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EXODUS — 20:9 work

EXOD395 Unlike most religions, which demand holiness only from their leaders, Judaism demands holiness from each and every person. One of the goals of Judaism is to have an entire nation of holy people [this verse], as was stated by God immediately prior to giving the Torah. There is a specific biblical commandment for each person to be holy. Leviticus 19:2 This was only one of two commandments in the entire Torah specifically given to the entire people.

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EXODUS — 20:9 work

EXOD393 The idea that man creates new creations in the world seems to be a fundamentally Jewish idea.… The fact that man is supposed to create in the world seems to give him carte blanche to develop any and all technologies that will advance mankind, including cloning. King David may have been referring to this concept when he wrote that the realm above, the heavens, belong to God, while the realm below, the earth, was given by God to man. Psalms 116:27

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EXODUS — 20:9 work

EXOD394 This idea of man's obligation to create in the world is not just a good idea or an extrapolation. The word in the Torah usually mistranslated as "work" is "Melacha" (i.e., the activities that are forbidden on Shabbat). But this word is used in only three in contexts in the entire Torah-regarding Creation by God, what is forbidden for man to do on Shabbat, and the building of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle. (Genesis 2:2, Exodus 20:10, Exodus 36:4-5). Thus, what God did to create the world is Melacha. But right before the Torah forbids Jews to do Melacha on Shabbat, it says that man must to do Melacha during the other six days.[This verse] (According to many commentaries, this is a command rather than only a dispensation of allowing men to do this kind of activity.) If so, man is commanded to create, to invent, and to come up with new ideas and new inventions in the world, just like God.

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EXODUS — 20:9 work

EXOD392 The earth is full of the fruit of thy labor. (Psalm 104:13). The Bible and the Talmud hold labor in high regard. "When thou eatest the labor of thy hands, happy shalt thy be, and it shall be well with thee" (Psalm 128:2). A laborer contributes to the welfare of society and is instrumental in advancing God's design for building up the world. "Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath" (Exodus 20:8-9). In the view of Rabbi Judah haNasi (2nd cent.), these verses convey a dual command. "Just as Israel was instructed regarding the Sabbath [when they must rest], so are they instructed regarding work [that they must work the rest of the week]" (Mechilta deRabbi Simon b. Yochai on Exod. 20:9). Labor was thus invested with the theological virtue of the performance of a mitzvah. The Judaic attitude to labor was shaped by two divergent social religious motivations: a strong opposition to idleness and an equally deep opposition to any servitude which diminishes man's freedom of action. The labor of self-employed people was highly lauded, but exploitation of other people's work for one's own interest was severely criticized and curtailed. Abhorrence of idleness was forcefully asserted in the Bible and Talmud. "Everyone that is slack in his work is a brother to him that is a destroyer" (Proverbs 19:9). "Rabbi Judah b. Bateira said: 'If one is not occupied by any work, what shall he do? If he has a yard which is in disrepair, or a pasture which has been neglected, let him go and repair it [so as not to be idle], for it is written: "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work" [this verse]. What is the implication of "and do all thy work" [a redundant phrase]? To teacher us that he who has a neglected yard or pasture shall busy himself with it'" (Avot deRabbi Natan 11).

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EXODUS — 20:9 work

EXOD390 In contemporary society, marriage and family are often balanced against the values of work. Judaism prizes work: "Six days show you labor and do all your work [this verse]. Jewish sources make it clear that work is important for the welfare of society as a whole, for its contribution to the psychological health and self-worth of the individual, and for the economic support it affords to oneself and to one's family.[See, for example, M. Ketubot 5:5; Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 2:2; Avot de Rabbi Natan 11; B. Nedarim 49b; and Tanhuma Vayetze, sec. 13]. For some people, though, the secular work ethic prevalent in contemporary society has made work the sole value, a virtual idol. Judaism would have us recognize the idolatry inherent in a life devoted exclusively to work and would have us balance our commitments to work with serious time and energy spent on other important values, most especially those of family. Overzealous commitment to work does have a deleterious effect on one's sexual and family relationships, and the Jewish tradition would have us remember that one's family should take precedence over one's job.

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EXODUS — 20:9 work

EXOD391 It is a person's duty to work, and Judaism has always stressed the importance of the work ethic and being a productive worker. A person who works is enabled to be self-supporting. The rabbis have taught that, in addition to teaching his son Torah, a father must also teach him a trade or profession (Talmud Kiddushin 29a). Study, the rabbis insisted, cannot be complete when divorced from the world of active work. The Bible has always exalted work and the worker. God is pictured in the opening chapters of the Book of Genesis as a laborer, and in creating the first human, God told Adam to work the soil. Just as the Torah was given to people as a covenant, as it is written in [this verse] "Six days shall you labor and do all of your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God". (Avot de Rabbi Natan, Chapter 11).

