Rabbi David Saperstein is Director and Counsel of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. The following originally appeared as Rabbi Saperstein's latest contribution to the Washington Post's "On Faith" Panel.

Of course Thanksgiving, focused as it is on assessing our lives, creating common rituals, and generally thanking and supplicating the Divine is a religious holiday. The beauty of Thanksgiving is that most everyone has something for which to be thankful.

Different people will thank different entities, people, or the nation for different things. And, in a nation where 90% believe in God, most will offer thanks to God.

Yet part of the power of Thanksgiving, which helps make it a distinctively American religious holiday, is that people from very different backgrounds can all sit around the same table, participate in rituals (if any) or not, and, of course, enjoy the same meal.

There will be people who are simply suffused by a sense of free-floating gratitude -- for life, for family, for whatever. However they express it: Welcome.

Three observations about Thanksgiving and the Jewish community. First, the holiday spoke comfortably to Jewish religious and cultural sensibilities. The God being thanked was in general the God of the Hebrew Scriptures. The narrative of the Pilgrims, who sensed that they were the New Israelites replaying the Exodus (fleeing religious persecution, traveling across a watery wilderness to a Promised Land, entering into a covenant with God – the Mayflower Compact) and creating a nation based on God’s law as recorded in their Old Testament, resonated deeply with Jewish history and ideas.

The ritual of sitting at a holiday family meal at home fit comfortably with Jewish practices of such meals during the High Holidays and, of course, the Passover Seder, whose narrative was so closely connected with the Thanksgiving story. The two key songs associated with Thanksgiving--We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing and Bless this house O Lord we pray-- had none of the Christological content so connected with other widespread celebrations like Christmas and Easter that cause a sense of awkwardness and, at times, exclusion to Jews. (It is perhaps interesting that these two songs do not express gratitude to God; they are, instead, songs of supplication.)

Second, it is the occasion on which more Interfaith services annually take place than any time else save national tragedies (9/11, the Kennedy assassination). It was for many Jews, the first time they set foot in churches of other religions. To have their synagogues part of this communal mix, hosting the service periodically, and above all to see their rabbi on the altar/bima, honored by the community, co-leading the service, affirmed in profound ways the acceptance of Jews in America.

Finally, it captures the best of what Robert Bellah calls America’s civil religion, linking together American history and mythology with an amorphous belief in God, thereby including Jews comfortably within its orbit.

Jews passionately believe in America as the nation that has given it more rights, more freedoms, more opportunities than we have known anywhere else in our history. So, each year, there is much for us to be genuinely and deeply thankful for as a community as well as individuals.

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Mark Pelavin is the Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He is one of the Jewish community's leading legislative strategists, and one of its senior lobbyists.

I have read a lot about Gay Pride rally in Jerusalem earlier this month, and the shameful attempts to block it.  Adam Yoffie, writing for Campus Progress, offers, in his words, “a photo essay of rainbows, love, and a little drag” which gives a great feeling for the event itself.

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Debra Eichenbaum is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. She is a graduate of Brandeis University.

2006 Midterm Elections exit polling data commissioned by Faith in Public Life, an non-profit organization committed to using religion as a tool to pursue justice, is once again disproving an all too common assumption that values and morals are synonymous with the conservative agenda pursued by the Religious Right. According to this 2006 exit poll, the #1 “moral issue” people considered when going to the polls during this election was the war in Iraq and the #2 issue was poverty. These two issues, classified as “kitchen table” issues, resonated with voters far more than the debates on abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research. Proving that in fact the Religious Right does not own a monopoly on values and morals, and that perhaps voting one’s values is more closely associated with the prospect of peace and the desire to end poverty then it is with stopping abortions and curbing the rights of homosexual citizens.

Organizations that have been following this “values” issue – like Faith in Public Life, the Religious Action Center, the Pew Forum, and People for the American Way – are not surprised by these findings. Even though I receive daily emails from groups like the Family Research Council and the Christian Coalition urging their supporters in one sentence to “vote their values” and in the next to oppose abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, organizations such as the RAC have been arguing that the Religious Right’s narrow definition of values is misleading and inaccurate and does not properly represent the attitudes of the American public.

