Anyone who consumes movies and television produced by Hollywood is familiar with the American Thanksgiving, a holiday in which the family gathers for a large meal that includes home-cooked food and a whole roasted turkey.
Despite the religious name, it is not essentially a Christian holiday but rather a historical day of celebration designed to remind the hardships of the first European settlers in the Americas, their somewhat dubious friendship with the natives of the continent and general thanksgiving to God for abundance and prosperity.
Due to the non-religious nature of the holiday, from its earliest days - or from its historical origins - Jews participated and took part in the thanksgiving meals of North America and the connection of the holiday to Judaism is intertwined with various historical evidences from the early days of European settlement in North America.
The first Jewish context for the holiday apparently appeared as early as the first thanksgiving meal held by the settlers in Massachusetts who arrived aboard the ship "Mayflower".
According to some traditions, settler William Bedford read a quote from Rambam after a short reading from the book of Psalms during the thanksgiving meal in 1620 and even referred to the Sukkot holiday.
The first president of the United States, George Washington,
As the years passed, more and more Jews began to settle in the various colonies in North America and synagogues were established in the cities that were being built.
The "Remnant of Israel" synagogue in New York City became the most important Jewish center in North America, and some members of the community fought alongside George Washington in the American War of Independence.
After the victory and the departure of the British forces, Washington declared a special day of thanksgiving and emphasized that it must be without a Christian religious character so that his Jewish friends could also participate in it.
In a letter from Washington to the Jewish community in Rhode Island he emphasized: "Everyone has the right as citizens and personal freedom. In the United States no place is given to prejudice or persecution."
While the origin of the turkey holiday dates back to the 17th century, and is rooted in a long tradition of Thanksgiving feasts that were accepted on the continent, the holiday itself was established as a national holiday only in the 19th century, thanks to the work of a devout Christian named Sarah Hale.
Hale wrote that she received inspiration for the holiday she wanted to establish from Jewish tradition and the charitable spirit of the Jewish community she knew where she lived.
"Our noble holiday is largely similar to Shavuot, the annual thanksgiving holiday of the Jews," she wrote.
Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City,
The Jewish influence on the establishment of the holiday in the calendar did not end there.
In 1939, a Jewish businessman named Fred Lazarus convinced the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to move the date of the celebration from November 23, so that it would not be too close to the Christmas shopping season.
A Jew named Adam Gimbel was also behind the well-known tradition of the Thanksgiving Day parade in New York, in 1920.
Thanks and eat
Over the years, the inclusive nature of the holiday has allowed Jews to take part in the spirit of the holiday and hold their own Thanksgiving feasts, to such an extent that Jewish delicatessens across the United States sell prepared kosher meals for the holiday, meals that are especially popular among non-Jews as well.
One of these culinary institutions is the Lido Deli restaurant, which has been selling a traditional Thanksgiving meal that also includes dishes from Jewish cuisine for ninety years.
Next to a 5.5-kilogram roasted turkey next to a bucket, Deli, a four-generation family establishment that began when the family's father founded a kosher meat factory, offers dishes such as dumpling soup, stew, coleslaw and knish.
Another Jewish institution in New York City, "Mendez Deli", a more modern Jewish deli that also appeals to young audiences, offers a Thanksgiving dinner for 12 to 14 diners, with a much more American character, but definitely kosher.
At the center of the meal is, of course, the traditional eight-kilogram stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, candied sweet potato, coleslaw salad and "Moses in a box" style sausages.
The meal can be ordered home or eaten at the place itself.
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Jewish culinary institutions can also be found on the west coast of the United States.
Pat's Restaurant, a Jewish establishment that also owns a meat restaurant, a dairy cafe and catering services, holds a traditional Thanksgiving dinner every year that includes dishes from American Jewish cuisine alongside the familiar Thanksgiving classics.
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In addition to the restaurants, the chain is full of pages with recipes, recommendations and ideas for the kosher version of the Thanksgiving meal, and on YouTube you can find many videos that guide how to buy and cook various kosher dishes in the spirit of the holiday.
And so the most American holiday became another Jewish celebration on the calendar, the glory of the United States of America.
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