"Man Was Born To Labor"
STUDENT
SUMMARIES OF SICHOT OF THE ROSHEI YESHIVA
PARASHAT
NOACH
Sicha
of Harav Aharon Lichtenstein shlita
Man
Was Born to Labor
Summarized
by Matan Glidai
Translated
by Kaeren Fish
In
Gods blessing to Noach following the Flood, we read:
For
as long as the world exists, sowing and reaping and cold and heat and summer and
winter and day and night will not cease. (Bereishit
8:22)
The
simple meaning of the verse is that the various heavenly bodies, which ceased to
follow their natural patterns at the time of the Flood, will never do so again.
However, the Gemara (Sanhedrin 58b) derives a completely different lesson
from this verse: that a non-Jew who desists from creative labor (melakha)
on Shabbat is deserving of death. (The Rishonim explain that this very sharp
expression is meant to convey the severity of what the non-Jew thereby
transgresses; in terms of practical Halakha, he is not put to death.) The Gemara
goes even further and cites the opinion of Ravina, according to whom it is
forbidden for a non-Jew to desist completely from any form of labor even on a
weekday.
The
Gemara is not discussing a non-Jew resting in the sense of involving himself
in spiritual rejuvenation, nor his awarding any special significance to the days
of the week. He is simply forbidden to put a halt to his creative labors. Only
Am Yisrael is permitted to cease working in order to study Torah; for a
non-Jew, such a halt represents a transgression. This teaching of Chazal
speaks eloquently of the great importance that is attached to work and labor
no matter who performs it. However, a Jew is obliged to stop his activity for
one day each week in order to be able to engage in Torah a privilege that is
not extended to the other nations of the world.
It
would seem that the extraordinary importance that Judaism attaches to work
arises first and foremost from the need to develop the world. Indeed, the Gemara
(Sanhedrin 24b) teaches that a gambler (literally, one who plays with
dice) is unfit to give testimony before a court only because he neglects to
participate in the development of the world. The Rambam, too, writes that it is
proper for a person only to engage his whole life in words of wisdom and in the
development of the world (Hilkhot Gezela 6:11).
In
Avot de-Rabbi Natan (11:1) this is expressed even more
sharply:
The
Holy One, blessed be He, did not allow His Presence to rest upon Israel until
they had performed labor; as it is written, Let them make Me a Sanctuary, that
I may dwell in their midst.
Further
on, we read:
One
who has no work do to what should he do? If he has a yard that is bare, or a
field that is bare, let him go and occupy himself with it, as it is written,
For six days you shall work and you shall perform all of your labor. What do
we learn from the expression all of your labor? It comes to teach us that a
person who has empty yards or fields should go and occupy himself with
them.
To
what extent must one work? The
Gemara (Sanhedrin 58b) teaches in the name of Reish
Lakish:
What
is the meaning of the verse, One who labors over his land (oved admato)
will be satiated with bread (Mishlei 12:11)? If a person makes himself
like a servant (eved) to the land, then he will be satiated with bread;
if he does not, then he will not have sufficient bread.
At
first glance, this teaching seems to make no sense. Surely a Jew is obligated to
be a servant only to God, and to no one and nothing else as the Gemara itself
reiterates in several places (Kiddushin 22b, Bava Kama 116b,
Bava Metzia 10a): They are My servants, and not servants to servants.
How, then, can a person be required to make himself a servant to his
land?
It
would seem that what this means is not that a person should forsake God and
commit himself wholly to the land. Rather, it comes to teach us that one must
perform ones work on the land with the proper commitment and seriousness at
least to the same degree to which we serve God. The demand that a person engage
in developing the world is also a demand that he not treat such labor lightly.
We are obliged to invest our very best efforts.
On
the other hand, it clearly remains the case that they are My servants, and not
servants of servants. Even if a person invests much time and effort in his
work, he must always remember what is most important. His work may occupy most
of the hours of his day, but he dare not allow it to become the center of his
life. He must not reach a situation where his life revolves around his work and
that is the most important part of his life. The center of a persons life is
his service of God, not any other work.
This
being the case, the question arises: what is the proper ratio between these two
spheres? When must a person engage in words of wisdom and when must he engage in
developing the world? How much time should be devoted to
each?
This
is a very complicated question, because the answer varies from person to person.
It is impossible to supply any clear, fixed formula for the proper ratio between
work and Torah. The Gemara (Berakhot 32b) grapples with this
problem:
Rabbi
Shimon bar Yochai said: Is it possible that a person should plow at the time of
plowing, and sow at the time of sowing, and reap at the time of reaping, and
thresh at the time of threshing, and winnow at the time of winnowing
what will
then become of Torah? Rather, the intention is that when Am Yisrael perform
Gods will, their labor is performed by others, and when Am Yisrael do not
perform Gods will, they have to perform their labor themselves!
Abaye
said: Many people acted in accordance with the teaching of Rabbi Yishmael [who
maintained that one should labor in order to support himself, and to study Torah
in his remaining time] and they were successful; others acted in accordance with
the opinion of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and they were not
successful.
Rabbi
Chaim of Volozhin notes the Gemaras emphasis that many were not successful
hinting that there are some who are able to conduct themselves in accordance
with the teaching of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Even according to the Gemara,
then, we still have no clear answer to the question of the proper relationship
between work and Torah study.
Nevertheless,
it is important to be aware of the factors that must be taken into consideration
when considering this question. A person should not choose a profession based
solely on financial considerations, or his personal interests, or the
intellectual or organizational challenge that the profession presents although
such considerations are unquestionably important. It is also important to
consider to what extent the choice of a particular profession will allow one
enough time to engage in Torah. Admittedly, the pull towards work is very strong
today, stronger than it was in the past. On the other hand, today one is
required to work less than he would have to in the past in order to maintain a
reasonable level of existence. Therefore, even in todays culture it is
certainly possible to find enough time to engage in Torah.
Unquestionably,
there is great importance to work and the development of the world. However,
each of us is also meant to invest effort in finding the correct balance between
work and Torah study. With Gods help, we will be
successful.
(This
sicha was delivered on Shabbat Parashat Noach 5763
[2002].)