ABSTRACT
The cost of being Jewish may be viewed as having three components. There are money expenditures on goods and services devoted to specifically Jewish activities (as, for example, Jewish artifacts and synagogue membership fees), referred to henceforth as “Jewish goods.” There is the time cost of two specifically Jewish activities (as, for example, the opportunity cost of time spent in the synagogue or on holiday observance), referred to henceforth as the cost of “Jewish time”. Each of these costs affects the daily decisions about participation in Jewish activities. In addition, there are costs associated with leading a publicly Jewish life (for example, wearing a kipa, observing kashrut, observing Shabat), referred to henceforth as the cost of an explicitly “Jewish lifestyle.” Although there may be time and money costs associated with these Jewish lifestyles, the main cost is the foregone income that arises as a result, whether because of outright discrimination in schools or at work or because of voluntary career path adjustments required for compatibility with Jewish observance.
