Jewish Professions and Professions of Jews

Are there Jewish professions? Of course. When meeting people with the last names Rabinovich, Reznik, or Melamed, we immediately understand their nationality and what their ancestors did. Far beyond the confines of communities, the fame of Jewish merchants, traders, and... craftsmen—jewelers, tailors, blacksmiths—spread.

However, the perceptions of acceptable and prestigious occupations for Jews have changed from century to century. Jews moved out of communal life into the "external" world and became musicians, journalists, scholars. Among the typical images of Jews in the 20th century are chess players, Hollywood magnates, revolutionaries.
At the same time, for centuries, an unchanging category of specific Jewish occupations has existed, related to the traditional way of life.
But does the concept of "Jewish profession" make sense in the modern emancipated and globalized world? What set of professional skills and preferences has Judaism brought into the 21st century? And what awaits it in the future? These and many other questions are answered by the authors of the book...