We hope that's enough of a connection for the intellectually inclined, but in truth, we were just excited about a holiday when big appetites are patriotic. If you know where we're coming from, here are some kosher recipes to get your Thanksgiving celebration started (and some more).
While you cook, you can entertain your kids with a lovely children's book, "Molly's Pilgrim," a story of a Russian Jewish girl who tries to adjust to the American celebration of Thanksgiving.
We expect you remember the story of Thanksgiving from elementary school: some Pilgrims got bored of England, so they got on a big ship, came over to North America, made friends with the Indians and ate turkey in unison. Then they put all the Indians on reservations to thank them for their hospitality. Hence thanksgiving.
The original thanksgiving was a an expression of gratitude for the abundant crops harvest that the newcomers enjoyed on American soil. Indeed, some other cultures had harvest thanksgiving celebrations long before the Pilgrims began their voyage. In some way, this idea is similar to one aspect of Sukkot - celebrating the gathering of crops…
Coincidence? We think not. While people normally don't hear of "colonial Jews," the Pilgrims fleeing from England in 1620 were actually preceded by the first Jew to step foot on this new continent. Joachim Gaunse, from Prague, traversed the ocean in 1585, with the help of Sir Walter Raleigh. After the Pilgrims came from England, Elias Legardo arrived the following year in 1621, followed by single persons and then a large influx of Sephardic Jews in the mid 1600's. Many of these Jews were very influential in the founding of the United States of America.
The celebration of Thanksgiving, or so we think, was a Pilgrim adaptation and compilation of some Jewish customs. They first conceived of it as a more solemn day of atonement (think Yom Kippur), but then decided that the whole Sukkot feast idea is more fitting with American values.
Of course, if that's too radical for your liking, you can think about Thanksgiving more abstractly: as yet another glorious opportunity to be grateful for all the blessings in your life and to thank both God and the people in your life for contributing to those blessings.
However you decide to conceptualize Thanksgiving and whatever traditions you celebrate, we take this time to thank you, our loyal readers, for contributing in your own way to the BHI family.
Best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving from the BHI Alumnae Link!
