Today and this weekend, Americans of all stripes will gather around a table for a seder of sorts. While there is not a set hagadah, Thanksgiving is the time that we recount our blessings and our journeys as a collective. A little over a month after the High Holy Days we measure the progress we have made in our commitments for the new year. Thanksgiving is a time to look into the eyes of friends and family and acknowledge that despite the challenges we face, we have much for which to be thankful. Modim anachu lach This past Thursday, a week before Thanksgiving, Rachael and I were gifted the opportunity to be a part of history, the ordination of the 100th Reform rabbis in Israel. Thanks to the generosity of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and donors from Hebrew Union College, we stood in awe of the time and place. With the medieval walls of Jerusalem as our backdrop, we prayed Hatikvah, and watched as the newest rabbis of Israel were ordained. In a country which struggles to find … [Read more...]