Thanksgiving even manages to unite the disparate members of the Jewish tribe. Orthodox or secular, eating soy Tofurkey or kosher birds, we almost all mark the most spiritual of our American holidays.
It all started in Savram, a little Jewish town outside Odessa more than 100 years ago.
\”Rabbi, I\’m feeling off-center, unbalanced.\” \”I\’m depressed.\” \”I\’m anxious; not myself.\” \”There is an incredible amount of negative energy in the air.\” \”I don\’t want to read magazines; they are only filled with news of the war.\” \”I now regularly go online to check the news throughout the day. I feel a need to be aware of what is going on all the time since everything changes so quickly.\”
Thanks, but no Thanksgiving. That\’s my motto for this year.
On top of being in a military state of emergency for over a year, Israel is now in an \”economic state of emergency\” as well, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced last week. He was about the last person in the country to say the words out loud.
It takes a pretty sophisticated politician to stand in front of a roomful of intifada-hardened reporters and announce that he is "politically naive."
While the words may not come naturally to his lips, the president of the United States is talking openly these days about the creation of a Palestinian state.
Secretary of State Colin Powell is winning cautious support for a Mideast policy speech that signals reinvigorated American participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and outlines a vague agenda for returning to peace talks.
I say a prayer of thanksgiving first thing every morning.
Rob Eshman\’s editorial (\”Do-It-Yourselfers,\” Nov. 9) was inspiring. There are many important needs to be met in the Jewish community, and it is vital for each and every one of us to support those programs that maintain and strengthen our community.
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