Thanksgiving
The faith of America’s Pilgrim ancestors was deepened by Jewish texts, while their acts of gratitude were conscious reenactments of the Jewish past.
The Jewish state leads the world in per-capita turkey consumption.
How Psalm 107 and Maimonides inspired the pilgrims.
It’s what the Puritans did.
“We pray sincerely for America and the ideals of democracy and freedom that are here enshrined.”
In 1940, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in New York, like many synagogues, held a special service for Thanksgiving. It included traditional Hebrew prayers, the singing of. . .
The lexical fusion of “Thanksgiving” and “Hanukkah” might be artificial, but the invention of portmanteau words is an old American tradition.
Twice during the American Revolutionary War, Jews combined stories of the Maccabees’ defeat of the Greeks with thanks for their nascent country’s victories against the British.
For many American Jews, observance of Thanksgiving is more than merely permissible; it has evolved into something quasi-sacred. (2012)
On Thanksgiving 1789, Rabbi Gershom Mendes Seixas called upon Jews to thank God for the gift of life in a country “where no exception is. . .