Everything we do can have a Jewish twist to it. Next week we will celebrate Thanksgiving, an American holiday. Some equate Thanksgiving to Sukkot. On Sukkot we remember the wandering in the desert during Biblical times; on Thanksgiving we remember the early days of our country when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and celebrated their first Thanksgiving. According to Rabbi and historian Gil Marks in “The World of Jewish Cooking,” the Pilgrims spent several years in Holland where they came into contact with Sephardim who had immigrated to that country following the expulsion from Spain. When the Pilgrims later celebrated the legendary first Thanksgiving in the New World, their conscious frame of reference was Sukkot.

The Hebrew word for remember is zachor. We remember not only the Pilgrims and what life might have been like for them in the 1600s, but also those who are no longer with us to share Thanksgiving. Speaking of Hebrew words, how about teaching the people around the table a few new Hebrew words? Turkey is tarnagol; pumpkin pie is pashtidah d’laat ; cranberries is oochmaniyot.

There can never be too many opportunities for expressing gratitude for our blessings. We can be grateful for a secular holiday that celebrates not only the bounty we enjoy, but also our religious freedom. When we gather around the table with family and friends, we think about the things we are thankful for.

You can turn these into blessings. You can begin each with "Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Haolam", "Blessed are you, Adonai our God,......" Everyone around the table can create their own blessing, telling what they are thankful for. After people have shared their blessings, everyone can say the Shehechiyanu, a prayer thanking God for bringing us to this season.

In addition, you can do the traditional blessing for children. If you need a copy of it, please let me know. Before you begin to eat, make sure you say HaMotzi, the blessing over the bread. We say Motzi on Shabbat over challah, but the rest of the week the blessing can be over any kind of bread. If you are serving wine with the meal, you can say the first line of the Kiddush ending with borei pri hagafen.

I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving. If you are traveling, travel safe. If you are home with family and friends, enjoy. I encourage you to take family pictures. Memories of family events are so much fun to look back upon and enjoy!