A full report of the 2006 Exit Poll by Faith in Public Life is available here.

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Marc Katz is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. He is a graduate of Tufts University.

On Friday, Jerry Falwell released a statement blasting moderate evangelical groups, like the Evangelical Climate Initiative, for advocating a “sweeping reform to combat global warming.” Falwell goes on to warn that we must respect natural cycles of the earth’s temperature and that “ cooler heads must prevail in this global warming debate.”

However, the information that Falwell sites and the reasoning that he uses is faulty at best. Falwell explains that:

“According to the NOAA National Climatic Data Center, the last two months in the continental U.S. have been cooler than average. The organization reported: “The combination of a cooler-than-average September and October dropped the year-to-date national temperature from record warmest to third warmest for the January through October 2006 period. The record warmest January through October occurred in 1934.”

The problem with using these figures is that they are given without context. There is little doubt that spikes and anomalies occur in the natural cycle of nature. However, we must look at trends to get a more complete picture of the state of climate change; 20 of the 21 hottest years in recorded history have all occurred in the past 25 years.

Falwell’s argument is filled with false and misleading facts and figures like this. When faced with arguments like Falwell makes, it is important to fight them with good information. Click here for a list of recent scientific studies about climate change and a list of actions you can do in your everyday life to curb your personal pollution.

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Allison Grossman is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. She is a graduate of University of Arizona.

Yesterday, the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop William S. Skylstad, released a statement to “Call for Dialogue and Action on Responsible Transition in Iraq.” Responding to the recent campaign rhetoric, Bishop Skylstad calls for a “much more substantive, civil and non-partisan discussion of ways to plan and secure a responsible transition in Iraq.”

The election has been widely referred to as a referendum on the current Administration’s handling of the war in Iraq; the new Democratic leadership has vowed to use their majority in the new Congress to cut troops in Iraq “within a matter of months.”

The Bishops’ statement, released during a meeting in Baltimore this week, recognizes the critical point the United States faces at this time. With an opposition Congress calling for troop withdrawal and a soon-to-be-released report of recommendations by the bipartisan Iraq Working Group, President Bush has been forced to defend his policy of “stay the course.” However, these contrasting views and an emergence of a unified Democratic opposition to the President provide the perfect opportunity for the “honest dialogue” urged by the Bishops.

Much along the lines of the Union for Reform Judaism’s Resolution on the War in Iraq, the “Call for Dialogue” recognizes the complexity of the issues surrounding the war and the need for continued assessment of past actions in order to minimize similar mistakes now. If partisan divide continues to dictate the policies of this war and ignores compromised, nuanced views, the consequences are more than simply control of Congress – they are Iraqi and American lives.

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Debra Eichenbaum is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. She is a graduate of Brandeis University.

Last night several staff members of the Religious Action Center attended the Anti-Defamation League’s 12 th Annual Concert Against Hate at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Featuring the National Symphony and hosted by Joshua Malina of the West Wing, the event was a tribute to ordinary people who accomplish extraordinary feats in their fight against extremism and hatred. Last night the ADL honored and remembered the stories of four brave individuals who stood up to hate and said no to extremism:

Ruby Bridges – At the age of 6 Ruby became the first black child to integrate the all-white New Orleans Public School System

Ruth Halimi – After the brutal kidnapping and murder of her son Ilan Ruth became a courageous voice against anti-Semitism in Europe.

Simon Deng – At the age of 9 Simon was kidnapped from his village in southern Sudan and forced into slavery in northern Christian Sudan. Today Simon dedicates his life to fighting the genocide in Sudan.

Vincent Chin - At age 27 Vincent was brutally murdered in Detroit because of his race. The failure of the judicial system to bring his murders to justice was a turning point in the history of the community spurring the Asian community to become more involved in fighting racism.

I highly encourage you to read the stories of these courageous individuals and honor their memories – click here to read more. They are truly inspiring.

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Becky Schiff was a participant at last weekend's HUC social justice weekend in Cincinatti.

