We know that most people work but work isn’t merely a means to earn money for other pursuits, such as learning Torah, supporting a family or performing acts of kindness. Rather, the work itself is an integral part of a person’s mission in this world. Through your work, you elevate sparks of kedusha. A person’s work is a form of serving Hashem.
This idea is reflected in the gemara where some rabbis are identified by their professions, such as R' Yochanan Hasandlar, R' Yochanan the shoemaker and R' Yitzchak Nafcha, R' Yitzchak the blacksmith. Their work was an essential part of their spiritual mission.
Brachos 22a.
Taking this concept a step further, one’s work can also serve as a means of rectifying their soul. For example a person who earns his livelihood as a doctor may unknowingly be correcting mistakes from a previous lifetime. Perhaps, in a past incarnation, they harmed others, and now, through healing, they rectify those misdeeds.
Similarly, a therapist may unknowingly atone for having caused emotional harm in a past lifetime by now helping others find peace and healing.
Even a custodian working in a yeshiva or shul might be correcting a previous lifetime’s actions. Perhaps they once disrespected a holy place by neglecting its cleanliness or contributing to disorder. Now, through their work maintaining the sanctity and order of a sacred space, they have the opportunity to repair that past misstep.
