A frum Jew faces daily challenges in today’s workplace. Ari Wasserman’s new book, Making It Work, highlights the problem areas, which extend far beyond business halachah .
MITZVAH MINEFIELD Could he attend work lunches at treif restaurants and what could he eat there? How far did he have to travel to find a midday Minchah minyan and was he even allowed to take off time from work to do so? The challenges he faced and those he heard about from his friends in the business world were complex and seemingly endless
I t was two hours before Shabbos and Ari Wasserman was wrapping up the week’s work at his Los Angeles office.
As he prepared to leave for the one-mile commute home his phone rang. He saw on the caller ID that it was his boss the CEO of the company whom he’d been trying to reach to discuss an urgent business matter. He answered and as they began to speak it dawned on Ari that his boss was in Texas two hours ahead of L.A. and that the sun was setting in Austin just then.
He wondered: Am I allowed to continue speaking with my Jewish but nonobservant boss when it was already Shabbos for him? He expedited the call getting off as quickly as possible and promptly made his way to the office of the company president also an Orthodox Jew and asked him what he did in such situations. The latter responded that he just didn’t answer the phone and if he mistakenly did he immediately hung up. And again Ari wondered: Should I have just hung up?
Create a free account to keep reading.