I found my inspiration for this entry while watching the RAC Rabbi jump on a giant inflatable disk during our evening program tonight. I realized that just as Rabbi Namath took the chance to be immature with us, our group took the opportunity to look to the future and discuss an issue most teenagers our age would never think to consider.

We spent this weekend at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati studying and debating about health insurance in the United States. Some of us took on the role of elderly people on Medicare, while others pretended to have no insurance coverage at all. One of our main study sessions (with Dr. Mark Washofsky, chair of the CCAR Responsa Committee), revolved around the question of whether Jewish doctors should treat patients who have no means to pay. It was interesting and powerful to see such a huge issue in society today in a Jewish light.

I realize now that all issues are Jewish issues, and it is my obligation to intercede when injustice occurs. Whether or not I become a Rabbi or an educator or work at the RAC when I’m older, I pledge to never stop debating these issues and raising my voice. It was good to take a weekend to act thirty years older, but like Rabbi Namath, I’m content being a teenager for now. I know that won’t hold me back from repairing my world.

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Mark Pelavin is the Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He is one of the Jewish community's leading legislative strategists, and one of its senior lobbyists.

I know that we non-partisan types are not allowed to support or oppose candidates for office, but I think I can get away with saying that I am somewhat disappointed that Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) has chosen not to be a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. Over and above the merits of his candidacy, as a political observer, I know that he would have made the race more interesting, forcing the candidates to think hard about difficult issues.

John Nichols has Feingold’s first major interview since making that decision, in this week’s Nation magazine. Feingold points to his past role as a member of the Senate minority, and his new role as (fairly senior) member of the Majority:

"I was very accepting of my role as a dissenter -- and tried to do it well. I was happy to stand up for what was right. But to be able to actually fix some of this stuff, to do positive things, that's exciting to me. I know some people won't believe it, because they think politicians are always running for the next office, but what we can do in the Senate is as exciting to me as the prospect of running for president."

For some other interesting takes on Feingold’s decision, check out this post at jspot.org and my friend Rabbi Andy Bachman’s take at his blog, Brooklyn Jews.

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Rachel Cohen is on a semester long internship at the Religious Action Center. She comes from Washington University.

As Election season ’06 winds down, we have a brief moment to turn from electoral politics to the substance of governance before the 2008 Presidential contest heats up. During this time we must discuss the issues that defined this election, and how our newly elected representatives will deal with these issues. Clearly, the War in Iraq dominated the election, both in and of itself and as a symbol of US foreign policy under President Bush. Ballot initiatives also dealt with such controversial topics as abortion, affirmative action, and gay marriage. All of these issues are important to us as Americans and as Jews.

If you are interested in approaching these and other topics through a unique lens, join us Thursday at 7 PM for a screening of Young, Jewish, and Left. YJL is a documentary about radical communities formed by Jewish Americans based on their disagreement with the mainstream Jewish community over Middle East policy, GLBT issues, racism and economic justice. We will watch the film then discuss the many questions it raises, with discussion facilitated by Mark Pelavin, our Associate Director. For more information or to RSVP contact Rachel Cohen. We look forward to seeing you there!

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Mark Pelavin is the Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He is one of the Jewish community's leading legislative strategists, and one of its senior lobbyists.

As the White House waits for the report of the Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by Former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton of Indiana, one Middle East analyst has their next assignment lined up for them. Writing in the Washington Monthly http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0612.levy.html Daniel Levy, who formerly worked as an adviser in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and as an official Israeli negotiator at Oslo under Rabin and at Taba under Barak, argues that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires the same type of urgent, high-level attention.

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Mark Pelavin is the Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He is one of the Jewish community's leading legislative strategists, and one of its senior lobbyists.

Today’s New York Times has a fascinating special section on “Giving,” highlighting a series of non-traditional types of philanthropy. Each story is worth reading, but I’m proud to call special attention this report on efforts by Commission on Social Action Member Jill Ginsberg of Portland, Oregon. Jill, working with a local church, played a key role in starting up a free health clinic.

Please read: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/13/us/13clinic.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

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Cara Fisher is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. She is a graduate of the University of Texas, Austin.

