Thanksgiving - Special for All Religions

Philosophers ask a strange question.  What happens when the moon and the sun eclipse?  When does night end and the day begin?  It is believed, according to Kabbalah Jewish mysticism that when they meet they produce a great new phenomena, a spectacular, rarely seen powerful light.  The convergence produces a special power of great spiritual wonder.  It is considered a special moment in God's plan. 

Speaking about God I have been pondering about the following coincidence:  This year Thanksgiving, November 29^th, is a time when there is a convergence of two major religious holidays, one Jewish and one Islamic.  They all fall on one day.  There must be a special message here.

Sometimes I wonder when the Jewish religion began.  Was it at the birth of the first man, Adam, or with Noah, or perhaps Abraham?

When did the Christian religion begin?  With the birth of Jesus, or at the end of his life, or by the teachings of his disciples?

For that matter, when did the Islamic religion begin?  Was it at the birth of Mohammed or during the well-known fast of Ramadan, November 6^th to December 6th? 

On the 27^th of their month Muslims celebrate the days called the Power of Night, Laylat-al-Qadr.  They claim the following:  This is the night Mohammed received the revelation of the Koran with instructions and revelations that God determines the course of the world for the following year.  After speaking to my local neighborhood Islamic spiritual leader, Qari Ashraf Carrim of the Islmaic Center of South Bay L.A.,  he explained that at the end of Ramadan gifts are exchanged, friends and family gather to pray in congregations and a holiday is celebrated, called Id-al-Fitr.

Our great American holiday called Thanksgiving has something special for all religions.  The first proclamation was on June 20^th 1676, the governing counsel of Charlestown, Massachusetts instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29^th a day of thanksgiving.  That proclamation is the earliest known American document.

On October 3^rd 1863 President Abraham Lincoln declared the holiday should be celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November.  In it he wrote, "It has seem to me fit and proper that God 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 as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens."

The first Thanksgiving proclamation, June 20^th 1676, by the counsel of Charleston was more of a religious and solemn prayer "The counsel doth command it to the respective ministers, elders and people of this jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being persuaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people, offer up our bodies and souls as a living and acceptable service until God by Jesus Christ."

This year Chanukah begins a few weeks before Xmas.  On Chanukah Jews celebrate the miracle of their nations successful revolution against the Greek occupation and religious persecution.  This took place in Israel 165 BCE.  The story of Chanukah tells of a handful of Jewish freedom fighters, called Maccabees, waging a successful war for freedom.  When the temple was reclaimed and services were re-instituted the main Menorah, a seven-stick candelabrum, was kindled.  Miraculously, the flames burnt for eight days without being replenished with oil; hence the festival became known as the Festival of Lights.

I find it to be of great significance that the worlds three major religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam can associate with the national holiday of Thanksgiving.  The message of world peace and harmony.  Thanksgiving taught the Pilgrims and Indians that all this can be accomplished through tolerance and good will. 

To me, the main idea of all religions should be brotherhood, tolerance, and being non-judgmental, coming from one Father, who created heaven and earth.

Racial profiling has now become a way of life.  Something diametrically opposed to the American dream.  Whether it is Jews versus Muslims, Christians versus the Islamic world, or early American settlers versus Indians, it makes no difference, there is room for all. 

So, this Thanksgiving let us put our energy together and provide a great and wonderful world where the sun will meet the moon and produce a new light that has never seen before.

I pray that the world become a safer place and thank our American government for preserving our wonderful freedom.  Yes, the main message of the Festival of Lights is a lesson in religious freedom for all people.  For our great country is truly a melting pot where our religious differences and prejudices melt away, making us stronger than ever.

As in the words of Isaiah (Chapter 11:6-9) "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie with the kid, and a calf with a lions cub and a fatling together, and a small child shall lead them."

Who knows, the power of this Thanksgiving day might accomplish this prophecy.  A happy holiday to you all.