A Jewish Thanksgiving

Jewish People growing up today in America experience a wide array of holidays and memorial events. One such event is Thanksgiving. Unlike Easter (Christian) or even Halloween (Pagan), the roots of thanksgiving and its focus seem very positive (also for Jews) - being thankful for what we have. Specifically for the free country we live in, one whose declaration of independence states: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Often I am asked what the B"H (that I write on the top of my emails) means. It means "B'ezrat Hashem", Hebrew for "With the help of G-d." It's a custom, rooted in the desire to remind oneself that every moment I have alive is a gift, to remember that I cannot accomplish something as simple as writing a letter, without the life and capabilities given to me by G-d. This idea is an all pervasive one in Judaism. The word for "thanks" or "acknowledgement"
is hoda'ah. Upon awakening in the morning, the 1st prayer said is Modeh ani - I offer thanks before you, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great. Morning prayers officially start with Hodu la'Hashem, and the only bowing of the holiest prayer of the day (the Amidah) is Modim, both meaning thanks/acknowledgement.

Feeling thankful, as most of us can attest, is something easy to forget. Much easier is the ability to recall what we don't have. A physical body feels what it lacks - warmth, immediate joy and feeling, hunger, etc. Only once we are missing something, do we come to appreciate it. It's sad that G-d Made it that way, but that's the way it is. When I'm healthy, it's nothing special. The day or two after I recover from sickness, all of a sudden I'm smiling and grateful. This is probably why refugees and immigrants from oppressive or low standard of living countries truly appreciate living in America, while born and bred Americans often take the freedoms and overall kindness of this nation for granted. Perhaps this is a lesson we can learn from Thanksgiving: To remind ourselves to be thankful for everything that we have. Maybe we can make a resolution, that once a day, at a certain time, I will stop and think about some of the things I am lucky to have (health, loving people behind me, peace). Often, this meditation helps with one's overall feeling of joy and serenity.

Sadness often stems from thinking of what I don't have. Judaism teaches: What I'm meant to have RIGHT NOW - I have. It's meant for my soul to be in this situation and set of life circumstances for a specific reason, for a role of rectification that I need to do in this life. Thank you G-d for whatever I have. It's all a gift.

A Jew who lived at any other time period in any other country in history, probably had a tougher time living freely and happily as an open and proud Jew. We in America today can. Ironically, the challenge today is to want to live differently in the 1st place! To live as a unique, proud Jew in today's accepting society is our challenge; not avoiding arrest or death like in Europe of old. Let's be thankful and proud. To end with the words of Abraham Lincoln, said on Thanksgiving day in 1863: “To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel