Thanksgiving Mix
Continued from preceding page
Indeed, we insist on the right of
self-separation with reference to
religious worship, religious
education and the observance of
the sacred events and seasons of
Judaism. There are other areas in
which we insist on being together
with other Americans as the right of
our American heritage. These
include general education, the right
to vote, the right to defend our
country, the right to live where we
choose. It also includes the
observance of American festivals of
which Thanksgiving is the foremost
example.
What lessons does
Thanksgiving teach us as Jews and
Americans? In the Talmud, it is
written that in the days to come,
when man shall have been
redeemed, and the kingdom of God
will be at hand, much of the ritual of
our faith will no longer be
Thanksgiving
Word Jumble
YKTREU
NKTHAS
DOFO
GBLSENSI
APHPY
"Thanks A Lot" in Hebrew:
itOk5 Thanksgiving Is A Daily Activity
By RABBI ELIMELECH GOLDBERG
Young Israel of Southfield
Thanksgiving is a word normally
associated with deliverance from the
insecure seas of life. In the non-
Jewish world, Thanksgiving speaks
to the vicissitudes of settlers facing
the struggles and very uncertainty
of their survival and the joy they
recognized in their ability to carve
Succah Prize
Winners Listed
The Jewish Community
Center has named the winners
in its second annual Succah
contest. Families who were
named winners include: natural
decorations, first prize, The
Brandvain Family; second
prize, the Graham Family; third
prize, The Stoler Family; most
colorful; first prize, tie, Roberg
and Katzman Families; most
child-made decorations, first
prize, the Elkus Family; second
prize, the Storchan Family;
most traditional, first prize, The
Lowenthal Family.
Organizations who won
prizes included: largest
succah, Hashachar/Hadassah
House, first prize; most
colorful, first prize, Jewish
Parents Institute; smallest
succah, Jewish Federation
Apartments in Oak Park, first
prize; most child-made
decorations, Hillel Day School,
first prize; natural decorations,
Ann Arbor Jewish Community
Center and Day School, first
prize.
L-2
FRIDAY, NOV. 20, 1987
out a niche for themselves in a
brave, new world. The occasion is
marked by a day that urges a
remembrance of things past.
The Jewish experience of
thanksgiving is a different one. It is
woven into the fabric of our every
day relationship with the Holy One.
The insecurities that spark our need
for thanksgiving are not exclusively
the storms of a precarious physical
existence. Our spiritual survival and
individual growth are as much a
part of the equation as our life and
breath.
Our Patriach, Abraham, is
referred to by the Rabbis as the
Man of Faith. As the Father of the
Covenantal Community, it is
surprising to find him frequently
insecure about his covenant with
God. Abraham questioned and
asked for signs and proofs that the
promises of the Lord would be
fulfilled. Why was he uncertain
about the outcome of God's
relationship to His nation?
Abraham was a man of total
faith in God. His task however, was
to develop a faith in himself. This
Biblical hero who singly proclaimed
the Oneness of the Creator to an
idolatrous world community despite
the threats to his very life was not
certain what merits he could
possibly muster to deserve the
blessings of Heaven. This man of
total dedication could not fathom the
faith that God had in him to place
Abraham at the helm of the Jewish
nation. Abraham's thinking was
sound. What would I give up for the
privilege of sight, had I no eyes with
which to see? How many good
deeds would I be willing to perform
if that would allow me the capability
of walking or talking, of hearing or
feeling. Yet, Abraham said, I have
been granted all of the above and
more, blessings too numerous to be
counted. What could I possibly do
to deserve what I already have?
Abraham was a man of thanksgiving.
He recognized in the everyday
qualities of human existence the
special blessings granted to man. In
those blessings reside that seemingly
overwhelming task of responding to
that which we have been given. In a
word, our process of thanksgiving is
not merely a response to the past.
Ours, is a statement of faith in
ourselves towards the future.
When a Jew arises in the morning,
we are taught to utter at the first hint
of stirring the beautiful prayer, Modeh
Ani. It is a statement of thanks before
the King that we are again renewed
and alive. It concludes with the theme
of faith. "Great is your faith," we say
to God. Great is the faith that He has
in us. No matter who or what we were
the day before God, still believes that
our today can shape a different
tomorrow. He believes in us and grants
us that new day with which to prove
ourselves and reshape our destiny.
This is how a Jew responds to
thanksgiving both communal and
individual: `Shehechiyanu, V'kiymanu,
V'higiyanu Lazman Hazeh." "He has
kept us alive, and uplifted us and
allowed us to reach this time." He has
kept us alive physically, and uplifted us
spiritually. And finally he has allowed
us to reach this time to sanctify the
moment with the strength of His
commandments. It is the ultimate faith
that God has in us that is the cause of
our travels through the pathways of the
millenia and thus our greatest
thanksgiving.
necessary. What manner of sacrifice
shall men then offer? The sages
agreed that in the end of days, all
sacrifices will be abolished. They
conclude, however, that one
sacrifice alone would be mandatory
— the thanksgiving offering. They
realized that a formal expression of
gratitude to God would ever be
essential to man, even in a perfect
society. The implications of these
words are significant. Without a
grateful spirit, man only exists. He
does not truly live.
As Americans, we have such
great reason to offer thanks. The
freedom that we enjoy continues to
be the flame of hope for millions
around the world. We look upon our
liberty as our natural prerogative.
But it is an opportunity and privilege
which ought never to be taken for
granted. In the last four decades
and more since the end of the
Second World War, the flame of
liberty has gone out in many lands,
yet we remain free. Freedom was
not natural in the Russia of my
father, or in the Soviet Union of
today. It is not provided in the
greater part of the globe. Every
moment we live without the
oppressive consciousness of being
watched and regimented, a great
gift is ours. We are the recipients of
a great benevolence which ought to
evoke from us constant
appreciation.
We as Jews should be grateful
that we, the American Jewish
community, have been so privileged
with freedom and opportunity.
We are grateful that we have
been able to grow in quality as well
as size, in spirit as well as numbers,
for we have established in this land
Jewish institutions of worship,
learning, culture and communal life.
Our gratitude to America is
expressed as Jews in many ways.
We take pride in the industrial,
artistic, commercial and cultural
achievements and excellence of
Jews, that have been part of the
story of American civilization. But
our gratitude as Jews should also
be collective and communal. As we
preserve our tradition, as we affirm
our faith, as we add our distinctive
voice to the chorus of American life,
we are preserving for this entire
nation that religious heritage which
has been the source of so much
that is good and great in this
country.
A writer once declared:
"America is a tune, it must be sung
together." We remember the song of
the Jewish people, marked by faith,
moral passion, a longing for
freedom, and hope for man. Let us
be grateful that its melody has been
preserved by the generatons who
have preceded us to brighten and
uplift the music of America.