The fourth of the Ten Commandments not only prescribes the religious duty of rest on the Sabbath, it mandates work on the other six days of the week as an independent, sacred obligation: “Six days shall you labor…” (Exodus 20:9; see also Genesis Rabbah 16:8). The dignity of labor is thus a value woven into the very fabric of the Sinai Covenant.
The Sages in the founding generations of Rabbinic Judaism plied trades in addition to their scholarly pursuits. Rabbi Yehoshua was a blacksmith. Rabbi Pappa was a brewer. Shammai was a builder. Abba Shaul was a gravedigger. They acted on the principle articulated by Rabban Gamliel: “Excellent is the study of Torah combined with some worldly occupation… Torah without work is ultimately futile and leads to sin” (Pirkei Avot 2:2).
Honest work fulfills a divine Command, safeguards against morally corrosive idleness, and fosters economic security, independence, and a sense of self-worth. Through labor, we shape our own future. President Teddy Roosevelt wrote: “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.”
The Rabbis went further. They esteemed hard work as a holy act. “One who enjoys the fruit of his own manual labor is greater than one who fears Heaven” (Berachot 9A).
(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.)
The fourth of the Ten Commandments not only prescribes the religious duty of rest on the Sabbath, it mandates work on the other six days of the week as an independent, sacred obligation: “Six days shall you labor…” (Exodus 20:9; see also Genesis Rabbah 16:8). The dignity of labor is thus a value woven into the very fabric of the Sinai Covenant.