American Jewish Committee Honors Thousands Missing from Thanksgiving TableAmerican Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee has created a special publication, "America's Table," for Thanksgiving Day. "This Thanksgiving is different. Our joy is mixed with profound sorrow because there are more than 5,000 empty places at America's table," states the new AJC publication, "America's Table: A Thanksgiving Haggadah." The four-page publication, available at www.ajc.org, begins with a candle-lighting ceremony – one candle in memory of the September 11 victims and a second candle symbolizing hope.  The Thanksgiving Haggadah includes a narrative text and four questions: Why is this Thanksgiving different? What have we lost? What have we learned? What do we tell our children? There also is an activity to involve children in the discussion at the Thanksgiving table. Woven around the text are inspirational words of the Bible, rabbis, and poets that echo the traditional Haggadah themes of freedom, personal responsibility, communal ties and hope for the future. After an offering of thanks, "America's Table" closes with the traditional Hebrew prayer of thanks over bread. "As Jews, we are accustomed to framing significant events with appropriate blessings, prayers and readings," says Ann Schaffer, director of AJC's Belfer Center for American Pluralism and coordinator of the "America's Table" project. "As we celebrate the blessings of life this year, its fragility has never been more evident," said Ms. Schaffer. "Like the Hebrews of ancient Israel and the pilgrims of early America, we find our sense of comfort lessened by the sobering realities of today's America."
For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org |
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