Labor Is Honorable

b. Nedarim 49b|b. Bava Batra 110a

220–600

b. Nedarim 49b

When R. Judah would go to the study hall he would carry a pitcher on his shoulder [to sit on], saying, “Labor is great, as it brings honor to the laborer [who performs] it.” [Similarly,] R. Simeon would carry a basket on his shoulder, saying, “Labor is great, as it brings honor to the laborer [who performs] it.”

b. Bava Batra 110a

Rav said to Rav Kahana, “Skin a carcass in the market and take payment, but do not say: ‘I am a great man and this matter is beneath me.’”

Translation adapted from the Noé Edition of the Koren Talmud Bavli.

Notes

Words in brackets appear in the original translation.

Credits

From Koren Talmud Bavli, Noé Edition, trans. Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (Jerusalem: Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 2019). Accessed via the William Davidson digital edition, sefaria.org. Adapted with permission of Koren Publishers Ltd.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

Engage with this Source
Circular stone basin with layered stone walls, a base with a radial pattern, and a round opening at the bottom. A few rocks are scattered inside.
Tooltip info icon

Related Guide

Early Attitudes toward Physical Labor

2nd Century BCE–6th Century CE
Ancient large stone blocks and rubble rest against a weathered stone wall with some sparse greenery.
Tooltip info icon

Related Guide

Economics, Labor, and Charity in Ancient Judaism

4th Century BCE–6th Century CE

Jewish texts from late antiquity on labor, wealth, and poverty reflect a shift from the agrarian economy of the Bible to a more urban system of commerce.

Restricted
Some content is unavailable to non-members, please log in or sign up for free for full access.

Related Guide

Jewish Daily Life in Roman-Era Palestine

1st Century BCE–6th Century CE

You may also like

Wisdom versus Labor

Ben Sira 38:25
How can one become wise who handles the plow, and who glories in the shaft of a goad, who drives oxen and is occupied with…
View Source

Torah with Work Is Best

m. Avot 2:2
R. Gamaliel the son of R. Judah the Prince said: Excellent is the study of Torah when combined with a worldly occupation, for toil in them both keeps sin out of one’s mind. But [study of] Torah that…
View Source

Torah Study with or without Work

b. Berakhot 35b

The sages taught: What [is the meaning of that which] the verse states: And you shall gather your grain? Because it is stated: This Torah shall not depart from your mouths, [and you shall contemplate…
View Source

The State of Agriculture

Letter of Aristeas 107–108, 112–115
It was not without reason that the first settlers constructed the city with fitting proportions, and they planned wisely. For the country is broad and beautiful, and some parts are flat, such as…
View Source

The Parable of the Sower

Mark 4:1–20
Again he [Jesus] began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He…
View Source