every two weeks.

Please email podcast@federation.org.uk with your questions & feedback...

Read moreCollapse

#2: Getting Your Child Into School Today : With Dayan Hool

Episode 3

Monday, January 5, 2026 • Duration 01:00:49

Dayan Hool addresses the realities and dilemmas around school admissions today. What can a school reasonably expect from parents? What responsibility does it have to children left without a place? How should families balance what’s right for their child with communal norms, donor influence or social pressure? And when is opening a new school actually the correct solution?

A clear, grounded look at an issue that affects almost every frum family.

Timestamps

[0:00:00] - Podcast Introduction: "Asking for a Friend" Episode 2

[0:00:30] - Dayan Biography: Dayan Hool

[0:01:30] - Topic Overview: School Admissions

[0:02:30] - Halachic Framework for School Admission Policies

[0:12:39] - Parental Behavior and School Admission Criteria

[0:36:54] - Handling Children Without School Places

[0:48:21] - Discussion on Opening New Schools

[0:55:36] - Parents' Strategies for School Admission

Read moreCollapse

#3: Sibling Rivalry and Family Dynamics: With Dayan Posen

Episode 4

Sunday, January 18, 2026 • Duration 47:04

Dayan Posen examines sibling rivalry through a halachic and human lens.

Why do siblings compete so intensely for parental attention? How much damage does perceived favouritism cause, even years later? What should parents be careful about at the Shabbos table, around praise, or when helping children differently? And when old grievances resurface in adulthood, is reconciliation always the goal, or are boundaries sometimes healthier?

A fascinating discussion on how family dynamics shape children long after they leave the home.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 — Intro / episode overview

0:02:13 — Cause of sibling rivalry explained

0:03:35 — Comparison to peer conflicts

0:03:56 — Home as safe space / jealousy effects

0:04:53 — Parents’ limited bandwidth / favoritism question

0:06:08 — Yaakov–Yosef lesson on visible favoritism

0:09:36 — Will case causing family estrangement

0:10:20 — Halachic note on wills / differentiation

0:11:44 — Emotional vs. financial harm discussion

0:12:04 — Discreet parental help vs. public recognition

0:12:31 — Question: treat children equally day-to-day?

0:13:11 — Tailored parenting

0:13:39 — One-on-one time recommendations

0:15:18 — Practical rotation / monthly outings example

0:15:46 — Anecdote about small moments mattering

0:17:19 — Sponsor acknowledgment / dedication

0:17:40 — Remarks about the dedicatee

#4: Marriage (I): Sholom Bayis in Our Generation: With Rabbi Zimmerman

Episode 5

Sunday, February 1, 2026 • Duration 01:17:50

In the first part of The Marriage Series, Rabbi Zimmerman discusses marriage, sholom bayis, and what building a Jewish home actually requires in real life. Together they explore questions many couples carry but rarely articulate, what a good marriage truly looks like, why so many homes feel under strain, how comparison and expectations affect relationships, how couples deal with recurring conflict, and how hashkafic differences such as tznius and kashrus should be navigated within a home.

Please send in questions to podcast@federation.org.uk

Timestamps:

- 00:00:00 Intro, podcast overview, listener feedback, series framing, episode topic announced (marriage & shalom bayis)

- 00:03:02 Rabbi Zimmerman: purpose of marriage, ahava as giving, definition of shalom bayis (harmony)

- 00:08:02 Discussion: effort in marriage vs. natural compatibility; symphony analogy for differences

- 00:09:29 What a bad marriage looks like (transactional, taker-focused)

- 00:10:11 Role of warmth, respect, and mediums that sustain shalom bayis

- 00:13:04 Core trait for longevity: thinking about/giving to the other (two givers)

- 00:15:07 Should rabbis be involved? Proactive education vs. case triage; rabbi skill sets

- 00:23:11 Triage: distinguishing shalom bayis issues from personal/clinical issues

- 00:26:15 Blame, entitlement, and the “kugel” analogy (destructive blame patterns)

- 00:28:51 Dangers of too many advisory voices; seeking perspective vs. decisions

- 00:33:30 When to seek therapy/professional help; targeted goals; asking for help not weakness

- 00:38:34 Divorce vs. unhappy marriages: higher divorce rate but similar levels of unhappiness

#5: Marriage (II): Responsibilities & Outside Influence: With Rabbi Zimmerman

Episode 6

Sunday, February 15, 2026 • Duration 50:13

In Part 2 of The Marriage Series, Mena Reisner continues the conversation with Rabbi Zimmerman, focusing on the forces that shape a marriage from the outside as much as from within.