For many months, immigration reform has remained at the forefront of political debate, with both the House and Senate scrambling to pass legislation prior to the recent midterm elections. Advocacy groups across the country have championed the cause of comprehensive immigration reform, but have been unsuccessful in passing any such bill.

In fact, President Bush signed into law only one significant piece of legislation dealing with immigration during this Congress, the Secure Fence Act of 2006. This bill, which calls for the construction of 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, fails to address any number of problems with our nation’s immigration system, primarily the fact that between 8 and 12 million undocumented immigrants currently live in this country without the protection of U.S. law.

Earlier this week, a group of the RAC staff traveled from Washington, DC to Phoenix, Arizona, to attend the biannual gathering of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism (CSA). Parting ways from the meeting’s normal structure, the itinerary revolved around a day trip to the town of Nogales, Mexico led by Border Links, a non-profit organization that conducts educational tours of the U.S.-Mexico border. The purpose of this experience was to engage the CSA members in the immigration debate by immersing them in the culture of a border town, where they were able to witness firsthand the state of our nation’s broken borders.

As our bus approached the border security station in Nogales, I immediately noticed the security fence, approximately 15 feet high and covered with graffiti, enforcing the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico. For the next 6 hours we toured Nogales, learning about the dangers that plague those who attempt to illegally enter the U.S., facing harsh conditions due to the extreme desert heat and snow-covered mountains combined with dehydration and starvation. After trekking through the neighborhood’s dirt roads, we split into small groups and had lunch in the homes of Nogales residents. While attempting to converse with our host—the language barrier made this rather difficult despite the presence of a translator—I was taken aback by the state of poverty endured by Nogales citizens.

Sitting just miles from the border fence, I gained a new perspective on why the debate over immigration is so complicated. Despite its obvious presence as a physical barrier between two nations, the security fence also holds symbolic meaning. The issue of reforming our immigration system is not a question of whether it is wrong for people to immigrate illegally to the U.S.; it is a question of why people are willing to risk their lives for the mere hope of finding economic prosperity and personal freedom in this country. With the impending return of Congress, my hope is that members of both parties and in both chambers will embark upon a comprehensive solution to immigration reform that addresses all aspects of the debate. Our trip to Nogales will forever remain etched in my mind as both a unique personal experience and as an educational tool for why our country’s immigration system needs to be transformed.

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Mark J. Pelavin is the Associate Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. He is one of the Jewish community's leading legislative strategists, and one of its senior lobbyists.

HERE ARE A HANDFUL OF LINKS TO SOME OF THE MORE INTERESTING ELECTION ANALYSIS/REPORTS I HAVE SEEN TODAY.

Writing on The New Republic’s website, Amy Sullivan notes that “Nationally, Democrats made modest gains among two important groups of religious voters--they matched Bush's 2004 advantage with Catholics (52-47) and improved upon Kerry's 21-point deficit among evangelicals.”

Newsweek has a very good summary of the Ballot Initiatives. It notes that “205 propositions in 37 states were put to the public. In several contests, social conservatives suffered significant defeats: in South Dakota, voters rejected a law that would have banned virtually all abortions; Arizona became the first state to defeat an amendment to ban gay marriage, and Missouri approved a measure backing stem-cell research.”

James Dodson of Focus on the Family, probably the most politically significant voice on the Religious Right analyzes the election, noting that " Republican leaders in Congress during this term apparently never understood, or they forgot, why Ronald Reagan was so loved and why he is considered one of our greatest presidents. If they hope to return to power in '08, they must rediscover the conservative principles that resonated with the majority of Americans in the 1980s -- and still resonate with them today. Failure to do so will be catastrophic. Values Voters are not going to carry the water for the Republican Party if it ignores their deeply held convictions and beliefs.

I thought that Slate’s round-up of election coverage from the international press was very interesting.

Campus Progress reports on the “estimated 10 million young Americans (ages 29 and under) [that] came out to vote yesterday—the largest number ever and an increase of two million since the midterm election in 2002. Estimated youth turnout jumped from 20 percent in 2002 to 24 percent in 2006.”

