196 Torah Book & Portion, Book of Genesis, Bereishit (Genesis 1:1-6:8), Source Book Keys, PLYN GENESIS | 5:24 walked — GEN551 A craftman must take extreme care to produ... GEN551 A craftman must take extreme care to produce a product of the highest quality. … Shoddy workmanship constitutes cheating the customer. The Torah obligates you to produce as perfect a product as you are able. Moreover, no matter how mundane one’s vocation may be, it can be elevated by keeping in mind that one is helping others. The Midrash Michtav MaiEliyah vol 1, pp. 34-35 relates that Chanoch was a shoemaker whose mind was occupied with elevated thoughts as he stitched shoes. Rabbi Yisroel Salanter explained that those elevated thoughts were not of a mystical nature. Rather, Chanoch took meticulous care that each stitch be perfect so as not to cheat his customers. Moreover, he tried to make each shoe as comfortable as possible in order to give his customers pleasure. His main motivation was to help others rather than merely to sell shoes for a living. PLYN 35 Share Print Source KeyPLYNVerse5:24Keyword(s)walkedSource Page(s)(See end of excerpt) Switch article GENESIS | 5:24 walked — GEN552 It has been suggested that the Platonic Previous Article GENESIS | 5:29 curse — GEN553 See [[GEN27]] Genesis 1:12 good ROSNER 60... Next Article