A Meaningful Thanksgivukkah

Bijbelvorsers notes:

Believers in the Creator God should see that like the third miracle of Hanukkah, Thanksgiving is not really a story about the Pilgrims. But they also may not take it as a ritual of reconciliation post-civil war. More than the recreation of national mythologies for the sake of mending the wounds of fighting between brothers, we should look at the celebrations as a means to take time to thank God for His being with His people, helping them to undergo the battles in this world, making them strong to struggle and to find ways to survive. For all the blessings we are able to receive in this lifetime we should thank the Most High. It is not bad to meditate on our attitude once in a year and to consider how we can praise Jehovah and be thankful finding our way to live here in this world.

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  Mazel Tofurkey

Said to Myself

On their surfaces, Hanukkah and Thanksgiving are simple holidays.  We see the themes of light breaking through the darkness, a few banding together to beat the elements, and the power of having faith in community.  We camp folk know that nothing is ever as simple as it seems.  So let’s look deeper into the three miracles of Hanukkah.  One miracle is that small group of zealots were able to beat the stronger forces and regain control of the Temple.  When they recaptured the Temple they found one small jar of oil for the menorah in the Temple.  The second miracle was that despite the fact that this small jar only had enough oil for one day it lasted for eight days.  This story about the miraculous Hanukkah oil has allowed us to look past focusing solely on the military victory.  This is important in that the war was not a…

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