How an American holiday became a meeting point of faith, tradition, kashrus, and history.
In the United States, there are essentially three Jewish holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Pesach, and Thanksgiving. Everyone tends to love Thanksgiving, since there is no need to go to synagogue, no bitter herbs to eat, no Haggadah to recite, and no obligatory rituals of any kind.
The central purpose of Thanksgiving is to set aside time for expressing gratitude — even, and perhaps especially, in challenging times for the nation. The American Thanksgiving holiday is an invitation to every person, whatever his or her background, to celebrate and give thanks to G-d in the manner and tradition that he or she believes in.
The early non-Jewish settlers who came from Europe arrived with the intention of building a country where every individual could live freely according to his faith, without fear or persecution. When we hear about events like those that occurred this week in New York, we cannot help but long for the goodwill the Jewish community experienced in America for the past 300 years.
Those early settlers studied the Five Books of the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings, and recognized the Jewish people as the Chosen People. As a result, they valued the Jewish nation and respected our religion. Because they studied the Tanach deeply, they were highly aware of Jewish belief and, to some degree, were even fascinated by it and wished to understand it better. Consequently, Jews in America lived for centuries under conditions of dignity and respect.
Although Thanksgiving is certainly not a Jewish holiday, the central idea behind it is profoundly Jewish. According to halachah, when a person experiences a miracle in his life, he is obligated to give thanks to Hashem. As is written: “The custom is to make a meal for one’s friends and relatives… to recount the miracle and thank the Holy One, blessed be He, during the meal for His kindnesses.” (Piskei Teshuvos, end of Siman 218).
Many Jews mark the day of liberation from Auschwitz as a personal day of thanksgiving for themselves and their descendants. There are also Jews who celebrate the day they first set foot on American soil as a day of joy and gratitude for the miracle that occurred for them.
The Rebbe spoke about this day on Yud Tes Kislev 5747 (Hisvaaduyos 5747, vol. 2, p. 54):
“It is fitting to emphasize again and again that the very foundation of this country is rooted in belief in the Creator of the world and its Director…. As is well known, the founders of this nation proclaimed their belief in G-d immediately upon their arrival and established a special day as a holiday of giving thanks to the Creator of the world, for saving them and bringing them to a safe place where they could live without wandering, persecutions, and decrees, and where they could conduct all areas of their lives as they wished — beginning with this matter itself: belief in the Creator of the world as its true and simple Director at all times and in every detail.”
The Rebbe continued:
“This includes personal salvation as well, to the extent that this day was written into law, so that every year, upon its arrival, one must recall it again and with deep heartfelt emotion give thanks to the Creator for showing them His revealed kindness.”
And further:
“This day was passed down from generation to generation — and the belief has only grown stronger. In our own generation, in very recent years, the leader of the nation has publicly proclaimed from the White House the Seven Noahide Laws, and in particular the lighting of Chanukah menorahs and all matters of Chanukah, in a manner openly visible to all.”
“Indeed, the increased ‘publicizing of the miracle’ of Chanukah is uniquely connected to the spirit of this nation’s founders, whose very beginning was marked by giving thanks to the Creator — for the simple and inner meaning of Chanukah lights is thanking Hashem for saving the righteous from the wicked. And if Chanukah teaches us that Hashem helps the righteous even when they are ‘weak’ physically, how much more so does this apply now — that Hashem lightens the challenges and brings physical success and strength to actions of justice and righteousness…. And from this country others will learn and do the same — granting every Jew the freedom to light a menorah.”
Is Turkey Kosher?
What is Thanksgiving without the traditional turkey? And for Jews, the first question is naturally: Is turkey kosher? The main issue was that it was not absolutely clear that this bird was a kosher species.
Throughout history, whenever a new type of bird was discovered or imported from one continent to another, the question arose whether it was kosher or one of the non-kosher birds.
By Torah law, the kashrus of a bird can be determined by three signs of purity: an extra toe, a crop, and a gizzard membrane that can be peeled by hand — as codified in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 82:2). However, Jewish practice is not to rely on these signs alone, but to eat only birds for which we have a clear, uninterrupted tradition from our ancestors (Rema, YD 82:3).
