Touching

A Young Religious Reader asks:

    I am at the final stages of my university course and today I had a networking event with Potential employers.

    It became difficult to avoid shaking women's hands without it becoming either rude, or embarrassing. Is there a leniency for this anywhere?

Gutman's response:

     Such moments are generally awkward, especially when you are looking for work. But it is better for a potential employer to know what they would be getting than to get a job and then they see that you have these strange customs, like not working on Saturday.

     I assume you are wearing a kippa so they might understand more easily. Although I do not recommend it for you, at these moments I have used such lines as, "Sorry, I am not allowed to touch a beautiful woman's hands." If a woman would ask why, you can tell her that there is an animal sleeping inside you that loves women and you do not want to wake it up!

     What perhaps is best, although maybe still awkward, is to be sure to carry your résumé into the interview in your right hand, and when they reach out to shake hands hand the résumé to them.

     Bottom line, if they hear that it is for Religious reasons and not for anti-women reasons, (not that you think they are unclean) they are usually okay with it.