What do you do when a shidduch call catches you off guard and you're not sure what you're allowed to say?

Opening the final section of the Sefer Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Klapper turns to the everyday world of shidduch information. The ideal, he explains, is to ask your rav your questions before the phone ever rings. But if a call surprises you and you genuinely need to ask a shailah, don't stall the caller mid-conversation by saying you need to check whether it's lashon hara - that itself is a form of avak lashon hara and gives the impression something is wrong. Instead simply say you're not available now and offer to call back, then ask your rav in the meantime. Certain things must be said and certain things may never be said - and when unsure, always clarify first.

Start here as we open the halachos of shidduchim - listen in and come back tomorrow.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

Should you push a friend into a partnership or shidduch you'd never touch yourself?

Rabbi Klapper closes with the opposite case: may you encourage someone to enter a partnership or a shidduch? It depends on what you know. If you're aware of something negative — something that would make you refuse the partnership or shidduch for yourself — then you should not encourage the interested party to get involved. There are situations where you may not tell someone about a shidduch already made; but actively urging a person into something you yourself would avoid because you know it's damaging is certainly something you must not do for anyone else.

That completes our journey through hilchos rechilus — thank you for learning along.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

The partnership is already sealed — can you still warn Reuven that his partner is dishonest?

Rabbi Klapper asks what to do once the partnership is already made. It depends, says the Chofetz Chaim, on how Reuven will react. If you know Reuven is careful — that he won't break up the partnership without consulting a Rav and will guard against any loss — then, with the other rules of to'eles in place, it's proper to tell him. But if telling Reuven will make him explode in anger, start a fight, and dissolve the partnership on his own without going derech halacha, you may not reveal it. Even then, since we still want to spare Reuven the loss, any other way of protecting him should be used — ideally after speaking with a Rav.

Tomorrow: the opposite case — encouraging someone to join in.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

You know the man Reuven is about to partner with is careless with other people's money — do you speak up?

Opening the final section of the sefer, Rabbi Klapper brings a common case: Reuven and Shimon are still working out a business partnership, and you know Shimon is negligent with other people's money while Reuven has no idea. Here you certainly should warn Reuven about his potential partner's history — provided all the rules of to'eles are met. But the Chofetz Chaim notes in the hago that a partner simply lacking money is no reason to warn anyone; if he's honest and hardworking, he may make an excellent partner. Adderaba, such a partner might even bring more bracha. The concern is dishonesty and negligence — something clearly negative — not poverty.

But what if the partnership is already made? That's tomorrow.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

Do these halachos of rechilus protect every single person — no matter what they believe?

Rabbi Klapper reaches the closing point of this section: everything said about hilchos lashon hara and rechilus concerns fellow Jews, as the pasuk says amisecha, your nation. But one who is a kofer b'Torah — who denies even a single letter, word, or drasha of the Torah — is not included in amisecha, and it can even be a mitzvah to expose such a person publicly. Yet the Chofetz Chaim warns we cannot decide this on our own. Before ever concluding that someone falls outside amisecha, a person must consult a Rav and be certain the person truly belongs in that category.

Verify before you speak — and return tomorrow for the sefer's final examples.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

So what should the seller actually say when the disappointed buyer comes back?

Rabbi Klapper shows the proper way to handle yesterday's case. Perhaps Shimon never knew Reuven wanted the item, and the seller simply couldn't wait — or even if Shimon pushed the sale through. Either way, when Reuven returns, the seller should name no names: just say somebody came and bought it. And if it's true, he should take the blame on himself — it was my fault. Since a seller may sell to whomever he wants, Reuven really has no basis to be upset, and if he is, he'll find the item elsewhere. This keeps the matter localized and internal, so it doesn't spread into something far worse.

Keep it internal — and keep listening tomorrow.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

A buyer set an item aside and left for cash — but you sold it to the next customer. What do you tell him?

Rabbi Klapper gives a vivid example: Reuven agrees to buy something at a garage sale and leaves to fetch the money; while he's gone, Shimon pays and takes it. When Reuven returns furious, the seller, not wanting to look bad, blames Shimon for forcing the sale. So many problems here: even if it were true that Shimon did it, saying so is still rechilus — the sale is done and revealing it helps no one, only breeding needless hatred. The seller shouldn't say it, and Reuven has no right to believe it either. Both sides must be careful: the seller not to speak, and the disappointed buyer not to accept the tale.

How should the seller have handled it? Find out tomorrow.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

You voted no in a secret ballot — so can you tell the angry crowd it wasn't your doing?

Rabbi Klapper brings the Chofetz Chaim's exception to yesterday's heter of saying I didn't do it. Picture a committee of seven voting privately; you voted no, but the majority voted yes, and the decision hurts people. When one of them asks how the committee voted yes, you may not say I didn't vote yes to distance yourself. The reason: the committee as a whole makes the decision. Just as in beis din, where a dayan who ruled in the minority is still bound to the ruling the court as a whole issues, so the dissenting committee member shares responsibility — and denying his part would itself be rechilus.

Join us tomorrow for the next real-life example.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don't forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!