The source of this custom is found in Rashi (Chullin 62b), who recounts that in the era of the Sages, people ate a certain bird based solely on its kosher signs. Later, they discovered that the bird tore its prey, like the non-kosher species — revealing that the signs had been misinterpreted. From then on, the custom was established: we do not eat any bird unless we possess a mesorah (tradition) that our ancestors ate it.
Thus, when later authorities needed to determine the status of unfamiliar birds, they did not rely solely on kosher signs. They had to determine whether the bird belonged to the species of a bird already accepted by Jewish tradition — or if it was a new and unknown species, in which case it would not be permitted.
Turkey was brought to Europe from the Americas. Naturally, it arrived without any ancestral Jewish mesorah, since no Jewish communities lived in America at that time. Halachic literature notes that it is unclear on what basis the custom to permit turkey spread. However, since this was the reality, poskim debated how to address it.
Ultimately, the Sages ruled that the custom not to eat birds lacking a mesorah applies primarily to new species that had never been accepted among Jews. That custom was instituted so that people would not make their own assumptions about unfamiliar birds. But this stringency was never meant to forbid birds that had already become widely eaten by Jews — even if originally no mesorah existed.
The Descendants of the Shlah
As always in the Jewish world, unanimity is rare — especially regarding kashrus matters where differing views abound. One prominent authority on the subject was Rabbi Yeshaya HaLevi Horowitz, known as the Shlah HaKadosh, a leading Ashkenazic rabbi of the 17th century. He is called “Shlah” after his famous work Shnei Luchos HaBris.
Among his descendants exists a family tradition that he forbade them from eating turkey, precisely because it had no mesorah. Some claim that the Shlah’s prohibition applied only for ten generations — after which, since the broader Jewish community had already eaten turkey for ten generations, the restriction no longer applied.
I personally know a family that is descended from the Shlah, and to this very day they are careful not to eat turkey, in keeping with the family tradition passed down from generation to generation. In practice, however, most Jews have followed the custom of permitting the eating of turkey.
I would like to share with you a remarkable story about this, printed in the book of Rabbi Ashkenazi, of blessed memory:
“At the beginning of the year 5741 (1980),” one resident of Kfar Chabad told Rabbi Ashkenazi, “since two and a half years had passed since my marriage and my wife had still not conceived, I asked the Rebbe for a blessing. The Rebbe instructed me: ‘Be careful with the kashrus of what you eat and drink.’ But, he told Rabbi Ashkenazi, ‘I am already meticulous in all the laws of kashrus, and I do not understand the Rebbe’s holy response.’”
Rabbi Ashkenazi asked for some time to think about the matter, and after a few days he said to the man: “Your wife is a descendant of the Shlah. Perhaps the Rebbe meant that she should be careful to follow the Shlah’s directive not to eat turkey.”
The family in question raised turkeys at home, and turkey meat was readily available there. Nevertheless, the woman accepted Rabbi Ashkenazi’s advice — and she conceived immediately.”
(Rabbi Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi, p. 502)
It is interesting to note that the only country in the world where more turkey is consumed than in the United States is Israel!
Yaakov and Esav — Ups and Downs
In this week’s Torah portion we read about Yaakov and Esav. Already in their mother’s womb there was a struggle between them, and it continued into their bar mitzvah years, when Esav sold the birthright to Yaakov. Years later, we read how Yaakov took the blessings that were meant for Esav, and Esav swore that after his father’s death he would kill his brother Yaakov. As a result, Yaakov was forced to flee to Charan.
Next Shabbos we will read how, in the end, the brothers met, embraced, and kissed. Our Sages teach that in that moment Esav kissed Yaakov with all his heart — at that moment, it was completely genuine. From here we see that even between Yaakov and Esav, the relationship was marked by ups and downs.
In the last 300 years in the United States, there were many upward periods during which Americans as a whole valued the Jewish people, supported them, and were glad to have them here. Jews were received with honor and great respect. In more recent times, it seems that the reality has shifted, but relations between the nations and Israel have always had highs and lows.
We hope, with the help of Hashem, that this is only a small descent before a much greater ascent, and that very soon, with the coming of Moshiach, the Jewish people will be a light unto the nations. Then all will want to see, hear, and learn what the Jewish people have to offer the world.