How Do Orthodox Jews Make Money?

How do Orthodox Jews make money is currently the number one trending topic on Google now when you search for “Orthodox Jews.”

I fear that this topic is trending because people may think that Orthodox Jews make money in some dishonest way due to some recent media depicting them this way. Orthodox Jews, like all groups of people, have exceptional ones, average ones, and rotten ones.

Judaism has a strong ethic of honesty throughout our laws and philosophies. The Torah commands us to “distance yourself from a dishonest thing.” The Talmud says that when we die, one of the first question we’ll be asked is “Did you do business with honesty and integrity?”

Put simply – Orthodox Jews make money like anyone else makes money. There are Orthodox Jews who are professionals and are very successful. There are Orthodox Jews who have many degrees, but are not financially successful. There are Orthodox Jews without much secular education who are poor, and there are Orthodox Jews without much secular education who are wealthy. Some Orthodox Jew are athletes, others are artists.

Some Orthodox Jews work in family businesses, other are self-made entrepreneurs. Some Orthodox Jews work in Jewish education or the rabbinate and some learn Torah full time and are supported by their wives and people in the community who want to sponsor Torah learning. Some Orthodox Jews are disabled and can’t work and other Orthodox Jews can’t hold down jobs for other reasons. When Jews are struggling financially, the community comes together to make sure they have their basic needs met.

Orthodox Jews, are people. They have a range of opinions on secular education, work life balance, views on money and professional ambition.

Orthodox Jews don’t work on the Sabbath, unless they are in a life-saving field like being a doctor or paramedic. Here are some of the most successful Orthodox Jews we’ve profiled – the Orthodox Jewish All Stars.

Here are some Orthodox Jews who have a range of different professions.

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Allison Josephs

Allison Josephs is the founder and executive director of Jew in the City has been involved in the field of Jewish Outreach for over twenty years and is the Partner in Torah mentor to actress Mayim Bialik. She was named one of NJOP’s Top Ten Jewish Influencers and one of the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36. Allison has been quoted or written about in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, People Magazine, NYPost, Daily News, TMZ, The Daily Beast, and Hollywood Reporter. She has appeared on numerous television and radio networks including CBS, ABC, Fox5, TLC, Associate Press TV, and NPR; her articles have appeared in publications including The Washington Post, JTA, Jewish Week, Jerusalem Post, The Forward, and Kveller. Pearson Education, the largest textbook company in the world, produced a video segment on Allison’s life for the Judaism chapter of their textbook. She is a sought-after international lecturer whose corporate clients include Con-Edison and NYU Langone and hosts a weekly podcast on the Nachum Segal Network. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University in Philosophy and lives with her husband and four children minutes from the George Washington Bridge.