Mina's Musings: Bamidbar 2016

It Takes a Village

Shabbat Shalom.

Thirteen days. In thirteen days summer vacation will begin for the nearly 200 thousand students in Fairfax County. Like many of you I am counting down the days. Vacation is upon us! Hallelujah.  Everyone loves vacation. Not everyone loves work.

And yet our tradition holds work in high esteem. The fourth commandment is Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; you shall not do any work. We generally focus on the fact that the fourth commandment tells us to rest on Shabbat, but it also sure seems to imply that we are expected to work the other six days each week! At a time in our country when there is only a 62% participation in the labor force among healthy working age adults, and where 50% of those who call themselves unemployed aren’t even looking for work, the idea that work is supposed to be part of our lives, that we are supposed to contribute daily to society through our work, can seem quite jarring. Nevertheless, we read in Psalm 128:2 that a person who follows God’s ways: “shall enjoy the fruit of your labors; you shall be happy and you shall prosper.”

So how is it that following God’s ways will help us enjoy our work? Part of the answer to that question can be found in this morning’s Torah portion Bamidbar. While the beginning of the portion – in a section we didn’t read today – contains a census of the adult Israelite males, the part we DID read today focuses almost exclusively on a census of the Levites, the various subgroupings of Levites, and what role each sub-group had in the maintenance of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary they carried throughout their 40 year sojourn in the desert.  

Rabbi Eliezer Melamed recently expounded (6/6/16) on the many things we learn about work from this portion – this section in particular. He notes that in the fourth commandment I quoted earlier, there is no definition of work. Rather the rabbis determined that since the Torah specifically forbids us from doing any of the 39 types of activity or work that were performed in order to build the Tabernacle on Shabbat, it is those 39 actions which constitute the Torah’s definition of work.  What do we learn from this? That all our “work” during the six “days is intended to continue the idea of the Mishkan into the entire world, until the whole world turns into a Mishkan for the Shechina (Divine Presence) – for Divine values, such as the values of truth and kindness, charity and mercy; so that wherever a person works le’Shem Shamayim (for the sake of Heaven), with honesty and kindness, to add and blessing in the world, the Shechina will dwell.” In other words, all we work at and do is supposed to make the world a better “home” for God.

Following this, Rabbi Melamed then explained that just as the Kohanim- priests – had to consecrate themselves for the service in the Tabernacle and avoid things that may distract them from their work, so too, each person must find moral value in his/her work, and like the Kohen, see themselves as doing something of value which brings God’s goodness into the world and ACTING as though their work is of true value. If he is a teacher or a doctor, he should take care to sleep well, so he can fulfill his duty properly. If she is an engineer, she should direct her energies in order to learn more and add benefit and blessing to her work. If he is a computer programmer he should continually learn more languages or become even more proficient in the ones he already knows. AND since the fourth commandment tells us to do ALL our work, these precepts hold true even for those we might not consider as “working” today. A volunteer must put forth his/her best, a full-time parent should continually enhance their parenting skills, a retiree should find the best way to continue contributing positively to the society, and on and on. 

Finally Rabbi Melamed explained what we “can learn from the order of the carrying of the Mishkan by the three Levite families – Gershon, Kehat,and Merari – as a prototype for all types of work in the world.” The sons of Merari were given the task of carrying all of the planks, posts, cords, etc. that were used in building the foundation of the Tabernacle. The sons of Gershon carried the tapestries, the over-tent and roof, and the enclosure’s hangings. Finally, the sons of Kehat carried everything that was used inside the Mishkan – the Ark of the Covenant, the Shulchan, the menorah, and the altars.  

What does this teach us about work? That everyone’s role at work, in life, is not the same.  

Some people do the heavy lifting, the setting of the foundation of things. Some are busy ensuring that what we do at work is not totally disconnected from the world, setting up the tent so that light still shines through from the outside. And of course some are concerned with the inner workings of a job, the most intricate details. It took all three sub-groupings of Levites for the Tabernacle to be set up. Each person’s role was important. So too should we learn to value the work we do, the unique gifts we each bring to our work – be it volunteer work or paid employment. And of course, we must learn to see ourselves and act as members of a team – a company team – a communal team – a congregational team – all working to bring God’s love and light into the world through the work of our hands.