Shalom, Mitspacha!
Dignity in Labor - Provision Without Exploitation
âWhen you come into your neighborâs vineyard, you may eat grapes your fill according to your desire, but you shall not put any in your vessel. When you come into your neighborâs standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighborâs standing grain.â
- Devarim (Deuteronomy) 23:24-25
The Torah grants a clear and compassionate allowance to those who labor in anotherâs fields or vineyards:
An employee may eat from the crops or grapes while working. This permission recognizes hunger, effort, and human need as part of honest labor. The worker is not stealing, but receiving provision permitted by YHVH.
This mitzvah affirms that labor is not meant to strip dignity. The one who works among abundance is not to be denied sustenance while producing value for another.
This instruction reveals how YHVH balances generosity with order. Laborers are not machines, and hunger does not cancel dignity.
Consider how this principle appears today:
- Do we recognize the needs of those who labor among us?
- Do our workplaces reflect compassion alongside responsibility?
Righteousness is expressed in humane treatment, even in the ordinary rhythms of daily work.
YHVH, You are a just and compassionate Master. Teach us to honor those who labor, to recognize human need without suspicion, and to uphold dignity in every place of work. May our dealings reflect Your balance of generosity and order, and may our communities be shaped by fairness and care.
Baruch YHVH.
Shalom until tomorrow.