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November 27, 2008
Child of the Pilgrims
Barbara Bates contemplates a yummy Thanksgiving.
We are all the children of the Pilgrims, a deeply religious people who considered making Hebrew the official language of this new land.
“Shalom y'all.”
The Pilgrims, as learned in the Torah, as they were in the Christian Bible, saw themselves in the mold of the Children of Israel escaping Egyptian bondage. And so, to thank G-d for surviving their harrowing journey across the sea, and for their prosperous harvest, they instituted a celebration of Thanksgiving, a feast modeled on the Jewish holiday of Succot. They invited the local Indians to share in the simcha, the joyous feast, and this holiday has been a great American tradition ever since, officially enshrined as a national holiday in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, even as the Civil War raged.
It is a deeply religious American holiday.
At the Casa Avrech Thanksgiving table, we have a tradition. Each of us expresses our gratitude for something.
And every year I say: “I'm grateful that Karen married me.”
Karen goes: “Oh, you always say that.”
I'm like: “Well, I just get more grateful every year.”
And the kids look at each other and roll their eyes because, really, who wants to see their father make moo-cow eyes at their mother. It's totally, eeeuuw.
Anyway, there's Muslim terror in Mumbai, India. Muslim Terror in Afghanistan. Muslim terror in Iraq. Muslim terror in England. Muslim terror in France. Muslim terror in Denmark. Muslim Terror in Holland. Muslim Terror in Sudan. Muslim Terror in Somalia. Muslim terror in Yemen. Muslim terror in Iran. Muslim terror in Malaysia. Muslim terror in Gaza, Muslim terror in Israel. Muslim terror plots in America that we don't even hear about because the Bush administration has kept us safe for seven years. Gosh, my fingers are getting positively numb and I haven't even begun listing all the Muslim terror hot spots on planet earth.
And yet, I am still grateful that I married Karen, grateful that I am an American, and though my ancestors are European shtetl Jews, I am a proud child of the Pilgrims.
Karen and I wish all our friends and relatives a happy Thanksgiving.
Mumbai Update II: The eight hostages released from the Chabad House were local Indians, for whom we are are very glad. But not Chabad Rabbi Gavriel Hotzberg, his wife Rivka, their family, and other Jewish hostages.
It has been reported that an Israeli anti-terrorist unit is winging its way to Mumbai.
I heard an amazingly vapid exchange on CNN. It went something like this:
News Bunny: The insurgents targeted luxury hotels and such, why do you think they also targeted a Jewish center.
News Hack: I just don't know what their motive could possibly be. We'll have to identify the insurgents and then figure it out.
Really, can they be that dumb?
Mumbai Update I: Eight Hostages Freed from Chabad House
We must say Tehillim, Psalms, for everyone being held hostage by the terrorists, who by the way, have made a demand and gee, what a shock: “We urge the Indian government to return stolen Muslim lands,” the terrorists said in a statement.
Sound familiar?
I have an idea. Let's give 'em, oh, New York. And then maybe, Paris. How about London? Oh, wait, they pretty much have that city already. I'm not even talking about Jerusalem because useful fools don't even question the wisdom of such a brilliant geo-political move. They already handed over Gaza—nothing like Jews creating Judenrein territories at the bidding of Islamo Nazis—and we all know how well that turned out.
You see, terrorists always have a grievance, they always have just one more demand. They always have just one more piece of land that really belongs to them. And according to liberal thought, as I understand it, victim classes with pronounced grievances are given wide latitude to sow death and destruction in their wake because, y'know, they have been "marginalized." A deeply meaningless construct meant to excuse every sociopath, Jew and Christian-hater in the Muslim world.
The problem is, before you know it, your children and your grandchildren have no land, no country, no religion, no freedom; they are but prisoners in a vast totalitarian gulag called radical Islam.
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at November 27, 2008 10:02 AM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
Hmmm...I can't imagine that your grandparents or great-grandparents got off the Mayflower II at Ellis Island...
Wishing Casa Avrech a very Happy Thanksgiving. I'm sure that everyone at your table will be thankful for at least one more thing this year: a beautiful (pu, pu, pu) daughter/granddaughter/great-granddaughter/niece/cousin: Ma'ayan Ariel.
Posted by: Pearl at November 27, 2008 11:49 AM
Happy Thanksgiving.
Posted by: Jack at November 27, 2008 02:07 PM
I blame President-elect Obama. His warmongering provoked them. Where's Michael Moore when we need him?
Happy Thanksgiving to the whole family from Londonistan.
Posted by: Antoine Clarke at November 27, 2008 04:07 PM
Happy Thanksgiving!May the holiday bring you and yours and all your readers many blessings. Go Irish on Saturday and beat SC
Posted by: Tamster at November 27, 2008 04:25 PM
We formed an afternoon minyan today, where we usually don't get one, and it was heartening to see members from other local shules come by to our small Chabad place, to join and say t'hillim after davening.
Something very moving about it, sad yet powerful.
I thought a lot about what you wrote above, Robert, or along those lines, that we should be enormously thankful we have what we do here (and yes, that we've had no more attacks in these past 7 years, something totally glossed over by the same idiots at CNN et al).
Tonight, we sat down at our family gathering and talked of how this did end up being "the goldeneh Medinah" in so many ways for our parents/grandparents, who came from persecution and death to a land of liberty. We must work to always preserve it as such.
Beautiful and informative post about the Puritans, thank you and you and yours should have a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend.
Posted by: Maurice at November 27, 2008 07:10 PM
It appears to me from reports in Indian media sources that Rabbi and Rivka are seriously injured. There was a report that little Moishe was in bloody clothes but uninjured.
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Commandos airdropped, go for final push at Nariman
NDTV Correspondent (NDTV.com)
Friday, November 28, 2008, (Mumbai)
There's been a third explosion inside the Nariman House in Colaba, breaking the eerie silence for the third time in the last three hours.
The building is still in darkness as the Army closes in. Snipers have taken position at Nariman House. About 100 commandos are closing in. Helicopters are circling above the building.
It's over 34 hours since Mumbai was taken over by terror. And there's still no end to the nightmare.
Operations are still on at Nariman House, the Taj Hotel and Oberoi Trident to flush out the remaining terrorists. There is report of one injured militant inside the Taj hotel.
Two to three terrorists are still in Nariman House but there are no more hostages inside.
At the Oberoi Trident, there are believed to be one or two terrorists inside but it's not clear if there are any hostages or how many people may still trapped in the hotel.
According to NSG Director General: "One injured terrorist is still inside Taj hotel. The stage seems to be set for a final operation there and the media has been asked to refrain from doing any live broadcasts from outside the hotel."
At least 125 have been killed in the encounter, including 14 policemen and six foreigners; 327 have been injured.
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Note: there was an earlier report in timesofindia.com:
The terrorists knew who they were targeting. Nariman House in Colaba is the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement of
Hasidic Jews. Assuming the attackers were Islamic terrorists, Israelis were a deliberate target.
Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka have been held hostages. The Jerusalem Post said the terrorists released the rabbi's young son and his nanny. It said the rabbi and his wife were unconscious.
Three-four terrorists are said to be in the house. Nariman House was renamed Chabad House after the group bought it two years ago.
Posted by: Tamarah at November 27, 2008 07:15 PM