The discussion explores how responsibility to a spouse is balanced alongside chesed and communal life, whether men and women have distinct roles within the home, what time apart means for a relationship, how parents should respond when children criticise the other spouse, and how couples navigate tension involving parents and in-laws.

A practical Torah conversation about protecting the marriage while managing the many expectations, loyalties, and pressures surrounding it.

Timestamps:

- 0:00:00 — Intro, episode purpose; marriage as a nisayon (test)

- 0:01:55 — Nisayon concept; when to work on marriage vs. leave

- 0:03:07 — Balancing chesed (communal work) and family priorities

- 0:06:34 — Need for sibuk/fulfillment and balance

- 0:08:02 — Who is a “good husband”; middot and helping at home

- 0:10:22 — Role changes, spheres of influence, and women working/men learning

- 0:14:36 — Household chores, everyday tensions, helping each other

- 0:15:32 — Spouses taking trips alone vs. shared time; healthy independence

- 0:18:21 — Vatranus from strength vs. weakness; avoiding resentment

- 0:20:53 — When giving in becomes damaging; loss of connection

- 0:23:39 — Sponsorship mention / memorial

- 0:25:13 — Children complaining about a parent; validating feelings vs. undermining

- 0:28:37 — Use of third party for parental disagreements

#6: A Deep Dive Into Marriage That Every Couple Needs To Hear: With Dayan Hool

Episode 7

Sunday, March 1, 2026 • Duration 01:23:45

In this sixth episode of Asking for a Friend, we continue the marriage series with Dayan Hool, stepping back from day-to-day scenarios to focus on the broader foundations of marriage from a Torah perspective. Building on earlier conversations, this discussion explores what a successful marriage is meant to look like and how couples can work towards it in practice. Drawing on experience, halachic insight, and real-world guidance, the episode frames marriage not as something static, but as an ongoing process of growth and intentional effort.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro / podcast opening

0:00:30 - Topic & episode context (marriage series intro)

0:02:33 - Value of non-Jewish marriage books / Torah perspective

0:05:57 - Can spouses change each other /

0:09:55 - Women's influence vs. men's

0:11:36 - Defining a successful/happy marriage

0:13:43 - Ultimate purpose of marriage / "one flesh"

0:14:44 - Practical differences between men & women

0:19:37 - Emotional harmony vs. duties; goal of marriage

0:24:54 - Duties/needs of each spouse (functional & emotional)

0:34:38 - How husbands demonstrate love / respect leads to love

0:46:12 - Specifics: gifts, clothing, spending for wife

0:49:38 - Involving spouse in life / sharing work worries

0:50:56 - Wife’s obligations to respect husband

1:05:02 - Respect in practice

1:06:44 - Role reversals / breadwinner dynamics and maintaining leadership

1:13:49 - How a wife can change husband (reframing requests vs. instructing)

#7: Shidduchim (I): Where Do I Begin? With Dayan Posen

Episode 8

Sunday, March 15, 2026 • Duration 01:27:01

Chazal teach that making a shidduch is as difficult as Krias Yam Suf. but what does that mean in practice for families navigating the process today?

In this episode, Dayan Posen discusses the early stages of shidduchim: how parents and singles should approach the process, the role of shadchanim, and the importance of entering shidduchim with the right expectations. The conversation explores questions such as what advice parents should hear at the outset, what “realistic expectations” actually mean, whether financial considerations can justify rejecting a suitable match, and the proper guidelines for gathering and sharing information about a prospective shidduch.

This is the first part of a two-part discussion on navigating the shidduch process.

