A Meditation for Labor Day Weekend
How so?
I watched the funeral of Bella Abzug on a C-Span recording as I was preparing my last post. Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum officiated the service, which was at Riverside Memorial Chapel in New York City on April 2, 1998.
In her opening remarks, Rabbi Kleinbaum shared these words.
“Remember!
‘First, that wherever you live, it is probably Egypt in some way, somewhere for somone.
Second, Never forget that there is a better place, a world more attractive, a promised land.
Third, The only way to the land is through the wilderness and there is no way to get from here to there except by joining together and marching.’” —Michael Walzer
That funeral tribute clearly was a reference to the Exodus story and was appropriately mentioned that day because the funeral of former Congresswoman Bella Abzug, a Jewish woman, was in that year of 1998 just a few days before the feast of Pesach.
Pesach, also known as Passover, is the Jewish feast which remembers the Israelites enslavement in Egypt and their subsequent escape to freedom with the help of Moses through the enablement of the Divine.
Rabbi Kleinbaum continued by saying: “Pesach/Passover is the quintessential moment in our Jewish year, which demands of us a voice that cries for justice no matter what.
That calls upon us to seek liberation and freedom wherever we find ourselves—
That demands of us to remember: you were a slave once.
So it is your obligation that no one else should experience slavery—not only that YOU should not experience slavery again, but you should make sure no one else should.
Remember the Jewish obligation to fight for the disenfranchised—to give voice to the voiceless and speak truth to power
Consider:
Justice for the oppressed and marginalized: The Magnificat or Canticle of Mary, also a Jewish woman, declares that God "has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly" and "filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty."
The Canticle aligns with the historical roots of Labor Day, which grew from labor movements’ fight for workers’ rights—for fair wages and conditions for exploited workers—the challenging of unjust working conditions imposed by powerful industries.
Oppression and slavery usually exist within an Egyptian-style structure.
And oppression and slavery do exist everywhere—in some form.
Slavery and oppression are well-imaged by the pyramid, which aligns with the structure of patriarchy.
As I have held before: the Egyptian societal structure is one of top-down hierarchy that so often leads to oppression in living style and even—most especially—in the workplace.
I chose the above picture of the pyramid because it reminds me of the corporate work structure with its gaps between the levels.
So our reflection on The Magnificat calls us to reflect on the structure of a society with its cultural composition and its norms.
What is the main message in the Magnificat?
The main message of the Magnificat is God's divine reversal, where God fulfills God’s promises by lifting the humble and lowly, filling the hungry, and scattering the proud and rich.
Mary’s song is a revolutionary hymn of praise and a powerful expression of faith in God's mercy, strength, and justice, reflecting the subversive nature of the Gospel.
Mary’s song calls for humility, social justice, and a radical reorientation of the world's values, where God's power is made manifest in weakness and God’s care is for the marginalized.
Mary’s Song reflects—and perhaps was built upon—that of another Jewish woman, Hannah of the Hebrew Testament.
Here is a segment of Hannah’s Song: 1 Samuel 2:1-10 New International Version
“The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
THE THEME IS ALWAYS SLAVERY AND OPPRESSION. And it hearkens to our responsibility in the face of it.
How to use the Magnificat for a Labor Day reflection
Personal reflection: Take time to read and meditate on Mary's canticle, found in Luke 1:46–55. Ask yourself how God is using your own work, whatever it is, to contribute to God’s kingdom of justice and to bless others.
Worship and prayer: Use the Magnificat as a prayer for workers and for justice during the weekend. Many churches incorporate it into their worship services or liturgies.
Advocacy and action: Consider how the call to "lift up the lowly" and advocate for justice applies to your own community. Are there concrete actions you can take to support the rights and dignity of other workers?.
Give thanks for your work: Use Mary's praise as a model for thanking God for your own labor. Rejoice in the gifts and talents God has given you and the work opportunities you have.
Pray for others: Reflect on the social justice message of the Magnificat. Pray for those facing injustice in the workplace, including those with low wages, unsafe conditions, or unemployment.
Evaluate your "idols": The Magnificat's focus on God's greatness can challenge you to examine your heart's posture toward work. Reflect on whether your work has become an idol or if you truly do it for God's glory, which is always on the side of the oppressed and those without a voice.
Find rest in God: Take time during the long weekend for the spiritual rest that accompanies the physical break. Let the Magnificat inspire you to pause from striving and find deeper rest by entrusting your burdens to God, from whom you can receive inspiration and, oftentimes, real assistance for your burdens—in surprising ways.
Upcoming News!
Our next post will conclude our two-armed series on Ecofeminism.
We began our study in posts from XXXX to XXXX with a look at women’s travels and travails through time from patriarchal oppression to some forms of freedom—found in the right to vote, the right to meaningful work, the right to obtain credit in her own name, the right to be herself, to name a few.
We moved from XXXX ti XXXX to an examination of the travails of the Earth. We saw that patriarchy affects both Women and the Earth because it views both as things—as objects—to be used and abused at the will of the oppressor. We defined ecofeminism as
We concluded with 5 posts that featured recent environmentalists.
And now, in our next post, we will bring the two arms together—can you see the hands clapping?—with a post on a key factor:
Images of the Divine and what part those images play in the patriarchal oppression of Women and the Earth.
And we will ask where the rescue might lie—because there is so much more work to done,wich is related to gaining freedom. That still calls to us.
And this call must be ever so much louder now, in our present times when we are seeing serious attempts—and actual actions—at diminishing or eliminating our freedoms, our rights, and our employment.
We do need to march together through the wilderness.
IN YOUR OWN WORDS:
Previous Post: ~Bella~ Recent Environmentalists Mini-Series #5 by Anne Andersson, August 23, 2025
—Thank you.—RE
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