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EXODUS — 20:10 cattle

EXOD398 The Torah imposes moral obligations even toward animals. Their welfare is to be taken into consideration even when it involves an injury to the owner. Three passages in the Pentateuch specifically enjoin consideration for the welfare of animals. One is part of the fourth commandment. On the seventh day, not only are old and young, male and female, free and slave, stranger and citizen to rest, but beasts of burden may also not be worked [this verse, Deuteronomy 5:14]. Hence a Jew is not permitted to sell or hire out his animal to anyone who is known to work his animals on the Sabbath. [Avodah Zarah 14b] The Torah also commands that one shall not team an ox with the donkey when plowing [Deuteronomy 22:10]. As the human laborer is permitted to eat from the crop he was gathering, [Bava Metzia 87a-b, J.T. Ma'aserot chap. 2, halakhah 4] so is the animal [ibid, 25:4]. Animals are to be treated humanely, and their slaughter for food or Temple sacrifice is to be accomplished in a manner that inflicts the minimum of pain. The ancient Greeks and Romans had no sympathy with these laws, which involves economic sacrifices. Spinoza is of the opinion that "the law against killing animals was based upon an empty superstition and womanish tenderness, rather than upon sound wisdom." [Spinoza, Ethics, pt. 4, prop. 37, scholium, p. 209.]

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EXODUS — 20:10 cattle

EXOD399 To aid our spiritual advancement, we are asked to be kind to all created things, be they men or animals. From the Fourth Commandment it is clear that one of the objects of the Sabbath was to provide rest for the beast of burden [this verse]. Only he who has mercy on all created things is entitled to the mercy of God. Leaders in ancient Israel were chosen from those who exhibited tenderness towards the flock they tended; the argument being that such consideration was an earnest of the sympathy they would evince toward those whom they would have to leave. The appointment of Moses was due to such tenderness [see the story about Moses and the straying lamb told in Exodus R. ii.2.], as was the call to prophecy of Amos and Micah and to Kingship of Saul and David; all were shepherds. To be unkind to animals is to court suffering. Rabbi Judah Hannasi suffered great agony because he was inconsiderate to a calf that sought his protection as it was being led to the slaughter [B. Metz. 85a]. Not to alleviate their pain, is to break a command of the Torah [Shabb. 128a]. From the Shema [Deut. xi 15. "And I will give grass in they fields for the cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied." Note the order of the words: first grass for the cattle then "thou shalt eat"; Ber. 40a; Gitt. 62a] it is clear that one should not sit down to his own meal before giving food to domestic animals under his protection. This consideration towards animals is important not only because it is another precision tool in the carving of character but also because it expresses gratitude for their service. Had the Torah, which teaches us these virtues, not been given to us, says a teacher [Erub. 100b], we would have learned modesty from the cat; from the ant, industry and honesty; good manners from the cock and chastity from the dove. The slaughter of animals for food is to be as painless as possible.

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EXODUS — 20:10 cattle

EXOD396 (Continued from [[1166]] Deuteronomy 22:10 together SACTAB 217). Perhaps the most outstanding example of the Torah’s message of compassion for animals is the recognition of an animal’s need to rest. This command is deemed so crucial that it is included within the Ten Commandments (this verse). At a time when our ancestors’ livelihood depended upon the physical work that their animals performed, this was a powerful statement of concern for their animals’ welfare. The laws within the Torah also go beyond the treatment of one's own animals, to the laws regarding those within the public domain. One example of this is the obligation to help lift the pack animal of one's enemy if it has fallen under a heavy load (Exodus 23:5), guiding people to put the needs of creatures above human emotion. The Torah also states that we must demonstrate care to animals in the wild. As we read, (Deuteronomy 22:6-7). Maimonides explains that these verses remind us that animals feel emotional pain too: “There is no difference between the pain that a human feels and the pain that these animals feel when they see their young taken away or slaughtered. Like humans, they instinctively care for their young.” (Moreih N’vuchim 3:48). Finally, it is important to note that the respect and care that humans are to have for the animal world is modeled by God. As we read, “The Eternal is good to all, and God's compassion is over all God’s creatures” (Ps. 145:9). Just as God is praised as having mercy on all the creatures of the world, so too must humans, created in the divine image, behave in a compassionate manner: “A righteous man knows the needs of his animal, but the compassion of the wicked is cruelty” (Prov. 12:10). (By Rayna Ellen Gevurtz, "Kindness to Animals: Tzaar Baalei Chayim")

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EXODUS — 20:10 cattle

EXOD397 The Fourth commandment(concerning the Sabbath), which regulates a day of rest for human beings, also applies to animals. On this day, "you shall not do any work, you, your son or daughter… We are cattle…"[This verse]. The Torah later returned to the steam, and place particular emphasis on the significance of both animals' and employees' rest on the Sabbath: "six days show you work, but on the seventh day shall you cease from labor, in order that your ox and donkey may rest, and that your servant and the stranger may be refreshed" Exodus 23:12.

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