Community Magazine April 2014

Si•to (sĭtō) Grandmother[Arabic] Ask ito YOU CAN ASK SITO! Send in your toughest queries and requests for the wisdom of Sito mobile: Scan the QR code at right online: go.CommunityM.com/ask email: Ask@CommunityM.com facsimile: 718-504-4246 postal mail: 1616 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn, NY 11223 102 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE Dear Sito, I’ve been out of college for about two years now, and I am struggling to find a job in Corporate America that will allow me to practice my Judaism with joy. I left my first job because during busy season, I was expected to put in 55+ hours a week. Shabbat in the winter starts around 4-5pm, and thus Friday afternoons and Shabbat are off limits. During the week I need time to take care of my personal items that I can’t do on Shabbat on Sundays, so there was no way to put in the required hours. As a result, I decided to find a different job. Two months later, I’m dealing with the same story. Jewish holidays take up all my paid days off, and I’m left with zero days for personal vacation. Working with strangers 10 hours a day is taking a toll on me. I have to find a minyan by myself, eat my own homemade food, and can’t even socialize with them (not that I want to, anyways). I just feel that it’s very hard as an Orthodox Jew to pray in a minyan every day, keep Shabbat and kashrut properly, not socialize with non-Jews, and still build a professional career. Career Oriented You are to be commended for your concern for, and commitment to, both your religious observance and your career. Your statement that “it’s very hard as an Orthodox Jew to pray in a minyan every day, keep Shabbat and kashrut properly, not socialize with non-Jews and still build a professional career” has always been true. But have no fear. There are many who have faced the very same challenge you are confronting and triumphed. When the first immigrants of our community came to America and had to start from scratch, they, too, held their religious beliefs as a value they were not willing to compromise. Yes, it made it more difficult for them to find employment, but it did make them more resolute and more creative in finding ways to support themselves. This is why, I believe, many of our forebears began their own businesses as soon as they could – so they could dictate their own hours and workdays. I remember the many stories I heard of men who began a job on Monday only to be fired on Friday when they said they had to leave early. But I also recall how many men were rewarded and respected for their commitment to their religion, and their employers accommodated their schedule. Their dilemma was with a culture that did not understand or tolerate the limitations that following halachah imposed on their work life. Baruch Hashem, we now live in a society that understands and respects the responsibility of being an observant Jew, and accommodations are generally made. It sounds to me that your dilemma is an internal one, a struggle to balance all the things that are a priority for you – religion, career, leisure time, and so on. As your commitment to halachic observance will inform the choices you make in every aspect of your life, you might want to rethink whether your chosen profession is compatible with your religious commitment. Are there any other Orthodox Jews in your chosen field? If not, then you will have to be the pioneer who figures it all out and paves the way for the next Orthodox Jew to pursue that career. You might discover that your chosen profession does allow for your lifestyle, but the firm you are working for does not. If so, then try finding a firm that is owned or managed by other Orthodox Jews, or that has Orthodox Jewish employees. This will ensure a more supportive and comfortable work environment, as well as an employer who is already familiar with the limitations of Orthodox employees. With more people like you working at these offices, the more companionship you will have when eating and stopping to pray. Moreover, some Jewish-owned firms are closed on Jewish holidays so employees do not have to take that time off as personal days, and some even shut down early on Friday. Perhaps most importantly, find people who are or have been in your situation and seek their advice and encouragement. Many Orthodox corporate professionals have found a way to balance their careers and religious obligations, and they should be able to share with you their strategies. Although it seems difficult now, there are ways to stay true to your religious values and enjoy professional success. Sacrifices to your personal leisure time will certainly have to be made, but if your higher value at this point in your life is your professional career, then giving up personal vacation time won’t seem as important. Compromising on your Judaism, of course, is really not an option – jobs come and go, vacations are fun but go by fast; the only constant in our lives is Hashem, who must always be our highest priority and central point of focus. All the best, Sito Dear Career Oriented,