Proclamation of Thanksgiving:
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
The proclamation of a uniform Thanksgiving celebration, with praise of G-d for what he have, supplication for healing our wounds, and forgiving us our shortcomings, expresses ideas and ideals that resonate with Judaism, and have become part of the American heritage. Until recently, every Presidential proclamation of Thanksgiving has called upon Americans to gather in their houses of worship, and gie thanks to G-d. More recently, this has been watered down to simply gather, and be thankful.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 26, 2015, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage the people of the United States to join together -- whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of fellowship for friends and neighbors -- and give thanks for all we have received in the past year, express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and share our bounty with others.
Although this de-emphasizes the religious aspects of the day, it nevertheless reflects values that Jews share with our fellow Americans. Until the mid twentieth century, I am unaware of any rabbinic opposition to the observance of a day of thanks. For Jews to oppose such an idea seemed ludicrous. If our country is asking us to praise G-d, in our own synagogues, in our own way, would amount to a Hillul HaShem (desecration of the Name of G-d), as well as spitting in the face of the country that gave us refuge and freedom,unparalleled anywhere (with the possible exception of Canada). . In the 1950s, a huge shift took place in Jewish consciousness, which brought many to oppose these celebrations. But why? What could be wrong with praising G-d for all we have? The first voice of doubt, and then dissent, was Rabbi Moshe Feinstein; the doyen of American Lithuanian Judaism. He wrote three responsa in rapid succession on the topic. In his first one, he applauds the making of this holiday, and considers its observance praiseworthy. In his second responsum, he expresses doubt if this might be a Christian plot designed to convert us. Therefore, caution must be exercised. In his third, he writes that there is no way to verify the origins of Thanksgiving, and it must be seen as an effort to evangelize us, and is therefore forbidden to observe. Rabbi J.B. Soloveichik, writing at the same time, reviews the origins of Thanksgiving, and concludes that there is no aspect of this this holiday with missionary intent. It would be a disgrace, when everyone involved in giving thanks, for a Jew to absent himself. Other reasons, pro and con, were written by other rabbis. I will write about these in an hour or two.
