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t seems everyone is talking about the early arrival of Hanukkah this year on Erev Thanksgiving. The last time I remember Hanukkah and Thanksgiving overlapping was in 1994 when Hanukkah began on the Sunday evening ending the Thanksgiving weekend. That’ll happen again on November 28, 2021. This year is unique, however. Since celebrating Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November was established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, this year’s exact overlap has never happened before. It would have happened in 1861 but Thanksgiving hadn’t been established yet! Calendar calculators tell us this overlap won’t ever happen again, well that is, it won’t happen until the year 79811. Since it’s hard for us to imagine that far forward in the experience of humanity and our
November 2013 | Heshvan - Kislev 5774
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holidays, I think it is reasonable to conclude that this years’ Hanukkah-Thanksgiving celebration is a once in a lifetime occurrence. Let’s embrace this moment. For all that is seasonal or annual or ongoing in our lives, some experiences are once in a lifetime occurrences. This is also our reflection on both Hanukkah and Thanksgiving. Let’s strive to be grateful for all that we experience, hoping to cherish the light of every day. Too often we don’t. Sometimes we can’t. Going to work every day, repeating familiar tasks and routines, it is still true that each interaction and conversation is distinctive. Even though we recite the same words in prayer, every prayer experience feels different, or should. Eating our favorite foods, no meal tastes quite the same as another. Even though two teams meet every season, each game they play is unique. Our lives are rich and full because we greet the familiar and new. In the glowing light of our Hanukkiyot, let’s
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thankfully see our lives as collections of these unique moments that inspire and define us. Remember to focus intentionally on each encounter as once in a lifetime. It probably is. Happy Hanukkah and Thanksgiving, Rabbi Ron Shulman
Pack Your Bags – It’s a Shabbat Getaway at Chizuk Amuno
Shabbat, December 13-14 Mark you calendars to join us for a warm, winter Shabbat. Beginning with Friday Shabbat dinner and continuing through Havdalah, there will be a variety of social, recreational, gastronomical, and religious opportunities for every age – you may choose to join in all or some of the activities. Details to follow.