Jewish Jobs

Judaism is one of the oldest faith traditions in the world, spanning more than 3,000 years of human history. Judaism is primarily practiced by people who are born into Jewish families or those who convert. Judaism is based on the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, as well as the Talmud. The Jewish faith began when God made a covenant with the prophet Abraham, to set apart his children as God’s chosen people and protect and bless them as long as they trusted in Him and obeyed His laws and commandments. Today 13 million people practice Judaism. Many of these people live in the United States.

Similar to the Christian faith, over the years differences in practices and theologies have resulted in four main divisions of the Jewish faith. The four primary movements of the Jewish faith today are: Orthodox, Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism, and Reconstructionist. Orthodox Judaism practices the faith as closely as possible to the original faith. Conservative Judaism is similar, but not totally Orthodox. Reform and Reconstructionist Judaists have more liberal views and theologies than their Orthodox and Conservative counterparts. All movements worship at synagogues, and hire rabbis, cantors, or a combination of the two to lead prayer, worship, and provide pastoral care.

If you practice Judaism, and would like to find a faith-based job, your options may not be as broad as in the Christian faith. Jewish faith-based jobs fall into four main categories: clergy members, educators, and employment at other facilities and businesses like restaurants, community centers and kosher food manufacturers and suppliers. JobMonkey’s guide to religious jobs will provide information on each of these categories, looking at what the jobs are, what education, skills, and other requirements need to be met, projecting a possible career path for each job, and the average salaries for each category.