This topic contains 50 replies, has 42 voices, and was last updated by Neville ChaimBerlin 5 months ago.
I'm also having a trouble getting a reading on the OP.
Based on much of what's been posted but hasn't gone through he is probably very young and thought it would be funny to post this as if he really was "one of those " who believes it.
No reason not to be "thankful" to the Golden Medinah for the freedoms and affluence we have been granted here in galus. Turkey tzimmes and cranberry kugkel is fine along with a Tofukey for the really frum Vegans in the family. Stop trying to over analyze every "chag" that comes along. No more a yom Tov than Bibi's birthday or George Washington's yahrtzeit but still a good day to spend a bit of extra time with the kids, watch the parade (if you live in NYC) and/or sleep in and daven with the 8AM minyan rather than Vasikim. Also, do some chores (blow the leaves from the driveway, bring in some extra firewood, make sure the downspouts are clear and the snowblower has new spark plugs and filter).
I celebrate Thanksgiving by taking advantage of the two days I have off and giving my wife and kids a break by cooking for Shabbos myself — everything from challos to appetizers to entrees and sides and desserts.
If you want to think that celebrating Thanksgiving in this way makes me guilty of avoda zara, chukas hagoyim, darkei emori or any other such way, so be it.
R Moshe clearly holds that eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal as a family minhug is completely osser.
So how should a Jews celebrate Thanksgiving. A turkey feast is definitely not a Jewish custom.
And Milhouse, I'm pretty sure rav Moshe said there's a problem with affixing new holidats.
I do not understand the basis for the question. Frum jews with emunas Hashem should celebrate each and every day as Thanksgiving. Is not the very first thing a Gd fearing Jew does every morning is to recite Modeh Ani?????
How is a frum yid's "celebrating" Thanksgiving Day different from his/her celebrating the Fourth of July, Veteran's Day, Labor Day Prisident's Day or MLK's Birthday. For most of us who work for non-frum employers, its a paid holiday and sometimes a four-day weekend (except for government employees who have to work today). No, we don't consider Thanksgiving Dinner a "seudas Mitzvah", although we might have purchased a Turkey because they were on sale for "yom tov". We do not add ya'aleh v'yavoh in benching afterwards. Its just a relaxed day off where we can veg out from the daily grind….Does everything have to be so intensely analyzed?
I agree with Gadol. Why is everything subject to overanalysis and assuring?
Why not either , just ignore it, or, accept it as an opportunity for families to get together who ordinarily can't because they live in different communities.
My family schedules it for 5 pm to allow the kids to get home from yeshiva as it's a chance for the cousins to see and play together.
So in other words, of course its muttar to celebrate Thanksgiving!
1, I was told by Milhouse above that the Pilgrims did not eat turkey and it is only eaten because it serves a big family, so it is not chukas hagoyim. Preferably, eat something else you like, but if you eat it, don't eat it to follow the goyim but maybe the reason above or its name that reminds us to give thanks that we live in a land where we can practice our religion freely.
Rav Moshe writes explicitly in a teshuva that one should not celebrate it.
Neville, regarding Tachanun, I am sure that some tzaddik was niftar on that day. Regarding Hallel, I understood that it is only for a miracle for all of Am Yisrael, like Yom haAtzmaut.
American Gentiles do NOT celebrate all the holidays by eating turkey.
It is the British who are likely to serve Turkey for xmas dinner, it has replaced the traditional goose.
I live in small town America and see what is promoted in the general supermarkets for each of these holidays.
In the CTL home turkey is roasted almost every Sunday, it has been an important part of our fleishige diet since the anti-cholesterol warnings of the late 1970s.
Last night I went into one of the local general supermarkets as is my Motzei Shabbos post Thanksgiving custom and bought every single frozen Empire turkey which were marked down to 99 cents per pound and stocked our freezers in the garage. I was able to purchase 12 of the 14-16 pound birds and 8 of the 20-24 pounders. By next week they'll again be about $3.79 per pound in the market.
No wonder I couldn't find any.
I am familiar with that shul. It is also the one Charlie was speaking of. I was hoping nobody would actually evoke its name as its a bit controversial. We've danced around talking about it on the CR before, but never gotten that into it, which I think is good.
Suffice it to say, nobody should ever bring down proofs from that shul in a discussion of halachah or mesora. I would prefer not to elaborate even though I know you're going to ask me to.
I sincerely doubt you were looking for these in my local general supermarket. Every year they order in a load to cover the chainwide advt. BUT, there is next to no kosher clientele and they mark it down and clear it out.
Why would we want to doubt that DY was looking for turkey at your supermarket?
Are we presuming to know where DY shops?
Or is above supermarket so exclusive that it's beyond imagining any CR member (aside from you) shops there?
Or is it possible you want to entirely dismiss the possibility that Family DY eats turkey?
Neville, Milhouse did not mention a shul. He was obviously referring to commemorations such as as Purim d'Frankfurt)and Charlie was clearly referring to a shul which has been around for over 200 years – and is a very eminent shul with hallowed traditons.
From past posts I am aware that DY does not live in my area of small town Connecticut.
I know all of the frum people in my town, and most of the non-frum Jews as well (I've been active in local politics for decades).
The supermarket isn't even in my town, but an adjoining smaller town with no shul and few Jews (but it is part of a major New England chain and stocks the Empire line to cover the Thanksgiving advertisements). I clean out the turkeys each year after Thanksgiving and the frozen roasting chickens after the Yomin Noraim. 99 cents is a great price to pay for kosher poultry. I also stock up on the canned fruits, etc when they mark them 50 cents a can/jar/bottle after Pesach because they have no corn syrup.
I cannot find the comment by Milhouse to which I was referring, nor can I find his comment that you, Avi, seem to be referring.
I believe it got taken down. Either that or I have started dreaming about the CR and posting based on those dreams. Assuming it did exist and I'm not crazy, it did indeed refer to the shul's name. I don't think it was taken down specifically because of the shul; I think the comment also said something inappropriate about a certain gadol. Can mods please confirm that this comment did exist so that I can stop questioning my sanity?
Although I don't stock up to the magnitude that CTL does, I do love my .99 Empire turkeys. I keep a couple of the small ones whole, bone out a couple and get a couple of the larger ones to break down. I have 4 boned out half breasts in the fridge that I will slice up and freeze later today. I also like boning out the thighs on the big birds and stuffing them with bulgar, mixed with fruits and nuts. I just assumed regardless of the holiday, frugal folks would stock up. They are great seasonal bargains.
My mom made turkey any time they offered them at those prices or when we were having all the family for dinner. I can't make turkey because nobody in my house would eat it but i would love to join one of you for a turkey dinner for nostalgic reasons.
every american will tell you that the proper way to celebrate thanksgiving is by stocking on on beer and chips and staying glued to the 3 football games, plus all the pre and post game commentary. anything else is just a watered down version of the holiday.
Apushatayid, what about watching the Macy's parade on TV?
Neville,, on Nov. 22 he wrote "As for setting up a 'moed', there's a long Jewish tradition of doing exactly that. Each community has many days that they celebrate or fast every year to remember this or that thing that happened since the time of Chazal." This is still up as of this posting.
What can I say? I was referring to a comment that was now taken down as you can see.
The one you are referencing is not what I was talking about.