Religion & Beliefs

Okay, I know it’s a Christian song, but I have to say that the old Thanksgiving hymn, We Gather Together speaks to me a lot more than Debbie Friedman’s Thanksgiving song. Not that I don’t just love the Debbie Friedman song—we sung it a number of times at dinner last night, much to my sister’s boyfriend’s chagrin. In case you were wondering the lyrics are as follows:

Happy Thanksgiving, hooray hooray hooray! Aren’t you glad you’re not a turkey, on this Thanksgiving Day? Oh, Happy Thanksgiving, hooray hooray hooray! Aren’t you glad you’re not a turkey, on this Thanksgiving Day

Indians and Pilgrims celebrated on this feast This very special holiday first started in the east Plymouth rock the Mayflower that’s how it all began Feel free to join me in the chorus if you can

Oh! Happy Thanksgiving, hooray hooray hooray! Aren’t you glad you’re not a turkey, on this Thanksgiving Day? Oh, Happy Thanksgiving, hooray hooray hooray! Aren’t you glad you’re not a turkey, on this Thanksgiving Day

Apple Pie and pumpkin pie and lots of things to eat Kosher turkey filled with stuffing, a very special treat Don’t forget the indigestion on this holiday Better take some Rolaids so the pain will go away!

Repeat chorus add nauseum.

Nothing fills me with the spirit of Thanksgiving more than whiskey, comraderie, and the word Hooray shouted by a table full of cousins. Anyway, part of the reason we were singing Debbie Friedman despite my general aversion to her oeuvre is the lack of Jew friendly Thanksgiving appropriate songs. We ended up taking down the Siddur Sim Shalom because it contains the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner, My country ‘tis of Thee, American the Beautiful, and O Canada (the latter sung for the aforementioned boyfriend, who is Canadian). Problem is, those songs are a little heavy on the Christian themes, which was kind of irritating. Another reason Shabbat is my favorite holiday is all of the songs we get to/can sing that don’t make me feel like I’m somehow letting the WASPS win. For some generally non-offensive Shabbat zmirot to sing around your table, check out this site. My favorite is Yom Ze L’Yisrael (This day is for Israel) though not the version available on that site. Anyway, Shabbat Shalom!

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