Question: Will I be penalized at work if I take days off to go to shul for Rosh Hashanah?
Dear Rabbi,
I am a 25-year-old Conservative Jew who observes the holidays, keeps kosher and attends shul every week. I am starting a new job with a major corporation. They want to send me out of town to a mandatory training session that starts on Rosh Hashanah and goes through Yom Kippur. I am afraid my new employer will think I have a poor work ethic if I ask for vacation before I even start work. Do I make the right choice or the right impression? Do most major American companies observe Jewish holidays?
Thanks! Justin
Answer:
Dear Justin,
First, I suggest speaking with someone in your local Jewish Community Relations Council. Be sure to find someone who is knowledgeable about laws protecting religious rights within the workplace. There may be State or Federal laws that cover these situations.
Secondly, do some thinking about what you really want. I suggest sitting down and talking openly to your rabbi about the conflict you feel. Ask yourself if it is worthwhile to take this stand. If next year there is a major financial reason to work on Rosh Hashanah, would you go to work or synagogue? Just as you are building your career, you need to build your self and religious identity. Making the "right impression" could depend more on demonstrating integrity and maturity than on the degree of your religious observance.
In my own life, even before Rabbinical School and ordination, even when threatened with lower grades or non-advancement, I generally took my stand and I still prevailed. But this is your life and your choice. I wish you strength of mind and heart to make a decision with which you will be comfortable.
Shana Tova Um'tuka,
Rabbi Dov
Dear Justin,
First, I suggest speaking with someone in your local Jewish Community Relations Council. Be sure to find someone who is knowledgeable about laws protecting religious rights within the workplace. There may be State or Federal laws that cover these situations.
Secondly, do some thinking about what you really want. I suggest sitting down and talking openly to your rabbi about the conflict you feel. Ask yourself if it is worthwhile to take this stand. If next year there is a major financial reason to work on Rosh Hashanah, would you go to work or synagogue? Just as you are building your career, you need to build your self and religious identity. Making the "right impression" could depend more on demonstrating integrity and maturity than on the degree of your religious observance.
In my own life, even before Rabbinical School and ordination, even when threatened with lower grades or non-advancement, I generally took my stand and I still prevailed. But this is your life and your choice. I wish you strength of mind and heart to make a decision with which you will be comfortable.
Shana Tova Um'tuka,
Rabbi Dov
