What’s Jewish About Labor Day?

Coincidence

Labor Day usually occurs at the beginning of the academic calendar. Labor Day also coincides with the beginning of the Jewish New Year. In many years it occurs in proximity to Rosh Chodesh (New Month of) Elul, the month of introspection and preparation for the New Year.

The Ba’al Shem Tov taught us that nothing happens by chance. Even the timing of secular holidays must carry some spiritual significance. The fact that Labor Day – with its message concerning the importance of work – occurs around the beginning of the Jewish New Year, conveys a very important message to us about the significance of work in the Jewish tradition.

Born to Toil

The Biblical Book of Job declares that “a person is born to toil.” When the Torah demands of us to rest on the Sabbath, it prefaces this commandment with the words: “Six days shall you work.” Resting on Shabbos is most meaningful and uplifting when it follows six days of labor.

The Talmud abounds with statements that extol the virtues of work.

What is it about work that is so crucial – within the framework of Judaism? If work would merely be a means to the end of earning a living, our rabbis would not have extolled its virtue. To be sure, idleness can lead to undesirable consequences, but from the many Biblical and Talmudic quotes concerning work, it appears that our tradition considers work to be more than just the negation of idleness and a means to eliminate boredom.

“To be Finished”

The Torah, in the Book of Genesis (2:3) – when it describes the creation of the world and the reason we rest on Shabbos states:

“And G-d blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it G-d ceased from all His work that He had created to be finished.”

These last three words are very strange. What does the Torah mean when it says that G-d had created “to be finished?” Indeed, because of the ambiguity of this phrase, many translators struggled to find a more suitable translation, without much success.

Rashi, the “prince of Bible commentator” provides us with a simple, yet profound, explanation:

G-d created the world, an imperfect world, so that we could finish the process of creation and perfect it. By doing so, we become partners with G-d in His creation, not just passive bystanders, or uninvolved recipients of G-d’s bounty.

Work, is thus, intrinsically holy, because it is our way of acknowledging our G-d given role in this world. We were created by G-d to be His partners in creation and make the world a better place – in the words of the Midrash: “A dwelling place for G-d.”

Don’t let it get to Your Head!

But, a question can be asked: Why does the Torah indicate the importance of work in the context of the Shabbos?

The answer is that work without rest that follows on the Shabbos can also increase our ego and drive for power in our quest of mastering the earth. Employers, for example, because of their G-d given role of enabling others to work, possess immense power, that is subject to abuse.

To prevent the power G-d has given us in perfecting the world, from getting to our heads and destroying anything we might have built, the Torah gave us a Shabbos when we recognize that G-d is truly the only Creator, and that our ability to create was given to us by Him.

Retroactive Artform

On a higher plane and, more importantly, perhaps, the message of Shabbos is that the definition of perfection is not just in the physical sense. During the work week we tame the raw materials of nature and make them usable and functional. On the Sabbath we elevate the work that we did into a higher domain. Our work week is retroactively transformed into a spiritual art form. From that perspective, our work is not really finished until Shabbos.

Connection to Parshas Shoftim

In many years Labor Day coincides with the parsha of Shoftim. Since nothing is by coincidence, especially matters relating to Torah, there must be some connection between the parsha and Labor Day.

The parsha discusses various forms of government, from the judiciary to the monarchy. The common denominator of these institution of government is that they must be the fountain-heads of spiritual and moral guidance to the entire nation. Their role has been compared to the head which controls the entire body.

In terms of time, the Shabbos is the Queen and the rest of the working week is comparable to the common citizens of the queen’s domain.

The objective of the Shabbos Queen is to edify, enhance and elevate the preceding days of the week.

Our notion of labor is complete only when we recognize the Shabbos that follows.

The Seventh Millennium: The Future Shabbos

Our sages have told us that the six days of work parallel the six millennia of existence from the time of creation. The seventh millennium – the Messianic Age – is the Shabbos of existence.

Now is the time for us to work and make the world the type of world that G-d can be proud of. But, we also have to remember that our work is not complete until the coming of Moshiach. Then, all the accomplishments of today will be uplifted and made more complete. It will feel like the way we feel after a long hard week of work followed by a blissful Shabbos experience, when we savor that which we had accomplished during the week.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shoftim by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.