Q: "In six days the work shall get done", says the second verse of Parashat Vayakel. In describing the Mitzvah of Shabbat, would it not have made more sense for the Torah to say, "In six days you shall do work”?

A: The Torah only mentions things that are necessary and certainly does not repeat things if there isn’t an additional lesson to be learnt. So clearly another lesson about the observance of the Shabbat is to be learnt here. (It is interesting to note that the Mitzvah of observing the Shabbat is mentioned more often in the Torah than any other Mitzvah!) 

Hashem wants us to work for a living. We work at our jobs in order to earn money to purchase the things we need to live and to serve Hashem. But Hashem wants us to remember that it is really He who blesses us with all of our needs. He sends us His blessings through our jobs. Some people may think that they themselves are the ones who earned their jobs, but this is not so. We need to realize that the money we have comes from circumstances controlled by Hashem, and He can change them at any time! 

Through the words ‘In six days the work shall get done’ the Torah is teaching us that we need to do whatever we can to make sure the week's work is accomplished during that week, knowing all the while that in this way Hashem’s blessings will come. Getting it done is totally different from putting yourself totally into the work. When a Jew comes to Shabbat knowing that Hashem is the One who provided for him during the week, he keeps Shabbat in an entirely different manner. He feels that all of his weekday work has been accomplished and so he does not think about his work on Shabbat. When one thinks this way, then even during the week he will do all he can to serve Hashem by even bringing holiness into the workplace e.g. encouraging a Jewish co-worker to light Shabbat candles, put on Tefillin or place a Mezuzah on the office door. It is through these acts and through constantly thinking about Hashem and the importance of the Shabbat that we can bring Hashem’s holiness into the world through our jobs. 

The above lesson is based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and adapted by Brookie Milecki. 

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