Jewish Musings, Monday 9/4

[lee058]

What’s on your mind — how to make kugel? This week’s Torah reading? Life goals? Prayer? We are all engaged in weight loss/weight maintenance journeys and we are all Jewish or at least interested in Judaism. We like to eat, we like to discuss. It is our goal here to provide each other support on our journeys, to share experiences, to call on our rich cultural heritage and texts, and to help each other grow spiritually.


Some of us take weekly turns starting the thread:



Holly
Lee
Louise
Lynne
Peachy


And for those of you who stop by to read this thread without posting — you are welcome to, but you are also welcome to chime in. Don’t be shy!

[lee058]

Good morning everybody. Hope you are all well and SAFE!

Today's topic: Labor Day. What does it mean to you?

Besides the end of summer (hard to believe when temps are at or above 100 degrees), Labor Day means several things to me. For one, it makes me think of all the workers, paid and unpaid, who do so much to keep the world going. It has been a long battle to be recognized, and many people are still struggling.

My grandma was an early member of the Furriers' Union, and served in union offices as well as working in a factory. I'm not sure if she was the Secretary of the entire union or her precinct, but she definitely had a lot of responsibility.

I told you a little about my parents yesterday. One thing I didn't mention was that my mom had to pretend to be a Republican to get hired (this was in suburban NY). She and my dad always laughed about it, saying that she would always vote Democratic no matter how she was registered.

I think housework and child care should be subsidized. It would make life easier for a lot of people, generally women.

I've done a lot of things, paid and unpaid, ranging from working in a bookstore to factory work to technical writing to staying at collectives to taking care of DS.

Have a peaceful day, Lee

[gazelle18]

I don’t come from a wealthy family, but interestingly, none of my relatives were in a labor union. My feelings about Labor Day have shifted over the years. It used to be when summer ended and school started. Nowadays, it’s just as hot in September as it is in august, and school generally starts in mid-august, at least in my part of the country. When I was working, Labor Day meant that I “had” to stop wearing white shoes to the office. Now, I pretty much wear whatever I’m in the mood to wear. Another change is that my youngest granddaughter, who lives here in NOLA, was born on 9/3, so her birthday almost always coincides with the Labor Day weekend. Today, we are celebrating her birthday by going out for a fun brunch.

[louise]

Congrats to Holly about the new car!

I don't have anytying about Labor Day exept that it's good we remember what it is about (not sales and barbecues).

The funeral I went to yesterday was perfect but unusual in that the interment was in their backyard. The ashes were in a tiny coffin and a formal straight sided hole had been dug for it. The cantor came from their synagogoue (with a guitar) and did the El melei and Kaddish etc. and people were invited to put dirt into the grave. No shovel was provided so we did this with our hands. 
There were pictures aranged on tables and people stayed and talked and ate so it was a burial and a shiva call rolled into one. I was very moved by it.

[peachymom1]

Labor Day to me means a day I get paid not to work, and because of that, I think about what I'm grateful for about my job. DH and I just had an interesting conversation at breakfast about what our current jobs were like when we were first hired, and how they've changed over time. We still laugh about the crap jobs we had as teenagers, but we're both glad we had them, because they taught us about both the freedom and the limitations of being in the working world, as well as opened our eyes to future opportunities.

My gym is operating on weekend hours today, so I couldn't go at 5 a.m. as usual. They're only open until 4 p.m., so I'm going to go at 2 or 2:30, when there will be the fewest people. Other than that, I'm spending a lot of time today practicing the four aliyot I'm reading this Shabbat. Thankfully, I've done them all before, and I remember them pretty well, but I still need to practice, practice, practice. DS32 is doing all the laundry today, so I'll have to hang up and put away my things when he brings them upstairs. Other than that, I think I need to do some loafing, in honor of Labor Day!