Those who made the choice to move to Eretz Yisrael are often motivated by ruchnius considerations – the opportunity to live in a place where the very air is conducive to avodas Hashem (Bava Basra 158b). Yet as a career coach, I meet people for whom the reality of making a parnassah in Eretz Yisrael results in their spending more time and energy at work than they did previously. Naturally, this can lead to feelings of disappointment and frustration.
A teaching in Avos D’Rav Nosson (11) about this week’s parasha reveals a refreshing perspective on how we can experience this in an empowering way:
“Just as the Torah was given as a bris, so too was melacha given as a bris.
This puzzling source leaves us with two questions:
What does it mean that Torah and melacha (work) were given as a bris?
What’s the reason for the comparison between the Torah and melacha?
The answer to both questions can be found by looking into the nature of different types of interactions we encounter through our lives – friendships, business relationships, strategic partnerships, marriage, parenthood. A growing person reflects on the nature of their own relationship with Torah and mitzvos. Does it resemble a business transaction with Hashem in which one commits to their responsibilities and expects dividends based on their performance?
The Torah given in the context of a bris reveals a deep personal relationship with Hashem. While business relationships based on obligations and benefits are considered healthy, a marriage between husband and wife that’s defined by each party’s obligations and benefits misses the point of what a marriage relationship is meant to be. Obligations are an essential component of the marriage, but they are not the essence of the relationship.
Hashem entrusted the Torah to us as an expression of His relationship with us. Through learning and keeping the Torah we reciprocate our desire to have a relationship with Him. Although learning Torah and keeping mitzvos have challenges, we push forward knowing that this is the way to deepen our connection to Hashem. We appreciate the vital role that the Torah plays in the purpose of creation. We rejoice in the opportunity with which Hashem entrusted us. While the Torah is full of obligations that Hashem rewards us for fulfilling, we need to be careful not to miss out on the bigger picture.
The comparison between Torah and melacha highlights how we are to view our involvement in work. For many, work is experienced as a nuisance required to receive a paycheck. It’s a matter of fulfilling our obligation and cashing in on our benefits.
Yet, the Torah had a different intention. Hashem wants us to appreciate that our involvement in work is part of our connection to Him. As the Chovos Levavos writes in Shaarei Bitachon:
“And one should have in mind while doing one’s work that they are fulfilling the mitzvah of Hashem to be involved in the development of the world such as tending to the land through plowing and planting…By doing this, one is rewarded for their ruchnius intention in their heart and mind whether or not they are successful in achieving the outcome of the work itself.”
The Chovos Levavos is teaching us an empowering perspective that our involvement in working is part of our avodas Hashem. By having the right intentions we are able to connect with Hashem through our work.
As we go through our (sometimes long) workdays, Hashem wants us to embrace each moment with excitement for the opportunity to connect with Him. By doing so, we are living up to the ideal of experiencing melacha in the context of a bris, a deep relationship with Hashem.
