What is Thanksgiving?

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.


Soon we will celebrate an annual event called Thanksgiving. It is an American holiday formed after the holiday in the Hebrew Bible known as Sukkot – Feast of Tabernacles.
The Bible tells us that it was incumbent on all the people to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem and bring the first fruits of the harvest gleaned from the fields to demonstrate appreciation to God for the blessings bestowed upon the people.

The Pilgrims who landed in the New World were grateful for many things, among them the freedom from oppression; the ability to be free in a new land that was ripe for the experiments of choice resulting from hard work and determination. There were no task masters to control their goings and comings or to take tribute for their labor.

We have all read accounts of those times and the struggles and hardships that required steadfastness and dedication. There was comfort from and with each other that translated in survival in a harsh new environment. If ever there was the ability to be grateful, it certainly was found in faith.

The Bible played a significant role in offering comfort from the unexpected. Several centuries later there was found on the walls of a cellar where people were hiding from the Nazis which, perhaps, describes the torment and belief in redemption that the Pilgrims were looking for to assist in their ability to endure:

“I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.
I believe in love even when not feeling it.
I believe in God even when He is silent.”

One of the writings of the great poet, Noah benShea, indicated that faith sees beyond fate. And that is the essence of what gave the people who witnessed humanities darkest hour and what gave the Pilgrims the ability to overcome difficulties of what they could not see or imagine.

The 18th century German poet, Heinrich Heine wrote that human misery is too great for men to deal with without faith. As a Christian he was motivated by a deep desire to instill a feeling of worthiness in the human spirit that can only be found in a strong connection to God.

There was a recent movie titled “The Way” which describes with tender feelings and emotions the need to discover the ability to learn from our journey of life – the good and the bad. In it we witness people from different corners of the Globe searching for meaning as they endeavor to walk the path of generations seeking fulfillment and completion.

Each of them – four in all – came for various reasons; one for understanding; one to relinquish a bad habit; one for connection to a child lost to eternity and the fourth to write the great novel. There were dramatic events that took place during this long trek and affected each in differing ways. In the end they realized that the path to realization lead to a single concept of deliverance: Connection.

All of us, at one time or another, try to reach out to touch a hand or kiss a face or hear a familiar sound with the ultimate objective of feeling a togetherness that is essential to live our lives as God intended – united with a friend, a loved one, even a stranger.

Some of us believe only what we understand, as Benjamin Disraeli remarked, but the truth is that we can believe what we don’t understand, and that is called faith. It is this faith in ourselves and faith in the unknown we refer to as God that sustains us and gives us the impetus to continue with life even when there is the good and the bad in the mix.

The Pilgrims were also driven by a vision as described in Proverbs: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The generations that preceded us and gave us the understanding of thankfulness through sacrifice knew only too well the meaning of dreaming what was considered impossible.

As we gather together at this great festival of appreciation let us remember, with gratitude, the people who allow us to rejoice – the men and women who serve our country wearing its uniform. Through the centuries they have demonstrated time and again the need for vigilance tempered with mercy so that all will be able to savor the abundance given to us by God.