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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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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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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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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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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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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EXOD400 See [[EXOD886]] Exodus 23:12 rest OXFORD 428-9

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EXOD401 See [[EXOD1030]] Exodus 34:6 compassion BLOCH 57-8

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EXOD403 See [[EXOD394]] Exodus 20:9 work AMJV 109

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EXOD402 Desist from all types of melachah (prohibited work) on the Sabbath. Neither may we let our children, servants or animals do melachah on the Sabbath. Key concepts: To set aside our weekday labors in honor of the Sabbath. Thereby, we instill within ourselves that Hashem created the world in six days and “rested” on the seventh. This point is a fundamental principle underlying all of the Torah. When someone asks, “Why does everyone desist from their labors one day of the week,” one must answer, “Because God created the heavens and the earth in six days and on the seventh day He desisted from creating and ‘rested.’” By desisting from our labors on the Sabbath, we strengthen ourselves in the true faith. The Sabbath also reminds us of the miraculous Exodus from Egypt, for while the Egyptians enslaved us, they forced us to work even when we were exhausted and craved rest. Hashem saved us from their hands and commanded us to rest on the Sabbath.

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