Chaired by Dr. Ellier Russ. This committee coordinates programs and classes to engage members in lifelong learning. Events include our yearly Scholar in Residence program, Talmud Study, and more. Guest speakers, online webinars and Shabbat morning discussions additionally provide congregants with opportunities to expand their knowledge of Judaism and living a Jewish life.

toldot 5786: THank God!

Shabbat Shalom Weeklyby Rabbi Yitzchak Zweig NOVEMBER 29, 2025
GENESIS  VAYETZI (28:10-30:13) Triennial 1

GOOD MORNING! This week, here in the United States, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving weekend. The earliest documented celebration of Thanksgiving dates back some 400 years.

On December 4, 1619, thirty-eight English settlers aboard the ship Margaret arrived by way of the James River at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia. The landing was immediately followed by a religious celebration, as per the group’s charter from the London Company, which read: “That the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantation in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God.” As we shall see, this very first Thanksgiving celebration actually has its roots in Jewish tradition.

In general, having gratitude is a core value of Judaism, perhaps the value of the highest order. In fact, the name “Jew” itself is a derivation of the word thank you; it comes from the Biblical name Judah, and it is found in this week’s Torah portion.

Judah or was one of the original twelve tribes and he was given that name by his mother Leah as an expression of her gratitude to God (see Genesis 29:35 and Rashi ad loc). In Hebrew the word for thanks is “todah,” which has the same root word as the name Judah. Thus, gratitude is a basic tenet of Judaism – after all, it’s in the name!

For this reason, according to Jewish tradition, the very first thought that we are to have each morning is that of gratitude. This is articulated by the first prayer that we utter upon waking up – the short prayer known as Modeh Ani: “I gratefully thank you O living and eternal King, for having restored my soul within me with compassion […].”

But the Thanksgiving connection to Judaism runs even deeper. Psalm 100 begins with, “A psalm of thanksgiving […].” While the vast majority of the Book of Psalms was composed by King David, according to the Talmud (Baba Batra 14b) Psalm 100 is one of eleven Psalms composed by Moses. The Talmud (Shavuot 15b) records that this Psalm was sung by the Levites in the Holy Temple whenever a thanksgiving offering was brought. Even today, when the Jewish nation is sadly bereft of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (may it speedily be rebuilt in our days!), part of the daily morning liturgy is the recitation of Psalm 100.

According to the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 9:7), “In the future all sacrificial offerings will be eliminated, however the Thanksgiving offering will endure.” Rabbi Yosef Karo (1488-1575), composer of the authoritative work on Jewish law known as the Shulchan Aruch, rules that Psalm 100 should be sung with a special melody for it is the only song that will endure until the end of time (Ohr Chaim 51:9). Being grateful is an attribute that seems to supersede just about everything else.

The Talmud (Berachot 54b) records the four specific instances for which a person is obligated to bring a Thanksgiving offering. One of those occasions is seafaring; safe passage after a perilous ocean journey requires a prayer of thanks. Thus, it is no coincidence that the charter from the London Company mandated a day of thanksgiving when the English settlers arrived safely in Virginia.

As every American schoolchild knows, the pilgrims of Plymouth have been credited with having the first Thanksgiving feast. But how did they know to give thanks?

Their leader, William Bradford, had a copy of the Bible on the voyage on the Mayflower. His Bible contained handwritten notes by the Puritan scholar Henry Ainsworth in the margins. Ainsworth had written out a list of events that required a prayer of thanksgiving to God: “The sick – when he is healed; The prisoner when he is released from bondage; Those that go down to sea when they come up to land; and wayfarers when they arrive at inhabited lands.”

Where did Ainsworth come up with these four? He had copied them straight from the Jewish sage Maimonides – who had codified it as law based on the above-mentioned passage in the Talmud!

As President of the United States, George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide Thanksgiving celebration in America marking November 26, 1789, “as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many favours of Almighty God.”

American born Gershom Mendes Seixas was the cantor and spiritual leader of New York City’s only synagogue, Congregation Shearith Israel, until it shut down operations during the Revolution and moved to Connecticut. He later became the temporarily leader of a synagogue in Philadelphia, where he used his pulpit to speak out in support of General George Washington.

In fact, many early congregants of Shearith Israel served in the Continental Army (around 20 Revolutionary War veterans are buried at the synagogue’s ancient Chatham Square Cemetery in Chinatown). After the colonies’ triumph, the congregation returned to New York and Gershom Seixas was among a few selected clergymen invited to participate in George Washington’s inaugural celebration. This was certainly an act of gratitude by Washington for the Jewish leader’s stalwart support during the war.

Perhaps more importantly, it was an expression of Washington’s messaging about the importance of religious freedom and diversity in the new nation.

When Washington proclaimed the first nationwide Thanksgiving celebration in 1789, Cantor Gershom Seixas wholeheartedly embraced the concept and the synagogue has his original handwritten notes for a selection of prayers to be said on that day. His notes go on to list which Psalms are to be said and include his remarks for that occasion. It begins:

“Order of the service for the holy congregation of Shearith Israel in New York for Thursday, 8th of Kisleiv 5550 – November 26th 1789. Being the day appointed by the United States of America to be observed as a public day of thanksgiving and prayer throughout these states, agreeable to a proclamation by the President of the United States of America [...].”

Of course, like many American traditions, some odd customs have crept into the observances of certain holidays (e.g. going to the beach on Memorial Day) and Thanksgiving is no different. Somehow, watching football has become a “sacred” part of the observance of Thanksgiving.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that many Americans use Thanksgiving to remind themselves why they live 2000 miles away from the rest of their family – football is probably as good an escape as any from uncomfortable conversations and/or receiving unwanted parenting advice from relatives you see once a year.

While Jews are prohibited from celebrating non-Jewish holidays, this is generally understood to apply to religious holidays only. Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday; it is a national holiday and a day to pause and give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. For this reason, many rabbinic authorities have permitted Thanksgiving celebrations, though some suggest skipping a year every now and then to highlight that Thanksgiving is not a Jewish holiday.

As a child my family did not have any specific Thanksgiving get-togethers, though we always ended up having turkey on the Shabbat following Thanksgiving. This, according to my mom, was because “That’s when turkey went on sale.” (Thus was born another connection between Judaism and Thanksgiving!)

More importantly, perhaps there is no one-day set aside as a day of thanksgiving in Judaism because gratitude is something that we should focus on every day.

The human condition is to take everything for granted; we rarely stop and appreciate all that we have. Our lives are simply amazing and we have been gifted such an incredible world – we must make a conscious effort to acknowledge that and all the good God has given us. Good health is not a given, but it is rarely appreciated until it begins to slip away. We must commit ourselves to recognizing the blessings in our lives – and one does not have to wait for Thanksgiving to do so!

Start today by making a list of everything in your life for which you are grateful. Then thank God and the people who are responsible for those special gifts. Internalize that these things were given to you because someone cares about you and that you are beloved. Review that list often; you will internalize how beloved you truly are, and you will begin to have a greater appreciation for yourself!

I will end this column by further quoting Cantor Gershom Seixas who, when Thanksgiving became an official holiday that year, declared that Jews were “equal partakers of every benefit that results from this good government” and should try “to live as Jews ought to do – in brotherhood and amity, to seek peace and pursue it.” This is as true 236 years ago as it is today.

TORAH PORTION:VAYETZI
NOVEMBER 29,  2025   12 KISLEV 5786 Torah   GENESIS 28:10-30:13) Triennial  1
  Haftorah: HOSEA 12:3-14
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