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On December 11, 1620, 102 Puritan pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. Their first winter was devastating. By the following fall, 46 of the original pilgrims had died. Nonetheless, the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. The remaining pilgrims celebrated the harvest with a feast. They invited 91 native Americans to join them. These were Indians who helped them survive the winter, plant the crops, and begin their lives in the New World. The original feast of Thanksgiving lasted 3 days.
Nearly 400 years later, Americans still celebrate Thanksgiving with stories and legends about the original Puritan pilgrims. At many Thanksgiving tables there is, no doubt, also mention made of personal thankfulness for crises averted, health challenges overcome, and life-changing events and experiences. I, personally, find Thanksgiving to be the most compelling national holiday on the calendar. New Year’s is a time for over-the-top celebration and too much drinking. The 4th of July is all about fireworks. Memorial Day and Labor Day are the Indianapolis 500 and a day off. Thanksgiving, though, is about family-immediate, extended, or just close friends. It is about relationships with people; appreciation for the souls we have gathered around us or become a part of. With reckless disregard for early winter storms, more people travel home on Thanksgiving than at any other time of year. In 246 years of US history, no other legislated secular celebration-and very few religious ones-even approach the thoughtful, thankful, and meaningful ritual of the annual Thanksgiving feast.
In the book of Ecclesiastes it is written, “Go eat your bread in gladness and drink your wine in joy.” Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his book When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough explains this verse by asking, “What is life about? It is not about writing great books, amassing great wealth, achieving great power. It is about loving and being loved. It is about enjoying your food and sitting in the sun rather than rushing through lunch and hurrying back to the office. It is about savoring the beauty of moments that don’t last. . .the rare moments of true human communication.” Isn’t this what Thanksgiving is all about?
Sometimes returning home, sharing a meal with family and friends, is preceded by fear, trepidation, and painful anticipation! However, on Thanksgiving, we do it anyway. Why? Because within our heart of hearts we have come to understand we are all mortal, our existence on this earth is but a fleeting moment. Allowing shallow pride or enmity to steal the precious and limited time we have with one another is a transgression we can ill afford.
I am thankful for so much in my life and so much of what I am thankful for has a place at my Thanksgiving table.
Rabbi Howard Siegel
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