This morning it suddenly dawned on me that we are in the midst of our seventh year of running the Chabad Center of Sudbury and perhaps we are eligible for some kind of Sabbatical break. But after a mere few seconds of thought, I decided against taking a Sabbatical as I think we enjoy working with people too much, besides which, after checking our contract there is no mention of a Sabbatical for us.
However, it got me thinking about the concept of taking Sabbatical leaves and what it does for the person taking the Sabbatical. Imagine going for a job interview and the first thing they tell you is that in Year Seven of work you will get a Sabbatical year off, oh and by the way, you need to work for six years first in order to get that seventh year. Would it strike you as odd? Would you expect that they tell you about the work first and then tell you that after seven years you will get a break?
Guess what, this week’s Torah portion is where the concept of Sabbaticals originated. The very same question seems to strike us when reading the text in this week’s portion. The Jews are told that they will be coming to the land of Israel, and they will be marking the Sabbatical year during which they will refrain from working the land, and by the way you need to work six years first and then you will mark the seventh year. This order of instructions might appear to be odd as it would make sense to simply say “upon arrival in the land you will work for six years and rest in the seventh” without saying prior to the instruction of work that “the land will rest a Sabbath to G-d”?
In fact, a profound message about our approach and perspective to our work and professions is contained in these few words and in the order they are presented. We all work for our livings by developing products, researching ideas, medicine and health research and providers, hi tech development, real estate, investing in Facebook, and many other wonderful ways of earning a living. But when we work we need to ask ourselves, what is our underlying goal? Is it in the “Gelt” alone, just in earning a living, is the goal on the vacation and breaks we get to take at the end of our work, or can our work itself be part of a larger and more powerful goal? In other words is my Judaism expressed when I go to Synagogue and drop off my kids in Hebrew School or is it being expressed when we are running around and working in the corporate world?
Four words are the answer; the four words “The Land will Rest a Shabbat to G-d” that precede the instruction to work are the clue to a healthy perspective in work and teach us a profound message about a Jewish approach to work and profession. The placement of the words before the instruction of working for six years, teaches the Jew that his / her goal during those six years of work was to be balanced with an overall goal of using the land and its materials for a higher cause during that time period. Keeping the end goal in sight and as part of the focus through those six years was to help the person achieve the right balance as to why he was working during the six years of work.
In other words, spirituality and meaning does not have to begin when we cease to work, spirituality can begin when we begin to work! When our work is done in tandem with our spiritual goals, and is done in a way that incorporates and reflects our values and ethos as Jews, then our work can be done in a way that respects the needs of others and treats others honestly, and our goals can be beyond the “Gelt” itself. In addition, besides working in an ethical manner, the bigger and more important goals in life can become the primary objectives of why and how we work, and our work can become a tool that not only provides for our family and our physical needs, but can also enhance our connection with G-d and be part of our spiritual identity.
Anyway, I got to go now, as I need to put a Buy order in for some Facebook shares.
Good Shabbos & Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yisroel Freeman
Janice wrote...