Even Americans who have lived in Israel for a short time don't necessarily celebrate Thanksgiving. For some it's not even on their radar screen. One of the people I invited to join us responded "remind me, when is it?". For others, thoughts turn to Thanksgiving the moment October turns into November. It's hard to give up a cultural icon. The degree to which Thanksgiving is on someone's mind is indicative of one of the differences between Americans who move here to become Israeli and Americans who move here to be Americans living in Israel.
On the other hand, many Americans I know who have been here for decades have fond thoughts about the holiday. They might not necessarily go to the trouble and expense of making a traditional dinner, but if they want turkey and all the time-honored trimmings several hotels offer Thanksgiving menus.
When we planned this trip one of the things we looked forward to was celebrating this quintessentially American holiday here, for the second time since we started coming for long stays. This time we have a full oven and 5 burner cook top, a big improvement over the 2 burner + toaster oven micro-kitchen we had the first time.
We had an eclectic group of 10 - friends and family - lots of food, wine and conversation. The topics included the inevitable: compare and contrast Thanksgiving and Sukkot, when will the next war break out (imminently, according one guest), and Israeli politics.
One of the guests brought a custom that she, and many of us, grew up with. We went around the table and everyone said what they were thankful for. As I listened I heard a lot more than what they said. Everyone has a back story, some quite painful. Yet here we were, talking about the things in our lives that we are grateful for. My takeaway, and this isn't the first time, is no matter what, we don't have to be ruled by whatever bad things that might have happened or that are still happening. Choose happiness. Choose gratitude. Choose life.
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| Green beans, beet/fennel salad, braised cabbage, stuffed persimmons (hey - it's the middle east where a meal isn't complete without something stuffed) chestnut dressing, sweet potatoes with squash |
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| Sid and Moshe in the background tending bar |
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| It's all about color |
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| Arnold and Batia Clevs, Aliza, Sarah Palmer |
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| Moshe, Shefa, Itzik, Dori |
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| Turkey supplied by Sasson, my butcher |
Hoping your Thanksgiving was as filling and fulfilling as ours was,
Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem,
Peggy and Sid
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