Here’s a secret. I really don’t like turkey. I know, it’s probably sacrilegious of me to say that on Thanksgiving Day. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other parts of this family time, and while not all Jewish families celebrate Thanksgiving (though many do!), my family would go all out. My grandmother would always wear thematic earrings (little turkeys, go figure), we’d watch the Macy’s Day Parade, and of course, we would cook all of the traditional foods: Pumpkin pie, stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce. My nostalgia is at a peak right now.
But my most favorite part of Thanksgiving was a little ritual we embraced which was going around the table and sharing something we were thankful for.
In the Biblical tradition, thanksgiving was never meant to be a solitary experience. The thanksgiving offering, or korban todah, as described in (Leviticus 7:12-15), reveals a rich narrative of expressing gratitude. More than just a ritualistic gesture, it carried a profound communal and spiritual dimension. This offering was brought to thank God after being saved from a life-threatening situation. The Bible describes that in addition to the animal sacrifice, the offering consisted of loaves of bread:
The loaves—both unleavened and leavened—and the meat of the sacrifice, all had to be consumed within one day. This urgency to finish the food raises an important question: why the rush?
Rashi, one of the most revered commentators on the Hebrew Bible, offers an insightful explanation. According to Rashi, the command to finish the food in a short period was not just about logistical efficiency but a way of encouraging the individual to invite others to join in the meal. Since a large amount of food had to be consumed in a short amount of time, the person would naturally seek out neighbors and friends to share in the feast. The feast would naturally become an opportunity to share the story of the miracle that inspired the offering. The offering itself was a personal act, but the thanksgiving that followed was communal. The individual’s private miracle, now told over a shared meal, became part of a larger story of divine intervention and gratitude. In this way, thanksgiving could never remain a personal affair; it was something that needed to be shared and celebrated with others.
This concept reflects a broader theme in Judaism: gratitude, especially for divine intervention, is inherently collective. Even though the miracle might be personal, the thanksgiving requires a community to be complete. It’s a reminder that no individual stands alone in their experiences of blessing. The very act of inviting others to partake in the meal connects one’s gratitude to the larger community, turning an isolated event into a shared moment of joy and faith.
We see a similar concept on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, where the theme of publicizing the miracle plays a central role. The lighting of the Hanukkah candles is not done in a private corner but placed in windows or public spaces so that the light of the miracle shines for all to see. Just as the thanksgiving offering in Leviticus demands the individual to share their personal miracle with others, Hanukkah reminds us that miracles are meant to be shared and celebrated with the wider community.
This idea finds echoes throughout Jewish tradition, particularly in the way we celebrate holidays. There’s a well-known joke that says every Jewish holiday can be summed up in the phrase, “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!” But there is a deeper truth in this. The communal meal is a powerful expression of shared history and survival. It’s not enough to merely remember the miracle—we must come together to eat, celebrate, and reflect on what it means for us as a people.
In fact, Maimonides, one of Judaism’s greatest legal minds, emphasized that the true joy of a holiday cannot be achieved unless the celebration is shared with others, especially with those who are less fortunate. In his code of Jewish law, known as the Mishneh Torah, he writes that part of the commandment to rejoice on the festivals is to ensure that the poor, the stranger, and the widow are invited to the table. If a person celebrates alone, ignoring the needs of the community, they have missed the essence of the holiday. The joy and gratitude are incomplete without extending the blessings to others.
The holiday of Purim brings this idea into sharp focus. The book of Esther describes Purim as a time of “feasting and joy, sending portions to one another and gifts to the poor” (Esther 9:22). The celebration of the Jews’ deliverance is incomplete without actively sharing it with the community. Purim, a holiday defined by unity and togetherness, highlights the essential connection between gratitude, generosity, and wholeness. Purim is a time when the Jewish people achieved a unique sense of completeness. They were saved as a nation, and in this salvation, they found a sense of wholeness that they were compelled to share. The giving of food portions and gifts to the poor is not just about kindness; it is a reflection of this communal wholeness.
Gratitude, then becomes an act of unity. It is not just about acknowledging the gifts one has received, but about recognizing that these gifts are part of a larger story of communal blessings.
The biblical model of thanksgiving challenges us to think about gratitude not as a personal feeling but as an act of community. True gratitude demands to be shared, just as true wholeness must extend beyond the self. The thanksgiving offering in Leviticus teaches us that gratitude, when fully expressed, is a form of giving back—not only to God but to the people around us. Whether in the form of a shared meal, a public proclamation, or an act of generosity, biblical gratitude reminds us that we are not whole until we have shared our blessings with others.
This Thanksgiving, perhaps instead of going around the table and expressing our individual gratitude, we will combine our efforts and think about the ways that God has blessed us as a family and as a Nation.
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