About/FAQs (Updated 6/10/2022)

Hi! I’m JYP, short for “Jewish Young Professional“. Welcome to my blog!

No one has asked me the below questions, but I will label them as FAQs to inflate my own self-importance.

Why did you start this blog?

I started Jewish Young Professional with the goal of sharing my thoughts on Judaism, Jewish community, or simply my own life experience as it is shaped by being a semi-observant, non-Orthodox Jewish young(-ish) person.

This blog has not lived up to that goal.  Partly because I’ve found myself in need of a dumping ground for venting/complaining and this blog was a convenient place.  Partly because I enjoy poetry and there are a lot of prompts in the blog world.  Partly because writing thoughtful Jewish-related content took time and energy, and I grew busy and lazy.  Partly because I am very bad at goal-setting.

The result is that this blog has become a hodgepodge.  You might find thoughtful Jewish-related content.  You might find reflections. You might find poetry.  You might find funny posts. You might find depression posts.  You might find NSFW content and TMI. You might find advice that I have no business dispensing.  You might find lighthearted commentary on the news.  You might even find me in a musical collaboration on YouTube.  The possibilities are endless!

I also read, like, and comment on all kinds of content. Don’t be surprised if you see a like/comment from “Jewish Young Professional ‘JYP'” – I’m not a weird Jewish spambot!

Why not rename the blog then?

Because thoughtful content tangentially related to the Jewish world is still the goal of the blog, and I’m leaving this as a reminder for myself.  Also because “Some random girl complaining about her pleasant life and writing prompt poetry”, while accurate, is not a compelling title.

Do I need to be Jewish to read this blog?

No! I’ve really enjoyed meeting and connecting over comments with readers of all backgrounds.  Jewish, non-Jewish, believer, non-believer, and everything in between – you’re all welcome here.  If there’s anything that you don’t understand, or alternatively, anything you think I’ve explained badly, feel free to ask / correct me. I don’t offend easily!

Note that my blog should not be taken as representative of the Jewish people as a whole, or as “Judaism 101”.  I am just one person writing about my own experience.  If you are looking for a Judaism 101 resource, I recommend My Jewish Learning.

Is this a religious blog?

No. I’m not interested in trying to inspire you, convert you, or get you to be more religious. If anything, this blog is really a place to talk about the things that I struggle with in Judaism, whether it’s struggles with G-d, struggles with various aspects of Shabbat, struggles with Jewish community life in the pandemic/post-pandemic world, etc. Honestly, if you’re inspired by this blog, I’m impressed. I barely find inspiration here and I’m the one who writes this blog.

Is this an anti-religious blog?

No. Issues and struggles aside, I still choose to practice Judaism. I’m still active in the local Jewish community by choice. I choose to believe in G-d. I believe that one can acknowledge the illogical aspects of tradition and still have a love for it.

Is this a poetry blog?

No. I post a lot poetry here, however, this is not a poetry blog and never will be.

To be clear, I am into poetry.  I take the craft of writing it seriously. I have spent (and continue to spend) a non-trivial amount of my time and my money attending writing workshops and retreats where I study elements of the craft of poetry, workshop my poetry to get critical, constructive feedback on what isn’t working about my piece, revise it, repeat, etc. I have strong opinions about poetry.  I’ve enjoyed the poetry community of the blog world – the participating in prompts, reading and sharing with others.  I’ve read really impressive poetry by fellow blogger-poets. And yes, prompt poem posts consistently get more traffic than other posts, and the boost to the stats feels good.

All that said, this blog is not primarily a poetry blog, and I will never take it in that direction.

Why the “Not code for ‘single and looking’. This is not a dating blog”?

I thought about starting this blog in 2012. I didn’t actually blogging until 2020.  When I started it, I imagined that people searching for “Jewish Young Professionals” (aka “singles”) might accidentally land here, because my head was stuck in 2012. I put up that header so that Jewish single would-be suitors would not feel compelled to pursue or sexually harass me on the internet. It turns out that I needn’t have been concerned because:

1. The golden age of Jewish blogging ended in the early-mid 2010s or so, and everyone moved to Instagram or started a podcast – no one is searching for single Jewish bloggers.
2. Most of my readership is not Jewish and/or not single.  If I’m wrong about these assumptions, leave a comment and let me know!  Also, no one has felt compelled to sexually harass me, which I appreciate.  If I’m wrong about that assumption, please do not leave a comment to let me know.

Now I just have this line because I haven’t thought of a better one.  Suggestions welcomed!

What’s up with the dog avatar?  Are you a dog person?

I must admit that I don’t really like dogs.  But I screwed up my avatar settings and found myself in desperate need of an avatar that was not my face or someone else’s, so here I am. Avatar image credit: mohamed Hassan from Pixabay 

Original source of my avatar image. Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

How can I avoid NSFW content and profanity on your blog?

My goal at Jewish Young Professional is not to get you fired.  (Although I cannot imagine why you’d read this blog on your work device.) NSFW content will generally have a tag in the title so you can easily skip it if desired.  But also, use common sense.  You should assume that a post titled “Unpopular Opinions on Thesauruses and Penises” will be about thesauruses and penises (it is).  Or that a post titled “Sex in the Morning” will indeed be about sex in the morning (it is).

Avoiding profanity is going to be harder.  I use profanity in my normal speech and I’m simply not willing to self-censor on my blog. If you are very offended by profanity, this probably isn’t the blog for you.

What is your comment policy?

1. Don’t be a dick.  Don’t be a dick to me, fellow commenters, or people I mention in my blog posts. Yes, the internet appears faceless, but there are real people here.  Don’t be a dick.
2. Don’t compromise my anonymity / don’t ask for identifying information.  This is an anonymous blog.  If I didn’t put my location/job industry niche/whatever other identifier in a post, that was a deliberate decision. I don’t post identifying information for the purpose of satisfying your curiosity.

Those are my two rules.  I have a high tolerance for controversial, unpopular opinion, and polite heated discussion.  I don’t mind long off-topic discussions in the comment section. I have a high tolerance for negative critical feedback on my posts and poetry.  In fact, if you have constructive feedback, I welcome it!

One more rule: Re-blogging is fine, but don’t steal my work.

© Jewish Young Professional