Thoughts for Thanksgiving

 

From the Angel for Shabat columns

 

By Rabbi Marc D. Angel

 

President George Washington proclaimed Thursday November 26, 1789 as a day of national thanksgiving to God "for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degreee of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us."

The Jewish communities in the United States of that time rejoiced in the role they played in establishing this new country. Already in 1784, leaders of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City (founded 1654) had sent a letter to Governor George Clinton on behalf of "the ancient congregation of Israelites" in which they said: "Though the society we belong to is but small, when compared with other religious societies, yet we flatter ourselves that none has manifested a more zealous attachment to the sacred cause of America in the late war with Great Britain....And we now look forward with pleasure to the happy days we expect to enjoy under a constitution wisely framed to preserve the inestimable blessings of civil and religious liberty."

A new country was born, and the Jews had participated in its formation. They were equal citizens in the United States. This was not true of Jews in any country in Europe or in the Muslim world. American Jews were the first in the history of the diaspora to be citizens on an equal footing with their non-Jewish neighbors, and to have actually participated in fighting for the independence of a new nation.

When President Washington called for a day of Thanksgiving, Jews observed this day with joy and pride. At Shearith Israel in New York, the Rev. Gershom Mendes Seixas arranged a suitable service of prayer, and delivered an address in which he called upon Jews "to support that government which is founded upon the strictest principles of equal liberty and justice."

In subsequent years, days of Thanksgiving were similarly celebrated at Shearith Israel and the other early Jewish congregations. These days were invariably proclaimed in the name of the American people, and were meant to be observed by each citizen according to his or her own faith. In 1817, New York State established an annual observance of Thanksgiving Day. Shearith Israel held services on each subsequent year--except 1849 and 1854. In those two years, the Governor of the State had addressed his proclamation specifically to "a Christian people" instead of to Americans of all faiths. Other than these two years, Thanksgiving has been proclaimed for all Americans, each according to his and her own faith.

It is sometimes heard in Orthodox Jewish circles that Thanksgiving Day is a "non-Jewish holiday" and should not be observed by religious Jews. This view is historically wrong and morally dubious. Thanksgiving Day is a national American holiday for all residents of the United States, of all religions. Jews participated in Thanksgiving from the very beginning of the United States' history. This national holiday belongs to Jews as to all other Americans. It is altogether fitting that Jews join fellow Americans in observing a day of Thanksgiving to the Almighty for all the blessings He has bestowed upon this country. Jews, in particular, have much reason to thank God for the opportunities and freedoms granted to us in the United States.

In his famous letter to the Jewish community of Newport in 1790, President Washington wrote: "May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants--while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid." These are words, expressive of the American spirit at its best, for which we can be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

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About Rabbi Angel

The Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals was founded in October 2007 by Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel. Since 1969, Rabbi Angel has served Congregation Shearith Israel, the historic Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of New York City, founded in 1654. He is now devoting himself full time to the work of the Institute, serving as its Director.

Rabbi Angel has a long career of service to his congregation and community. He has served as President of the Rabbinical Council of America, the Rabbinic Alumni of RIETS, Sephardic House, and various other organizations. He has served as an officer and board member of UJA-Federation of New York, the HealthCare Chaplaincy, American Sephardi Federation, Cancer Care and other agencies. He has won national rabbinic awards from the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations and the United Jewish Communities, and the Finkle Award of the New York Board of Rabbis.

Author and editor of 28 books and hundreds of articles, he has won a National Jewish Book Award in the category of Jewish Thought; and a National Jewish Book Finalist Award in the field of Sephardic Studies and another National Jewish Book Finalist Award for Jewish Scholarship.

The Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals will serve the community through its active and informative website; public lectures and symposia; publication and distribution of books and educational materials; workshops for rabbis, educators and laity; cooperation with like-minded individuals and organizations to advance the ideals of the Institute.

 

More on Thanksgiving

Other rabbis' (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner) opinions regarding America's Thanksgiving holiday are at http://yohanon.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving.html

Stupid or Arrogant?

 

On being "politically correct"

As the holiday travel season gets underway, airline passengers can expect longer and longer lines as the clerks of the U.S.' Transportation Security Administration (TSA) either ogle passengers as they pirouette in a machine designed to undress them before the clerk's eyes or play grab and grope with the would be passenger's privacy.

In an article on the New York Post's Web site (http://tinyurl.com/28waj4z), correspondent Michael J. Totten explains how it's done in Israel. Totten's bottom line is that "The Israeli experience isn't pleasant, exactly, and there's a lot not to like about it. It can be exasperating for those of us who are interrogated more thoroughly.

"The system has its advantages, though, aside from the fact that no one looks or reaches into anyone's pants. Israelis don't use security theater to make passengers feel like they're safe. They use real security measures to ensure that travelers actually are safe. Even when suicide bombers exploded themselves almost daily in Israeli cities, not a single one managed to get through that airport."

I have been going back-and-forth between the U.S. and Israel since 1975. I've flown El Al, KLM, Northwest/Air France, and most recently US Airways.

On my first trip to Israel, I boarded an El Al plane with two full size duffle bags. The El Al (read Israeli) security guy asked me the standard questions and the bags went on board. This was before the baggage xray machines were installed. Coming back, I dragged my luggage to the security guy at Lod - the airport's name at the time and the one I prefer - who chatted with me for a minute or so, the let me and my luggage move on.

The first time my gear was inspected LEAVING Israel was in 2009. It went through the xray machine . . . and was flagged. I had two bottles of maheyah (arak) in a suitcase and the security people wanted to see it "up close and personal."

A few weeks ago I followed another American through the xray check point. He had a jar or can of some Israeli something in honey that the xray machine caught. The security guy asked the fellow what was in the container and suggested some common souvenir. No, the visitor said, and told the security guy what it was. The bag continued unopened.

On the other hand, I did watch as El Al security insisted that an elderly couple going to Israel from JFK unpack everything from one of their suitcases. Why? I don't have a clue. Perhaps, as Totten suggests in his article, their passports had too many visas to enemy states - at that time this included Egypt and Jordan.

Israeli security depends heavily on profiling.

Totten claims it is not racial or ethnic. Given the senior citizens whose luggage was emptied, I suspect that is true.

We in the U.S., are denied the luxury of profiling.

We can't do it at the airports.

We can't allow our police to do it on the highways and byways - although at least one Florida State Highway Patrol officer had an excellent record of apprehending drug couriers, mules, until a defense attorney discovered his success was based on his profiling skills.

Totten makes a point that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and TSA are looking for terrorists who might be using a tactic that already was discovered.

If you try something and you fail, will you try the same thing again? Not likely.

Profiling is a legitimate security tool.

We need to use it.

We need to follow Israel's lead - as we finally did with "sky marshals" who are too few.

For many years I have been a consultant and mentor. When someone recognized that I had expertise their organization could use, they contacted me to "rent" my wisdom.

DHS and TSA ought to admit to their masters in Congress that they need help; they need to engage Israeli security experts - people with actual experience in preventing terrorism in the air - to train U.S. personnel and the courts need to choose human life over political correctness and allow profiling.

Anything less eiteher is stupid or arrogant, a waste of time and money, and an insult to the air traveler.