The annual ritual of the President of the United States pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey has always fascinated me. Why is the president pardoning a turkey? What has the turkey done to need a pardon in the first place? What happens to the turkey after it's pardoned? Well, I actually did some research into this and the answers I found were pretty weird and unhelpful. I wish I had something rabbinically profound to say about this, but unfortunately, there is no meaningful reason behind the presidential pardoning of a turkey.

In contrast, when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving itself, I can find endless reasons! I feel so thankful for so many blessings in my life: my amazing wife and daughters, my health, the Jewish community, and how I get to work for this awesome organization JGSI which has given a Jewish home to more than 25,000 grad students since 2011.

One of the foundations of Judaism is feeling thankful and showing gratitude. So much so that the word for “Jewish” in Hebrew, Yehudi, actually comes from the word for “thanks,” hoda’ah. Thanksgiving is part of who we are!

So while I can't pardon you, I can wish you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!