I Am an Accountant

3: If he comes to his service single, he must leave his service single. If he has a wife, his wife will leave his master’s care with him.

Rashi explains that this pasuk teaches us an important principle: If a man entered servitude as a single person, he must leave the same way. His owner cannot force him to marry a woman to create more workers. Essentially, this isn’t a person being owned—it’s a financial debt being repaid through labor. The work is temporary, and once the commitment is fulfilled (or 7 years have passed), the person is free.

The Torah’s perspective of work is the opposite of what we see today – one where work defines a person.

Think about how we introduce ourselves in social settings. “So, what do you do?” instead of “what do you do to support yourself financially?” We get so wrapped up in our careers that we forget work is just a means to an end. We don’t exist for our jobs – our jobs exist for us.

And yet, so many of us fall into the trap of treating our work like it’s our entire identity. We spend hours beyond what’s necessary, convinced that we have to respond to that email at 8:30 PM. We tie our self-worth to our job titles, our salaries, how important we are in the company or the size of the project we’re leading.

This passuk reminds us that work is temporary. It’s transactional. It’s a tool to get from point A to point B.

This applies not only to employees but to employers as well. When people hire someone, they often feel like they own them. “Why are you taking a vacation? You work for me.”

No, they don’t. You’re giving them money, and they’re providing a service. That’s it.

The Torah’s framing of servitude is meant to teach us that no matter how much someone might be in debt, they don’t lose their fundamental identity. The same should be true for us—no matter how much time we spend at our jobs, we can’t let it consume who we are.

Shabbat is a perfect reminder of this. It forces us to step back and say, “I’m not my work.” For 25 hours, it doesn’t matter if you’re a CEO, a janitor or a doctor. You are just you. That’s why so many mitzvot are centered around remembering Yetziat Mitzrayim—because being free isn’t just about not being a slave. It’s about not letting anything external define you.

At the end of the day, your job is something you do, not who you are. Your career is important, but it should never be the thing that overtakes your life. We work to live, not live to work.

Shabbat Shalom!