Continued from earlier:
1. ?? ????? ?? ????? ???? ????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ????? ???’ ???? ?? ???? ?????? ?????
R’ Elazar Ben Azarya said work is so good that the divine presense did dwell with the Jewish people until they did work as the pasuk says make me a mikdash and I will dwell amongst you.
2. ??? ?????? ???? ????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ????? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ??????
Rabbi Eliezer said work is good because even Adam could not eat anything until he did work as the pasuk says he was put into Gan Eden to work and protect
3. ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ??, ????? ??? ????? ????, ????? ??? ????
Rebbi said work is good because anyone who doesn’t work people talk about him, from where does he eat, from where does he drink?
4. ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????.
Rebbi also said work is good, someone who works is never lacking for money.
5. ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ?????? ?????
R’ Yosi also said, work is good because someone who doesn’t work will end up giving up their life.
6. ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?????? ????
R’ Meir said work is good because anyone who doesn’t work during the week will end up working on Shabbos.
7. ????? ??? ??????, ???? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??????, ?? ??? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ????. ??? ??? ?? ???? ????
???? ????? ??? ???, ??? ????, ???? ????, ?? ??? ?? ????? ???? ?????. [??? ???? ????? ?????], ???? ?? ???????? ??? ?????- ???? ??? ??? ???????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????, ??? ??????? ?????-
Work is valuable because out of all of the creature that Hashem created he only gave work to man. And R’ Meir used to say this as well, did you ever say a lion farmer, a deer tailor, a fox vintner or any animal every doing work? [We know they don’t do work] they get their food without working while people only get their food from work, not because it is easy but because work is valuable.
8. ????? ??? ??????, ??? ??????? ?????? ??. ????? ????? ??? ????, ????? ???? ???? ????. ???? ??? ????, ???? ??? ????. ???? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ???. ????? ??? ????, ?? ??? ???? ????? ?????, ?????? ?? ????? ????.
Work is valuable as all of the prophets worked. … (description of their work)
The ????? ????? ??? ??? ????? ???? states:
??????? ???????? ??? ??????? ????? ?????, ??? ???????? ????, ??? ??? ?????? ?????? ?????, ????? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????, ???? ?? ????, ????? ?????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ????, ???? ??? ????? ?????? ???????, ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????.
…
??? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ?????? ?? ??????. ???? ??? ????, ???? ????? ???? ????? ??????? ????, ???? ?? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??????. ???? ????? ?? ??????, ???? ??????? ????? ??????? ????, ??????? ????, ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ?????, ???? ??? ????? ????? ??? ????, ????.
The early righteous men would try to work to support themselves and they were not afraid of difficult/embarrassing work even though they were the heads of the assembly, Rosh yeshivas and Gedolei Hador … (descriptions of the various Tannaim and their work).
…
And anyone who doesn’t work to support himself is a sinner and causes other people to sin. How is he a sinner? Since he doesn’t work to support himself he come to be poor and then steal from people. How does he cause others to sin, because he cause people to talk about him, he doesn’t work from where does he eat, from where does he drink?
We see from these many statements of Chazal that work is not simply a curse but it is a valuable thing that raises up a person to new heights.
R’ Kasher concludes the essay with the following:
????? ,??? ???? ????? ????? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???? ????? ???? ???? ???? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ???. ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ???? ?????? ????, ??? ????????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?????? ?????. … ?? ?????? ???? ????? ?????? ????
???? ?? ??? ????? ??? ?????.
The pasuk six days you should toil and do your work that is in the ten commandments, takes a proud and high place in the annals of man. The moral value of work is tied tightly to the rest of shabbos, the morality of of the peaceful shabbos is derived from the work of the week.
…
The holiday of rest is bought every week with the work of the week.
This is not 1 ???? ??”? that can be dismissed, this is clearly something that Chazal felt strongly about and emphasised. There are many many more statements in Chazal praising work that I did not quote here. The fact that today in certain circles this is completely ignored is very sad.