About WORK

Hebrew Name

מְלָאכָה

English Name

WORK

Phonetic Spelling

ME-LAH-CHA

What does WORK mean?

Melacha, Hebrew for “work,” is central to a happy and meaningful life.

וְי֨וֹם֙ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔֜י שַׁבָּ֖֣ת ׀ לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֗יךָ לֹֽ֣א־תַעֲשֶׂ֣֨ה כׇל־מְלָאכָ֜֡ה אַתָּ֣ה ׀ וּבִנְךָ֣͏ֽ־וּ֠בִתֶּ֗ךָ עַבְדְּךָ֤֨ וַאֲמָֽתְךָ֜֙ וּבְהֶמְתֶּ֔֗ךָ וְגֵרְךָ֖֙ אֲשֶׁ֥֣ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽ֔יךָ׃
but the seventh day is a Shabbat of Hashem your God: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements.
v'-YOM ha-sh'-vee-EE sha-BAT la-a-do-NAI e-lo-HE-kha lo ta-a-SEH khol m'-la-KHAH a-TAH u-vin-KHA u-vi-TE-kha av-d'-KHA va-a-ma-t'-KHA uv-hem-TE-kha v'-gay-r'-KHA a-SHER bish-a-RE-kha
Exodus 20:10

כׇּל־אִ֣ישׁ וְאִשָּׁ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָדַ֣ב לִבָּם֮ אֹתָם֒ לְהָבִיא֙ לְכׇל־הַמְּלָאכָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה יְהֹוָ֛ה לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁ֑ה הֵבִ֧יאוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל נְדָבָ֖ה לַיהֹוָֽה׃
Thus the Israelites, all the men and women whose hearts moved them to bring anything for the work that Hashem, through Moshe, had commanded to be done, brought it as a freewill offering to Hashem.
kol EESH v'-i-SHAH a-SHER na-DAV li-BAM o-TAM l'-ha-VEE l'-khol ha-m'-la-KHAH a-SHER tzi-VAH a-do-NAI la-a-SOT b'-YAD mo-SHEH hay-VEE-u v'-nay yis-ra-AYL n'-da-VAH la-do-NAI
Exodus 35:29

Description about WORK

Melacha, Hebrew for “work,” is central to a happy and meaningful life. The Talmud teaches, “All Torah study without work will result in waste and will cause sinfulness.” Study and work are essential to living a balanced and grounded life dedicated to both spiritual pursuits and the preservation and building of the physical world. When commanding Shabbat observance, the Bible repeatedly emphasizes that it is a day on which “you shall not do any work.” Work is for the six days of the week, while Shabbat is set aside for rest. Refraining from creative work sanctifies is the primary way to sanctify the seventh day, for by resting we recognize that God is the creator of this world, as we acknowledge in the Shabbat prayers, “Through their rest they will sanctify Your name.” When commanding the Israelites to build the Tabernacle, God designated Bezalel the son of Uri to lead the holy project, for “I have endowed him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge of all all kinds of melacha” (Exodus 31:3). The construction of the Tabernacle involved 39 different categories of work, from dyeing to weaving to writing and burning. The work prohibited on Shabbat corresponds precisely to the 39 categories of work performed by the Israelites in the construction of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle represents the pinnacle of creative human accomplishment, and so we do not engage in these creative activities on Shabbat. Melacha also refers to the Divine service performed in the Tabernacle by the Priests and Levites, as it says, “from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service, to do work in the Tabernacle” (Numbers 4:3).

Attribute of WORK

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