Thanksgiving is a good time to talk about rituals. Because there is very little in the form of set liturgy or tradition (other than menu and travel), it's a great time to see a lot of diversity and difference among families, who cherish those rituals they've inculcated for themselves.
With that in mind, a couple of links to help us.
First, my friend Rabbi Phyllis (of ima on the bima) shares her Thanksgiving 'Seders' on her blog here.
Second is Rabbi Hayim Herring's exploration of new rituals at his blog, Tools for Shuls, here.
And finally, as we at CBE continue to test Mishkan T'fillah, you can find it on Google Books (at least in chunks) here.
Finally, a question: what are the rituals that you look forward to, that make the holiday (or Shabbat, or a different holiday or life cycle event) meaningful for you? What would it mean to change those rituals, either by introducing new ones, or taking old ones away?
May you have a day full of gratitude, family and food.
Rabbi Hayim Herring had trouble posting a comment, so this is his response:
ReplyDelete"In addition to the customary shabbat rituals (Kiddush, havdalah, candles), taking a nap on shabbat afternoon is a ritual that I try to practice religiously. (I don’t take cat naps during the week.) In fact, when our children were young, my wife and I even taught our children to nap on Shabbat afternoon when we did. In addition to feeling refreshed, napping is another way of affirming my freedom from work."
Rabbi Hayim Herring
thanks for the link. hope your thanksgiving was full of blessings...
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