It’s practically a law of economics: for almost every line of business that exists on Earth, there is a Haredi equivalent.

That’s true of taxis, cell phones, and ice cream trucks. As of last year, though, it’s also true of online freelancing platforms: the gig economy has reached the shtetl.

The new platform, zehMizeh.com, which mirrors secular platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork, takes its name from a phrase from King David in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 16a: 20 “l’chu v’hisparnasu zeh mizeh”) that refers to Jewish people supporting each other.

On the website, freelancers — Yiddish-English translators, graphic designers, software developers, and more — can find and apply for work, get assigned projects and submit completed ones, and even get paid, without ever meeting their clients in person. 

In a video on the company’s website, Shimon Shenker, CEO of a private security company, explained ZehMizeh’s appeal: “They understand the Shabbos, they understand the yontif, they understand the tznius — that will help you,” he says, using the Yiddish words for holiday and modesty.

“Nothing beats a yiddishe kop,” says Marcus Dresdner, the CEO of an eyeglasses packaging company, in the video, using a Yiddish phrase meaning “Jewish brain.”

The idea, though, is not only to be Jewish, but to be Haredi. In order to make an account, potential users of ZehMizeh must agree that their content “will not violate halacha,” or Jewish law, according to the terms of service. Though it is not clear exactly what that means.

Many Haredi interpretations of Jewish law forbid, for example, gay relationships and men hearing women sing, so how would ZehMizeh view an assignment that could be used to promote those? Simcha Brick, ZehMizeh’s chief operating officer, did not immediately respond to questions from Shtetl asking for examples of what he would view as  violations of halacha. 

Disagreements over gay rights and religious rights as they relate to business came to a head when, in a 2018 decision, the Supreme Court decided a case in favor of a bakery that refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple.

ZehMizeh.com is one of several recent initiatives by Haredim to support each other in business. Other initiatives include conferences where businessmen showcase their businesses, such as the annual Satmar Zeh M’Zeh Expo. It’s unclear if there is any connection between the expo and ZehMizeh.com.

An ad in the Yeshiva World News explains why businesses might find it appealing to hire freelancers. “Today, when businesses have a task they need done at a professional level, they’re no longer restricted to hiring in-house or even finding an outside agency.” Instead, businesses “seek freelancers, who generally do a more customized job, charge less, and finish faster.”