Thanksgiving Begins with Awareness

As we celebrate this Thanksgiving weekend, I am reminded once again of how deeply this holiday resonates with our American story, and with our Jewish story as well.

On October 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a special proclamation establishing the first national Thanksgiving Day. At a moment when our young nation was still finding its footing, Washington understood the importance of pausing to acknowledge our blessings, to reflect on our responsibilities, and to offer gratitude to the Source of all goodness. His proclamation set in motion a tradition that has endured for generations, inviting Americans of every background to take stock of the gifts that sustain us and the ideals that bind us together.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite days of the year. At its heart is the spiritual discipline of gratitude, pausing long enough to notice what we have, the people we love, what truly matters, and remembering that none of it should be taken for granted.

It is no coincidence that Judaism places gratitude at the very center of religious life. The Hebrew word for Judaism, Yahadut, shares its root with the word L’hodot, meaning to give thanks. We begin each morning with the prayer Modeh Ani, thanking God for the gift of a new day. So many of our blessings begin with the words Baruch Atah Adonai, a statement of appreciation for sight, food, freedom, holiness, and life itself. Gratitude is not simply an emotion; it is a way of living, and a paramount Jewish value. As you gather around your tables this year, I invite you to take a moment to acknowledge the blessings in your life.

I will close with a beautiful prayer for Thanksgiving, written by Rabbi Naomi Levy, which expresses so much of what we hold dear:

A Thanksgiving Prayer
By Rabbi Naomi Levy

For the laughter of the children,
For my own life breath,
For the abundance of food on this table,
For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast,
For the roof over our heads,
The clothes on our backs,
For our health,
And our wealth of blessings,
For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends,
For the freedom to pray these words
Without fear,
In any language,
In any faith,
In this great country,
Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants.
Thank You, God, for giving us all these. Amen.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Something To Think About Before You Jump On The Jimmy Carter Bandwagon

Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died last Sunday after a long illness. Immediately upon the news of his death, tributes from both Republicans and Democrats poured in, as did praise from world leaders. Even Donald Trump, who in 2019 called Carter "a good man but a terrible president," offered his praise and condolences. This Shabbat, I would like to dwell on several policies and decisions of the Carter years that directly impacted the Jewish community, and that continue to influence and even haunt us to this day. I have always believed that when talking about controversial political figures, Rabbis and Jewish communal leaders must be scrupulously and unflinchingly fair. So let me begin with some decisions and policies of the Carter administration that would prove to be of tremendous benefit to the Jewish community in the United States and throughout the world. It is important to begin with these significant achievements for two reasons. The first is th...
Read more

I Don’t Know If Senator Cassidy Is The Worst Doctor In America, But He Is Certainly The Most Irresponsible

I’m sure Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was a great doctor. But he’s an irresponsible public servant. Our nation deserves better, especially those whose health will be jeopardized by his irresponsible decision to vote in favor of the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the position of Health Secretary.   What made his vote last week to send the nomination to the Senate floor particularly cowardly is that throughout his medical career, Senator Cassidy was (and to be fair, remains) a passionate supporter and advocate for vaccines.   Bobby Kennedy is not. He is the opposite.   Vaccines are among civilization’s greatest achievements, backed by decades of rigorous research. Kennedy's promotion of debunked claims, such as the false link between vaccines and autism, shows a troubling disregard for science and public welfare that is decades in the making.   Every member of the US Senate knows this.   No reader of this Shabbat message would ever consider going to ...
Read more

If You Read Just One Article About Israel and Iran, Make It This One

I pride myself on always writing a new message to the synagogue and greater community each Shabbat. I have done this for many years, sharing my own thoughts and ideas on subjects and matters of consequence to our synagogue, community, and the greater Jewish community. But this week I’m going to make an exception. This week, I am not sharing something that I’ve written, but rather an amazing article that someone else wrote.  If there is one article about Israel’s recent strikes against Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile facilities that you should read, it’s this one. This article is, without a doubt, the finest thing that I have read on the subject, explaining not only why Israel made the decision to strike, but also why the strike had to happen when it did. The article was written by David Horowitz, the editor in chief of the Times of Israel , among Israel’s most trusted English language news sources. I hope that you will find this article as interesting, compelling, and imp...
Read more