Meditation on Work, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1895)

Contributor(s):

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription) and Lilian Helen Montagu

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8 May 2023 under the Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication

Categories:

Labor, Fulfillment, and Parnasah

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תחינות teḥinot, 57th century A.M., Jewish Women's Prayers, English vernacular prayer, teḥinot in English, West Central Girls' Club, 19th century C.E.

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Meditation on work.
	Thou, O Lord, hast ordered for me a life of work, for it is said that the labour of the righteous tendeth to life (Proverbs 10:16).
	It is impossible to understand life without work. A man or woman who lives in idleness does not really live at all. It is work which brings out and trains our powers. It is in our work that we can show our faithfulness unto Thee. It is through work that we can obtain peace of mind and earnestness of heart.
	It is to those who are idle that life seems hopeless. I shall cast my burden upon the Lord and He will sustain me (Psalms 55:22).
	It is because I work that I find rest so pleasant, for sweet is the sleep of the labourer (Ecclesiastes 5:12).
	On looking round me, I see people striving and toiling to earn their daily bread, and I sometimes ask myself what is the use of it all. But I know that they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles (Isaiah 40:31), and that though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I need fear no evil, for Thou art with me (Psalms 23:4).
	My mind cannot hope to understand why life is so difficult and hard, but I commit my way unto the Lord (Psalms 37:5), and trust that through resisting trouble I may become strong, and through turning from temptation I may be led unto my God.

“Meditation on Work” was written by Lilian Helen Montagu and published in Prayers for Jewish Working Girls (1895), pp. 5-6.

Source(s)

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“Meditation on Work, by Lilian Helen Montagu (1895)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Lilian Helen Montagu

The Hon. Lilian Helen "Lily" Montagu, CBE (22 December 1873 – 22 January 1963) was the first woman to play a major role in Progressive Judaism. Until the age of 15, she was educated at Doreck College, and privately educated thereafter. In 1893 she founded with Emily Marion Harris the West Central Jewish Girls Club (which subsequently merged into the Jewish Girls' Brigade). She was active in social improvement, particularly in respect to unemployment, sweat shops and bad housing. In 1901 and 1902, Montagu laid the groundwork for the establishment of the Jewish Religious Union in London. In February 1902 she arranged the first meeting of the Jewish Religious Union for the Advancement of Liberal Judaism at her sister Henrietta Franklin's house. The Union set up the first synagogue in Liberal Judaism in the UK and helped found the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Montagu was a founding member with her sister of the Jewish League for Woman Suffrage. She sat on the executive committee and led the meetings in prayer. Following the retirement of Leo Baeck, Montagu served for a brief stint (1955–1959) in her 80s as president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, before handing the reins over to Solomon Freehof.

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17