The Mitzvah
of Paying Employees On Time in the writings of
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria
translated
and explained from Ta'amei HaMitzvot by Rabbi Moshe Wisnefsky
Rabbi
Chaim Vital gives us an anecdotal illustration of the extent to which
the Arizal took this commandment seriously.
My teacher
[the Arizal] was extremely careful regarding the commandment of paying
a worker [on time]. He sometimes put off praying Mincha until he had
paid [his worker]. This sometimes meant waiting to pray until sunset,
if he did not have the cash to pay the wages and had to send people
all over to ask others for money until he had enough to pay the wages.
Only then would he pray Mincha, saying, "How can I pray to G-d
when such a great mitzvah comes my way? Can I put it off and still face
G-d in prayer?"
"The
wages of a hired worker shall not abide with you [through the night]
until morning."
In another verse [that details this commandment] it is written, "On
the day he [earns them]you shall give [him] his wages."
. The
full verse is: "Do not withhold the wages due to your poor or destitute
hired hand, whether he is one of your brethren, or a proselyte living
in a settlement in your land. You must give him his wage on the day
it is due, and not let the sun set with him waiting for it. Since he
is a poor man, and to you he lifts his soul, do not let him call out
to God, causing you to have a sin."
Jewish
law clarifies:
What is "on time"? If the workman had finished the work during
the day, he should be paid before the end of that day; if he finishes
his work in the evening, he should be paid during the night. So also
is the case with the workman hired by the week, or month, or year, if
he has finished his work during the day, he should be paid during the
day; if he has finished his work during the night, he should be paid
during the night, but not later. The employer does not transgress the
law unless the workman demands his wages and he, the employer, has the
money to pay. If the workman failed to demand his wages, or the employer
lacks the money to pay the workman, then there is no violation of the
law. Nevertheless, a scrupulous employer should if necessary, borrow
the money to pay the wages at the proper time, for the workman is poor
and sets his heart upon his pay…"
Now the
mystical aspects of the mitzvah will be explained
The initials of these words [beyomo titein secharo] spell Shabbat. This
is because whenever a person performs any commandment or learns a lot
of Torah on a weekday, he accrues an additional level of Sabbath holiness-even
on the weekday. This applies to the [full] extent individuals are capable
of accruing additional measures of Sabbath holiness.
Learning
Torah and performing mitzvot increases the individual's Divine consciousness.
Since Shabbat is the day of higher Divine consciousness, we may conceive
of the additional measure of Divine consciousness attained by learning
Torah and doing mitzvot as a "piece of Shabbat" that is added
the individual. This happens, of course, even in the case of Divine
service performed on weekdays.
This accords
with what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai taught, namely, that Torah scholars
possess on weekdays the [level of] soul that ignoramuses possess on
the Sabbath.
Thus,
the reward that G-d grants Torah scholars for their studies, or to those
who observe the commandments, is likened to that of a worker who expects
his wages. For such people earn their [spiritual] desserts daily-even
on weekdays, when they accrue additional measures of Sabbath holiness.
Therefore, the initials of these words allude to the Sabbath.
Furthermore,
the wages mentioned in this verse can understood as well to refer to
the reward one earns each day [for his study and/or observance of the
Torah]. These combine with the other [reward], the additional measure
of Sabbath holiness that comes automatically with the Sabbath, as is
known.
On Shabbat,
every Jew's consciousness ascends a spiritual notch, no matter what.
Thus, these two additional measures [of Divine consciousness] are given
to the person on Shabbat. In this sense, [both types of] "wages"
paid to this type of "worker" are paid on the Sabbath. The
Sabbath is therefore alluded to in this verse, and this is the mystical
meaning of "he who toils on the day[s] before the Sabbath will
eat on the Sabbath."
The physical
sense of this statement is simply that if one prepares his meals and
other needs before Shabbat, he will be able to enjoy them on Shabbat,
but if not, he will have nothing to enjoy because the preparations he
should have done beforehand are forbidden to do on Shabbat. The spiritual
sense of the statement is that the extent of one's spiritual experience
or level of consciousness on Shabbat is proportional to the amount of
spiritual preparation for Shabbat one engages in during the preceding
week. In more prosaic terms: one cannot expect to live (think, eat)
like an animal during the week and suddenly turn into an angel on Shabbat;
if a person doesn't want to be left out of the action on Shabbat, he'd
better put some time into refining himself while he still can-during
the week. True, as we said above, every Jew's spiritual consciousness
ascends automatically on Shabbat, but without the prior weekday preparation,
he cannot "cash in on" or "tune in to" this consciousness,
since he has done nothing to prepare a vessel to receive it.
In any
case, the point here is that in addition to whatever heightened spiritual
consciousness an individual attains by learning Torah and doing mitzvot
during the week, these acts also heighten his spiritual consciousness
on Shabbat.
Additionally,
[this verse implies] that specifically someone who fulfills the commandment
of paying a worker [on time] acquires the ability to attain an additional
level of soul the following Sabbath. This reward is given to him measure
for measure, for with regard to paying a worker [on time] it is said,
"for… he lifts up his soul to you." Therefore, in recompense
[for granting him his soul, so to speak], the employer is likewise given
an extra level of soul with which to sustain his [weekday] soul [on
the Sabbath]. And therefore, the Sabbath is alluded to in the initials
of this verse.
The idiomatic
meaning of "he lifts up his soul" is "he looks expectantly"
or "he directs his desire."
