Reb Zalman’s Thanksgiving Insert

I have always thought of Thanksgiving as a Jewish holiday.

Each year, I have made a pilgrimage to my family and gathered with my extended family and friends for a joyous celebration. 

And so, it feels like a blessing to me to have Reb Zalman’s new texts for the prayers of this day. 

https://www.jewishrenewalhasidus.org/wp-content/uploads/for-all-the-boon2.pdf

It is his suggestion to us for our Thanksgiving day, which he bases upon the formula of the insert-prayer we already have for Hanukkah and Purim.  It is to be included in Hebrew or English as part of the Amidah / eighteen benedictions and in the Birkhat Hamazon / food blessings to be recited after the festive meal.

An additional text provided in the link above is a hymn which, it seems to me, can be sung in a spirit of deep ecumenism with the traditional Christian melody at our Jewish celebrations (“We gather together,” etc.).  Or alternatively, it will also work sung to your favorite Yigdal.

Giving thanks is very Jewish.  Please consider these texts as part of your celebration this year

Gabbai Seth Fishman, BLOG Editor

2 Responses to “Reb Zalman’s Thanksgiving Insert”

  1. Diane Balser Says:

    Thank you for sending me your thoughts around Thanksgiving as a Jewish holiday.

    I appreciate the intention of that.

    For me, Thanksgiving is also in large part marking the White Christian settling and taking over land that belong to Native People – with the pretense that there was cooperation in doing that.

    As a Jews, the genocide of Native People is something that I also relate to very strongly

    Respectfully,

    Diane Balser

  2. Rachel Barenblat Says:

    Thanks for posting this — beautiful!

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