Choose Your Contract (2:15)

With the Pesach holiday under our belt as well as stretching it, we can finally sit back on our easy chairs and relax. A lot of hard work this G-d of ours seems to demand, but at least never more than we can handle. That is not just my sentiment. Indeed, no less an authority than the great Maimonedes himself echoed these very thoughts when he stated, , “G-d gave us this tree of life…and He promised us that if we observe it with joy and gladness of heart… He will remove from us all that may prevent us from keeping it.” .

The Rambam of course was not just saying this to make us feel good. In fact, he was quoting a much earlier source, the Midrash Rabbah, which in turn was repeating that which the Almighty Himself had told us. , “What I demand of My creations, I demand not in accordance with My capacity, but in accordance with their capacity.”

And to that we say “Amen”. For can you imagine if the All- Powerful would expect us to live by His standards of holiness and perfection? We could never survive!

However, just when you thought you were out of the woods, you open this week’s chapter of Ethics of our Fathers and read, “The day is short, the work is much, the workers are lazy, the reward is great and the Master is pressing.”, “And you begin to have second thoughts on the topic. Is G-d an understanding fellow that has offered us a comfortable job with clearly defined hours (how about 9 to 5 with weekends off for good behavior) and attainable goals? Or is the Boss upstairs never satisfied, always wanting us to put in for overtime, and no matter how much we accomplish, feels there is more work that must be done pronto?

As the Rabbi in a famous story said to the two litigants, “You’re both right.” The first perspective rendered by Jewish Law and proclaimed in the Midrash describes the basic work contract between man below and Heaven above. In this agreement G-d is truly a benevolent Master who never demands from his employees more than their natural abilities. Furthermore as the Rambam declares, Hashem provides us with a supportive work environment such as, “Abundance, peace and wealth” so that we can finish our tasks without being hassled by physical distractions.

That however represents only one view where G-d is the Employer and we are the no more than hired workers. But there is another outlook on the relationship we have with our Creator, one that sees Him as our Father and we as His children. In that setting we are not bargaining for the least amount of work at minimum wage. It is in that context that the Mishnah in the Ethics of our Fathers addresses us.

For the Chassid, the day is never long enough. The work of perfecting oneself and one’s community is always greater than one has hours. No matter how assiduously one applies himself, he sees himself as lazy in his own eyes, for he can never rid himself of the feeling that he could and should have done more. Thus G-d is not a happy-go-lucky Boss who only cares if you punch in your time sheet. Rather He is the driving Taskmaster who will never be satisfied until the entire world is brought under His dominion.

There are many who see the Chassid of this Mishnah and all the other teachings of the Ethics as an individual fraught with anxiety and frustration. His mindset must be one of inadequacy and unworthiness. And yet he knows that there are those that choose this path. Could it be that the exhilaration of pushing oneself to the limit and beyond is, “A reward very great?”

As the Rabbi said, “You’re both right.” Therefore the Chassid doesn’t loosen the belt after the holiday. In fact, he tightens it. Worried that he can never finish the job, the Chassid nonetheless joyously accepts the mission.