Thanksgiving – A Holiday with a Jewish Flavor

It is hard to imagine that Thanksgiving is not a Jewish holiday. On this secular day, we show our gratitude by gathering with family, by inviting guests into our home, and by serving an abundant meal. These customs mirror our Jewish days of celebration.

Some believe that Thanksgiving indeed has Jewish roots – that the original Thanksgiving meal of pilgrims in New Salem, Massachusetts, was modeled on Sukkot. Yet more important than the Jewish roots of this holiday in the past, is how we celebrate it in the present.

Our Jewish faith teaches us how to express our gratitude. Torah instructs us that when things are good, we should show gratitude by remembering our past, by sharing our plenty, and by acknowledging that our success is not based solely on our own accomplishments, but on our partnership with God. We need to show our gratitude through our prayers.

Let us incorporate our faith into this wonderful secular holiday. Let us bake bread for our tables. Let us invite guests into our home. Let us celebrate our family. Let us share our abundance with others through donations to causes that help the needy. And let us give thanks to God by adding prayers to our holiday table or by attending our Community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.

A Prayer for the Thanksgiving Feast
By Rabbi Naomi Levi from her book Talking to God

For the laughter of 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 any 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.