Rabbi's Message - Parshat Toldos, November 30, 2019
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B"H Parshat Toldos, November 30, 2019
Is Thanksgiving a Jewish Holiday?
Elon Gold, a Jewish comic, has a satirical show about what Christmas would look like if it were a Jewish holiday. Based on his humor I thought of a similar parody if Thanksgiving were to become a Jewish holiday. In contrast to Christmas, I certainly believe that all Jews should celebrate Thanksgiving and acknowledge that we live in the greatest country for Jews outside of Israel. But turning Thanksgiving into a Jewish holiday may prove slightly more challenging. As a secular holiday, there are no rules or regulations. No one dictates starting times for the feast or what the minimum amount of turkey that must be consumed. No one cares if you eat the stuffing or cranberries and believe it or not there are no laws stating how many cups of wine are required to symbolize our freedom. Nor are there rules regarding the permissibility of eating pumpkin pie even if the pumpkins were previously used in celebration of a pagan holiday in October.
If it were a Jewish holiday the following would be mandated or debated. What piece of the turkey is more preferable to fulfill the mitzvah, dark meat or the white? Does one fulfill the mitzvah by eating a drumstick or a wing? Should your turkey be oven roasted or deep fried? Stuffing in the cavity or cooked separately? Should the carving be done from right to left or left to right? Is it permissible to replace traditional turkey with tofurkey? May one eat prime rib instead of turkey? If yes, may the beef be rare or must it emulate turkey and be well done? Can one serve cranberry sauce and stuffing with prime rib or are those side dishes limited to turkey eaters? Can I change my custom from one year to the next? What happens if an ashkenazi marries a sefardi? And I could go on...
And I didn’t even discuss the debate about whether Turkey is kosher. Did you know some authorities rule that poultry is only kosher if our ancestors ate it? Well, turkeys were not raised in Europe and thus for many of our ancestors the first time they heard of ‘gobble gobble’ was after they came to the United States. Personally, I would leave that discussion off my Thanksgiving table as it could put a major damper on the celebrations.
But for a moment let’s analyze this issue in a less flippant manner. As Jews what should be issues that on our minds this Thanksgiving Day. The Weinberg Foundation reported in 2019 that 16 to 20 percent of Jewish households require major financial assistance to make ends meet. Should we not be thankful that we live in a country where that assistance is available to all citizens regardless of one's faith? Jewish day schools are an enormous financial burden on parents. However, the financial burdens would be far worse if the government didn’t assist in a variety of different ways. Surely, parents of day school students should acknowledge with gratitude what their country does for them regardless of their religious beliefs. Did you know that synagogue dues are lower because the government grants houses of worship tax exempt status? Did you know that indirectly synagogue attendees are safer due to government offering grants for security? Even the local sheriff's department places an empty car in our parking lot and sends officers to patrol our shul gratis over the high holidays.
Unfortunately, some have a tendency to dismiss the positive and only focus on the negative. In Hebrew there is a phrase called ‘magia li’ - a syndrome that describes many of our co-religionists; those who believe that whatever they receive is coming to them. The truth is that in many countries Jews are still considered second class citizens or worse. Even in the democracies of Western Europe numerous anti-Jewish regulations are continuously being enacted. Only in the United States are organizations like AIPAC considered mainstream; a pro Israel group that engages politicians from all sides. Only the United States has proven over and over their unstinting support for Israel.
We are so blessed to live in the United States and should never take for granted all it offers and provides us. As Sam Lefkowitz stated when asked a similar question: I am not concerned if my cup is half full or half empty, I’m just delighted I have a cup.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Rabbi Jack Engel
PS: There are a number of discounted tickets to the AIPAC conference in Washington DC on March 1, 2020. Please consider joining me and other Anshei Emuna members for a few days that will change your life. Please contact Rabbi Engel for more