Timestamps:

- 0:00 Intro & episode topic (navigating shidduchim)

- 0:02 Dayan Posen; why process feels more complicated

- 0:03 Factors: emotions, expectations, waiting; NW London context

- 0:07 Choice/market size and cultural dating models

- 0:09 Torah metaphors on challenge and gratitude

- 0:13 Role/value of shadchanim; success story

- 0:21 Emotional toll on shadchanim; halacha/payment issues

- 0:32 Parental advice: readiness; open communication

- 0:37 Must/important/bonus list; expectations vs. reality

- 0:44 Compatibility, age gaps, emotional approach to dating

- 1:00 Info gathering: who to ask, confidentiality, trust

- 1:26 Urgency differences (boys vs girls); cultural approaches

- 1:36 Close & Part 2 announced; pre-dating checklist

#8: Shidduchim (II): Now What? Dating, Doubts and Knowing It’s the Right One: With Dayan Posen

Episode 9

Sunday, March 22, 2026 • Duration 01:24:15

Once a shidduch is underway, the questions only become more complex: how long should it last, how do you navigate doubts, and how do you know when it’s right?

In this episode, Dayan Posen addresses the realities of the dating stage, offering guidance on timing, clarity, and decision-making. From the role of parents and outside influence to recognising genuine compatibility, the discussion tackles the pressures and uncertainties that often arise along the way.

Clear, practical, and grounded, this conversation helps bring direction and perspective to the most critical stage of the process.

Timestamps:

- 0:00:00 — Intro; episode context and stage of shidduch (dating begins)

- 0:01:21 — Torah/Gemara basis for seeing prospective spouse; purpose of dating

- 0:04:35 — Awkwardness of dating; first/second date expectations

- 0:08:01 — Dating coaches: pros/cons and when helpful

- 0:13:00 — Misinterpretations on dates; examples (car stereo, phone-checking)

- 0:16:07 — Discussing dates with others; confidentiality and who to consult

- 0:20:37 — Parental pressure vs. giving space; response etiquette after dates

- 0:25:23 — Etiquette: not saying no after one date; stages/types of dates

- 0:30:55 — Different date styles (fun vs. serious) and what they reveal

- 0:31:32 — Number of dates before decision; 4–6 vs. many more

- 0:33:32 — Why people date more now; commitment/fear issues

- 0:34:56 — Influence of friends’ opinions and peer pressure

- 0:37:13 — “Not my type” / personal dealbreakers vs. societal expectations

#9: Special Episode: Under Attack - How Should We Respond? With Dayan Hool

Episode 10

Thursday, March 26, 2026 • Duration 44:49

In the early hours of Monday morning, four Hatzolah ambulances were deliberately set on fire in Golders Green. B''H no one was injured. But the impact has been profound. An attack on Hatzolah, an organisation built entirely on chesed, responding to emergencies for anyone in need, has left the kehilla shaken. In North West London, across the UK, and around the world, people are asking the same questions: how should we process this, how concerned should we be, and what does the Torah expect from us in a moment like this? In this special episode, Dayan Hool addresses the fear, the confusion, and the wider context of rising antisemitism. He explores how to balance hishtadlus with bitochon, whether we are meant to see a message in events like these, and how to respond without being pulled into panic or paralysis. A timely conversation offering clarity, perspective, and a grounded approach to a deeply unsettling moment.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 — Intro & incident overview

00:01:27 — Rambam: communal obligation to alert/respond

00:03:25 — Torah guidance on fear (Gulf War anecdote)

00:10:55 — Emunah vs. bitachon

00:18:54 — Balancing precautions with bitachon

00:21:40 — Talking to children / media guidance

00:27:03 — On antisemitism and causes

00:31:39 — Personal & communal teshuvah; security/government role

00:36:06 — Discussion on aliyah / “we’re in golus”

00:40:38 — Message to Hatzala, chesed, unity; closing remarks

Read moreCollapse

Asking For A Friend - Timely Issues. Timeless Torah. – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Asking For A Friend - Timely Issues. Timeless Torah. – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other1

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other1

Apple Podcasts

Spotify