From Jeremy Fineberg, Ramah Service Corps Fellow and 2013 Rosh Nivonim
As practically everyone in the country knows, this Thursday night, American Jews will sit down to a Thanksgiving meal unlike any other. Thanksgivukkah, as buzzfeed and other social media sites have named it, is the combination of Thanksgiving and Chanukah, which for the first time ever, will coincide. While most will be eating traditional Thanksgiving fare, some new traditions are being born as we speak, including cranberry applesauce, sweet potato latkes, and cranberry sufganiyot (jelly donuts). My personal contention is that on a holiday that highlights fried foods (Chanukah), and a holiday that highlights turkey, we are basically halachically obligated to eat fried turkey, but that’s for another d’var Torah.
The fact that Thanksgiving and Chanukah coincide this year is a wonderful opportunity for American Jews to celebrate our dual heritages. The Thanksgiving celebration finds its roots in the Pilgrim’s immigration to, and celebration of, a land where they could freely practice their religious beliefs. Celebration of Chanukah is based on the successful revolt of the Jews against the Seleucid Greeks, who restricted and outlawed many Jewish practices. The ability to practice religion freely is therefore at the core of both Chanukah and Thanksgiving.
However, the nature of this hybrid holiday doesn’t end there. This holiday, and the way individuals and families are getting creative with celebrating it, offers a glimpse into the remarkable nature of American Judaism. This past week at a dinner, a mother of former campers and staff members remarked that on Thanksgiving “it often feels like we’re waiting around for Kiddush before we start the meal- then everyone realizes we don’t actually need to make Kiddush.” While Thanksgiving is one of the few uniquely American holidays, for many it feels as if it is also a Jewish religious experience. Children come home from college, ceremonial foods are eaten, and an opportunity exists for us to realize the wonderful things we have in our lives. The combination of those characteristics with the bright and festive nature of Chanukah allows us to create new and uniquely American religious experiences.
Thankfully these unique experiences and combinations of Jewish and American practices need not only happen once every 79,000 years. Every summer at Camp Ramah new traditions, born of Judaism and our uniquely American circumstance, are born. One has to look no further than the Friday night bedtime tradition of “Good and Welfare” or “Roses and Thorns” to experience something special. Combining the reflective and familial nature of Shabbat with a desire to recognize and appreciate the good in our lives and to hold onto our camp experiences of fun and friends as the days and weeks fly by, cabins that participate in these rituals take an opportunity to express to their friends and counselors what events and experiences highlighted their weeks, what can be improved, and what they are looking forward to in the coming week. This Shabbat ritual, which occurs in the dark of a cabin lit only by the light from the mirpesot (porches) or bathroom, is a highlight for many campers and staff because it makes perfect use of the distinctive and rich environment provided for by camp. At Ramah, evocative synergisms of Americana and Judaism like Thanksgivukkah happen every day.
It is my hope that over the course of this holiday we all take a moment to express what we’re thankful for, to celebrate the valiant fight of the Maccabees for their beliefs, to commemorate the origins of our country which are based on religious freedom, and to recognize the unique light that the American Jewish experience can bring to our lives.
Shabbat Shalom, Chag Sameach, and Happy Thanksgivukkah
