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Well I’m a little tardy getting to this post but as they say ” better late than never”.

Historically speaking, I’m not a big “Thanksgiving” kind of guy. Maybe it’s tied to my being an only child from a broken home, with no other (extended) family in the area for the majority of my formative years. I’m not anti Thanksgiving, it’s just that I don’t have all that much experience with it. Anyhow, that’s about to change now that I’m married to someone with a huge(by today’s standards) family consisting of three brothers, three sisters and droves of younglings. Actually this year will be my second time celebrating this holiday with Tamara’s family and although its sure to be overwhelming at times,I’m actually looking forward to it.

Anyhow this morning Tamara and I were watching some news program and they did a story about ” Giving Thanks”.  Specifically about incorporating/including family rituals for giving thanks as part of the holiday meal.  Tamara mentioned that it’s a tradition she wasn’t raised with but it’s something she wishes she had been.  Obviously, this is something I wasn’t raised with as well and I agree with Tamara, that it would have been nice to include this type of a ritual as part of the family celebration.  Now, neither of us are planning on trying to reinvent the wheel at this year’s family get-together but G-d willing a ritual for “Giving Thanks” is sure to be something we incorporate into the holidays with our own children in the future.

Although, this is a “secular” holiday, with questionable origins, and has in some ways been reduced to pure consumerism.  I don’t think it’s a complete crock, in fact far from it.  It’s a time when families have an opportunity to get together in order to share space and time with one another and in my opinion that’s something to be commended. I can’t speak for every family out there and I know that this was not the case with my own, but Tamara’s family certainly puts an effort to make it a special occasion and I like that.  It’s one of those rare occasions that is truly transgenerational with grandparents, parents and children altogether at the same time and that can actually be quite beautiful.  Sure it’s loud and people don’t always get along but it’s important to push past that kind of surface crap and see it for what it is, family coming together.

Anyhow, I’ve gotten off track as usual so let me try to pull this back in the right direction.

People brush this off as a merely secular holiday and not something that’s of significance Jewishly speaking that is. But guess what, those people are actually wrong.

There are in fact several Thanksgiving Seder liturgies available online and it’s an idea that goes back (according to my research) at least 50 years to Mordecai M. Kaplan the founder of the Reconstructionist movement. Unfortunately today I was unable to track down any direct information about him and his role in creating a seder (or maybe it was haggadah) despite spending close to an hour flipping through a number of books from my Jewish collection. However, working from memory here, he saw a Thanksgiving as an opportunity for Jews and non-Jews to come together in a celebratory fashion.  More importantly, I think he saw the ritual value and opportunity available in this holiday, as a time for reflecting and giving thanks.  Albeit, I suppose from within an American idiom. Not that this is a bad thing.

Despite being unable to track down any direct information online about Kaplan’s Passover Seder I did come across an interesting quote from his book “Judaism as a Civilization” where he writes “Jews in the Diaspora must of necessity live within two civilization’s, and will therefore have to adjust themselves to that necessity by practicing in both”.  I for one agree at least in part with that statement.  I certainly don’t think Jews in a spirit of a accommodation should begin celebrating Christmas if they live in a “Christian” Country and I doubt that that’s what Kaplan was suggesting.  However, I certainly don’t see any harm in participating in a secular traditional/folk holiday such as Thanksgiving.

Apparently Kaplan and I might add myself are not the only ones who feel this way.  Because there appear to be numerous resources, articles and even a downloadable Thanksgiving Haggadah, available online to help people Jew up this holiday.

In fact according to one article it’s not just something Jews can do it’s even:

Perfectly compatible with Jewish observance, the holiday is a traditional favorite of Jewish families. It always falls on a Thursday, never on the Sabbath. The classic main dish is a turkey, available in kosher form. And gratitude for one’s blessings is something all Americans can share in feeling and expressing.

Yes indeed Thanksgiving is a “kosher” holiday, not to mention a perfect opportunity for teaching our children about blessings and Jewish values. 

Like I said neither Tamara myself are going to try to reinvent the wheel at this year’s family get-together but our options are wide open down the road.  More importantly all this Jewish Thanksgiving reading has actually got me truly looking forward to connecting with new “Jewish” extended family later on today.

Be well and have a great Thanksgiving.

PS sorry I didn’t get this up sooner!