GOOD MORNING! This weekend is known, at least in the United States, as Thanksgiving Weekend. Remarkably, some 96% of Americans gather with their families to celebrate the holiday and nearly 88% of Americans celebrate it by eating turkey (about 46 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving!).

Even though family gatherings are usually a good thing, on Thanksgiving it seems to be inevitable that you will sit across the table from an older couple smiling vacantly at you while you both rack your brains to figure out exactly how you might be related. Of course, gathering with extended family is sometimes a mixed blessing.

Piling multi-generational families into a confined space often leads to heated political or philosophical arguments, some tense moments, and the requisite hurt feelings. Additionally, those with young children are not overly enthralled by the parenting advice they receive from relatives whom they only see once or twice a year. Thus, for many, Thanksgiving is the time when they are reminded why they live thousands of miles away from their family.

Unfortunately, many families miss the point of this holiday, which is to “give thanks” for the blessings and good in our lives. This is particularly important this year.

Ever since the horrors of October 7th, a dark cloud has been hovering over Jewish communities worldwide. Aside from the actual existential threats that have been made against Jews, there is a palpable sadness and an ongoing sorrow for all that transpired on that day and since. Even worse, the continuing threats to the lives of those who were kidnapped along with those who are now fighting the murderous Hamas animals in Gaza, casts a long and very dark shadow that overwhelms the lives of sensitive and caring people all over the world.

I have been writing this column for four years now. Regular readers of the Shabbat Shalom Fax of Life know that, for the most part, I try to include some jokes or humorous stories every week to drive home the points that I raise. But it’s been a struggle for the last six weeks and I have been neither in the mood nor in a humorous frame of mind. I hope and pray that my generally sunny disposition will return soon, though I fear it will take a very long time for me to feel “normal” again, and I suspect many of you feel the same.

Still, we must all soldier on. Whether or not one celebrates Thanksgiving, everyone must internalize the message of Thanksgiving. Giving thanks and having gratitude is a tenet and a core value of Judaism; perhaps the value of the highest order.

As I have mentioned before, those who believe in a theocentric universe know that there is no such thing as coincidences and there is a strong connection between Thanksgiving and this week’s Torah reading. In fact, it is particularly related to this week’s Torah portion.

This week’s Torah reading relates the origins of the tribes of the Jewish nation. The Torah discusses each one of Jacob’s children, who gave birth to each one, their birth order, and the reasons behind the names they were given.

It’s important to note that the very name “Jew” – which comes from the biblical name Judah – is a derivation of the word for “thank you.” Judah was one of the original twelve tribes and first appears in this week’s Torah reading. His mother Leah named him as an expression of her gratitude to God (see Genesis 29:35 and Rashi’s comments there). In Hebrew the word for thanks is “todah,” which is derived from the same root word as the name Judah.

Unsurprisingly, according to Jewish tradition, the very first thought that we are to have in the morning is one of gratitude. This is articulated by the first prayer that we are enjoined to utter upon waking up every morning – 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 […].”

In this vein, I decided to compile a list of things for which I think we all need to be thankful, and specifically as they relate to the tragic and horrific events of October 7th. Here are my personal “Top Five.”

1. Two days after the tragic events of October 7th, I mentioned an axiom of life that I’ve repeatedly heard from my brilliant father over the course of many decades: When the Jewish people are in disaccord and disunity the Almighty brings an existential threat to remind them of the fragility of their existence and the fundamental imperative of Jewish brotherhood through thick and thin. Seeing the Jewish people, across all spectrums of Jewish life, pulling together to be there for one another has been more than heartwarming, and gives one hope for the future unity of the Jewish people. Even the mostly united, fervent support of Israel from our elected officials in Washington (on both sides of the aisle!) has been nothing short of remarkable. Speaking of Washington, I’m thankful to have witnessed the March for Israel, which brought together almost 300,000 people in a beautiful, peaceful rally of support.
2. The enemies of humanity, and of the Jewish nation in particular, have finally crawled out from under their collective rocks and made themselves known. It is rather telling that these groups of individuals didn’t bother to make themselves known when hundreds of thousands of Arabs were being annihilated in Syria, Libya, Yemen, to name just a few. Why? Because they were murdered by other Arabs! Where were the massive demonstrations, the flags of those countries being paraded about, or the screaming about the actual genocides taking place there??? Nowhere. They never happened. Why? Because this isn’t about their claims of justice for the Palestinian people – this about their pure and simple hatred for Jews. Guess what? We see you. This goes double for the self-hating Jews on the far-right and the far-left. I’m grateful for the clarity – to be able to see who stands with and who stands against us.
3. The truth about the state of affairs on our “vaunted” college campuses and their morally bankrupt leadership has come to light. The moral decay and environmental toxicity that permeates these supposed institutions of higher learning is self-evident, and their dirty laundry is hanging over the campuses for all to see. Last week I was with the CEO of a Fortune-200 company, and he had graduated from two of the most “prestigious” universities in the United States – and he was embarrassed to say that he was an alumnus of those schools. The world is taking notice – and most importantly – their financial backers now see who they really are. I’m grateful for this because antisemitism has been rampant at these schools for years and is finally being called out. I’m hopeful that this will lead to a safer environment for all our children in the future.
4. The general aura of antisemitism has made many unaffiliated and disconnected Jews look deep into their hearts and consider who they are and what it means to be a Jew. Many had tried to ignore their Judaism, and they did their best to quietly blend into the society at large. But now, like in 1935 Germany, they are being called out as Jews and they are forced to confront what that means. It is slowly beginning to sink in that even if they wanted to ignore their Judaism – the antisemites aren’t going to let them. They want them to suffer the same fate as the rest of the Jewish world. It is a paradigm shifting event of the highest magnitude. I’m thankful for this shift for helping bring those who are disconnected back to their roots.
5. There is an extraordinary opportunity now within our reach to destroy an implacable enemy of the Jewish people – and an enemy of all civilized mankind. Everyone knows that the Jews are merely the “canary in the coal mine.” Are there any rational people who really feel that Iran and Hamas only hates the Jewish State? They are enemies of free people EVERYWHERE – including those in their own country! The Jewish nation is merely a pretext to act on their murderous nature – if the Jewish people weren’t in the Middle East the Arabs would be killing one another in absolutely epic Sunni vs. Shiite wars. I’m grateful for this because it ensures the support of the US and other nations; they now see that if they don’t help defeat Iran and Hamas in Israel then other countries will be next.

These are just some of the silver linings that have emerged from the tragedies of October 7th. These outcomes are something for which we should all be thankful because decent people everywhere can now act on these revelations and slowly but surely begin to correct the course of mankind. Seen in this light it can actually give one hope for a better world in the future. To those celebrating, Happy Thanksgiving!

Vayetzei, Genesis 28:10 - 32:3

This week we have the trials and tribulations of Jacob living with and working for his father-in-law, Lavan. Jacob agrees to work as a shepherd for seven years in order to marry Rachel – only to have Lavan switch daughters on him at the wedding. (This is why we have the bedekin, the lifting of the veil, at traditional weddings – to ensure one is marrying the right bride.)

As Jacob tries to build his equity, Lavan changes their agreement time after time. After 20 years, the Almighty tells Jacob the time has come to return to the land of Canaan. Jacob and his household secretly leave only to be pursued by Lavan who has claims to put forth. The story ends with peace and blessings between Jacob and Lavan.