Rabbi Yehoshua Gerzi
As we grow through the journey of Elul, there are all kinds of areas of avodas Hashem we want to work on. For many Yidden, their 9 to 5 job can seem like a break, or even a distraction, from avodas Hashem. We might feel that we serve Hashem by davening and learning Torah before work or after work, but not during work.
But what about the avodah of working itself?
A revealing mekor about how Hashem wants us to experience work is found in Pirkei Avos (1:10): “Ehov es hamelachah”—love work. The Eitz Yosef points out that it does not say, “Love the paycheck,” but “Love the work” itself. The value lies in the experience of the work, not only in its outcome. This seems surprising. What’s there to love about work if it’s not the money we get from it?
The answer lies in looking back at when work began. The Torah tells us that after chet Adam, “Vayeshalcheihu… la’avod es ha’adamah.” — “And Hashem sent Adam… to work the land.” The Sefas Emes notes the word “Vayeshalcheihu”—Adam was sent. Not punished, but given a mission. Work is a shlichus. Seen through the Torah’s lens, work becomes a daily opportunity for meaning, fulfillment, and deveikus with Hashem. When we work b’simcha and are aligned with this perspective, we open ourselves to greater bracha.
Many Yidden experience their work as b’dieved — a necessary burden before they can get back to the “real” Avodas Hashem. Here are three risks of approaching work with this mindset.
- Losing Your Simchas HaChaim: We spend so many hours at work. If it’s seen as empty, we lose a large part of our simchas hachaim. And it doesn’t stay at work—stress and frustration often spill into the rest of life.
- Limiting Your Bracha: The Torah teaches that hatzlacha in our work is deeply connected to the simcha we bring into it. Moshe Rabbeinu blesses Zevulun: “Samach Zevulun b’tzeisecha”—be b’simcha when you go out to work. Rashi explains: “Hatzlach b’tzeischa l’sechorah”—experience hatzlacha in your work. The message is clear: experiencing simcha at work brings hatzlacha.
- Missing Out on Deveikus: Shlomo HaMelech teaches, “B’chol derachecha da’eihu”—”In all your ways, know Him.” The Baal Shem Tov and his talmidim saw these three words as the mission statement of a Yid—to experience d’veykus in every aspect of life. If our work feels disconnected from Hashem, how can it become a place of d’veykus?
This “Work Inspired” series will continue next week.
Take It to Go!
- Begin your workday with a shlichus kavanah
Before checking email or starting at your desk, pause and say: “Today I am going to work as Hashem’s shaliach.” This reframes everything that follows, not as “my job,” but as a mission from Hashem.
- Attach one moment of your day to your shlichus
Choose one recurring part of your workday (a meeting, a call, a task) and consciously pause for a second before it to remind yourself: “This is part of my shlichus from Hashem.”
You don’t need to change the task itself, just invite awareness. This one moment can transform your entire workday from routine activity into mission-driven avodas Hashem.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 95.
