r/Jewish•
svarriant

For those of you who work in Jewish spaces, how do you talk about your job?

Discussion 💬

Jewish nonprofit workers, synagogue employees, etc...when someone asks what you do, depending on the vibe, do you tell them? Or do you have a "safe" lie ready to go?

I ask because, even though I've worked at different Jewish organizations before, I started a new job where it's kind of impossible to get around what we do. At parties and stuff where I'd be meeting new people who'd ask what my job is, when I used to work at a Jewish nonprofit, sometimes I'd just say "nonprofit organization" and, if pressed for details, I'd say "we provide aid to Holocaust survivors" (which was, like less than 20% of what we actually did, but it's a safe enough lie to satisfy people).

Now, though? I work at a rabbinical school. There's a Jewish word in the school's name. I'm not exactly comfortable just casually offering that info up to anyone who asks.

I can't be the only one who thinks about this stuff, right? What do the rest of you wind up doing in that situation?

Posted Jul 26, 2026, 11:37 PM UTC

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