Day 17 - Hard Work

Photography by Branden Rodriguez Media @branden.shoots

On Day 3, we learned about Elul as being the month when the King (God) is in the fields with us. In other words, God is more accessible during these days than during other times of the year. But working in the fields isn't easy. I wanted to share the words of Jenniffer Rocha, 21, a new graduate from UC San Diego. She wrote the following:

“As a high schooler, my parents told me that the only way I was going to be able to understand how important it was to pursue a higher education was to work as a migrant field worker. My parents came from Michoacan, Mexico and were not fortunate enough to live their dreams of pursuing a higher education and obtaining the dream career they desired.
When I first started working in the fields, I would get off from school, straight to cross country practice, run miles and miles and then get picked up by my dad to go work in the fields overnight. We would plant strawberries, get off at around 2-3 am and wake up at 5am to get ready, or else I would miss the city bus. I admired the workers because they kept working despite backaches while flies, mosquitos, and bugs kept roaming their faces, getting into their eyes. Nobody thinks about nor sees what happens behind a vegetable you grab at the grocery store. But behind it is someone who breaks their backs every day working in the fields.
I continued working in the fields even after I had left for college on weekends or on breaks even though I had a job with UCPD. I wasn’t able to dorm at school because my parents couldn’t afford it, so I had to commute from far distances like Oceanside and Lakeside. Having to work two jobs, commute, and go to school at the same time was a struggle. Many times I wanted to give up, but my parents and their pieces of advice and support were the reason I kept going.
If it wasn’t for how my parents raised me I don’t know who I would be today. Coming from a field worker background has motivated me to work hard as my parents took my sisters and me to the fields in order to understand how difficult labor is.
Working in the fields builds and molds a different type of character. A character that does not give up, and one with resilience and strength to withstand the hazards that come from that job.”

Our tradition has a lot to say about work, and about how workers should be treated: with dignity. During the High Holiday season, we force ourselves to take a panoramic view of life; we 'zoom out' to see the world in order for us to 'zoom in' to our own lives. We also take a step back and look at the full picture of all lives and gain some perspective. In Judaism, we value the long journey, just like Jenniffer Rocha's parents who knew that hard work builds our character and helps us become more resilient.

In the Ethics of Our Fathers 2:14, we read:

רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן אוֹמֵר, הַיּוֹם קָצָר וְהַמְּלָאכָה מְרֻבָּה, וְהַפּוֹעֲלִים עֲצֵלִים, וְהַשָּׂכָר הַרְבֵּה, וּבַעַל הַבַּיִת דּוֹחֵק:

Rabbi Tarfon said: the day is short, and the work is plentiful, and the laborers are indolent, and the reward is great, and the master of the house is insistent.

Rabbi Tarfon gives us an observation of life; it is not filled with endless tomorrows. We only have a short amount of time in this world to work toward something greater.  We may not see it this year, we may not see it for 18 years, but when we work hard, the reward will be great. 

Writing Prompt

Can you recall something your parents made you do as a child that has helped you to this day? What are some things that you have been putting off that you need to work on? Remember, the reward is great, and the master of the house is waiting for you!

10.3.1