While not quite 2013’s Thanksgivukkah, 2023’s combination of American Thanksgiving with the Japanese 勤労感謝の日Labor Thanksgiving Day represents a unique celebration of sorts. American Thanksgiving commemorates a harvest festival shared between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag People which presumably included cranberry sauce and corn. Japanese Thanksgiving memorializes a similar event when the first Nihonjin to land on Hokkaido’s shores introduced Suntory Premium Malts, Natto, Curry Rice and Anpanman to the native Ainu people. What do the Thanksgivings share? Not much outside of sweet potato/yaki imo, for the Americans topped with marshmallow and for the Japanese grabbed hot from the supermarket for ~200 yen.
Nary a Thanksgiving table is complete without a turkey as centerpiece. However, rabbis remain unclear as to why turkey is considered kosher. The 16th century Rabbi Moshe Isserles writing in Krakow, Poland promulgated a decision that moving forward the only poultry fit for consumption would be birds that had already been accepted as kosher. The problem? Turkey is a New World bird that could not possibly have been known by the time Rabbi Isserles (better known as the Rema) died in 1572.
Thus, turkey’s inclusion on the list of kosher birds emerges more from a sociological than an ornithological decision. When the New World’s frontier Jews first encountered turkey, they assumed it was a larger variant of chicken. Centuries later, rabbis started asking questions and figured out that not only was turkey not chicken but it was an entirely different species altogether. Even the Hebrew word for turkey, hodu (meaning India), belies a then commonly held misconception that turkey was merely an Indian version of chicken.
Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin writing in the 19th century Pale of Settlement, attempted to settle the matter. Rabbi Berlin (better known as the Netziv) stated that since turkey has gained widespread acceptance, no objections should be raised to its consumption, in the absence of overwhelming evidence that it is a non-kosher bird. Otherwise, one would be incriminating earlier generations who have eaten turkey. The result is that nowadays Israelis eat more turkey per capita than anywhere else on the planet.
Whether you love or hate the notoriously difficult to cook bird, please join us for a feast with all the fix-ins by reserving your Friday Night Thanksgiving dinner this week on our website. Given the tight deadline, we ask you to please make your reservations as soon as possible. Fortunately, one kosher turkey decided to fly all the way from the New World to the JCC freezer. My suggestion? Stick with the dark meat.
Services
Kabbalat Shabbat
Kosher Turkey. Kosher Marshmallows.
Friday, November 24th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, December 1st
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vayishlach
Kiddush Open for Sponsorship
Saturday, December 2nd
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat – 2nd Night of Hanukkah
Friday, December 9th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vayeshev
Kiddush Open for Sponsorship
Saturday, December 10th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, December 16th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Events
50 Broken Pieces
An intimate portrait of an Air Force pilot who lost comrades-in-arms and a veteran soldier experiencing guilt for not preventing a terror-attack, on a mutual journey, trying to deal with the ghosts that haunt them.
Film Screening followed by Q&A with Producer/Director Micha Amitai
Sunday, December 3rd at 3:00pm
Hebrew School Hanukkah Candle Lighting
Sunday, December 10th at 4:30pm
Registration Details
If you have an idea for an event or a topic you would like to share with others, please visit our website.
Announcements
JTA published an article on the inaugural BBYO Convention for Jewish Teens in Asia Pacific with one of our teens being extensively quoted.
Kudos to everyone who joined the ‘Bring Them Home’ run in Yoyogi Park calling for the return of the captives.
Lori Stoll, mother of JCCer Zach Chapman, will be featured at an art gallery in Hatagaya, Shibuya November 17th – November 29th. Details can be found on Facebook.
Yiddish Club with Jack Halpern: Please contact Jack at jack@cjki.org if you are interested to join. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Much more than just language, the club’s monthly meetings explore Yiddish culture as well.
Shabbat Vayetze
Candle Lighting: 4:11pm
Havdala: 5:10pm