Michael Medved has an interesting analysis of where the Republicans went wrong.

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Norman Lear, creator of such prominent television programs as All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, and many more, is the founder of People For the American Way.

When I think about the right to vote, I think about my grandfather who raised me for many years. He was not born in this country, but as an immigrant he led the American life that he thought he came here to lead. He wrote the President constantly, voted in every election, saw every parade that was anywhere in his vicinity, and cried when the flag went by. So for me, the right to vote was like the right to breathe.

As I grew up, I was surprised that, in America, getting the keys to the car and the right to drink were the main transitions into adulthood for young people. The right to vote has never been the rite of passage that it should be. I think it should be the most important of the rites of passage, especially as we view the world and its difficulties today.

Today, there is more animus in our culture than any time in my 85 years. The world is on fire; the people of the world are really troubled. That is why it is particularly important to vote in this election. People who are indifferent to voting often argue that they only have one vote, and that it does not really make a difference. They do not believe that their opinion is important. But when counting ballots, it is impossible to count one person as any more important than another. Everyone matters equally, and that’s why voting matters. Let me put it this way: Given the magnitude of the Creator’s enterprise here – this being a single planet of which they tell us there could be billions, floating in a universe among –what?—a million, perhaps a billion more universes? -- is it possible to measure how much any one of matters vis-à-vis any other one of us.

We ALL matter equally in God’s view and in the view of the entire world which is certain to be watching if and how Americans vote.

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Gwen Litvak is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. She is a graduate of UCLA.

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Miriam Fink is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. She is a graduate of American University.

Puff Daddy displayed a “Vote or Die” t-shirt encouraging young people to vote in the 2004 Presidential election. His voice has been heard.

Celebrities don’t have a problem speaking out during this crucial time in American politics. They have made voting, becoming politically knowledgeable and active trendy. And guess what? It is. It is vitally important that our voices are heard and the issues we care about are pushed into the public arena. It is our duty as citizens and as Jews to get to the polls and vote. It is our turn to cast the ballot and finally be able to say that our voice has been accounted for on Capitol Hill

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Marc Katz is a Legislative Assistant at the Religious Action Center. He is a graduate of Tufts University.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the potential health risks associated with the water in the Potomac. On September 6, 2006, an article appeared in the Washington Post entitled Male Bass Across Region Found to Be Bearing Eggs. In essence, the report talked about the huge number of intersexed fish in parts of the Potomac. The article makes a point to say that this anomaly was caused by chemicals known as “Endocrine Disrupters” and that the human effects of these compounds were unknown.

However, this question was answered in a recent New York Times expose entitled Preschool Puberty, and a Search for the Causes. According to the article “children are at higher risk of early puberty as a result of the increasing prevalence of certain drugs, cosmetics and environmental contaminants, called ‘endocrine disruptors,’ that can cause breast growth, pubic hair development and other symptoms of puberty.” In other words, the same chemicals that are causing harmful reactions in the Potomac Bass may be changing the natural aging progression of our nation’s children.

To complicate matters, recent health reports have stressed the health benefits of eating more fish. According a study by the Harvard School of Public Health eating fish twice a week lowers the prevalence of heart disease by almost 40% in the general population. Many scientists are concerned though that these findings will cause people to eat as much fish as they can get their hands on. Because many fish come from polluted areas, eating them exposes a person to mercury and other contaminants. That is why pregnant women are told to stay away from eating fish. Unfortunately, few in the general population know about these risks.

The New York Times report is just one example of how our dirty waters are hurting out youth. As more and more people begin to take advantage of the health benefits of fish and other aquatic life, we need to make an effort to make sure that our waters are free from harmful chemicals and toxins.

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Anat Hoffmanis the Executive Director of th Israel Religious Action Center.

Not since that time have I seen the levels of incitement we are witnessing now in response to next Friday’s Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance.

The incitement then – and now, unfortunately draws on fundamental religious ideology.

A flyer was distributed to hundreds of mailboxes in Jerusalem promising “NIS 20,000 to anyone who will bring about the death of one of those people of Sodom and Gomorrah.”

Another flyer teaches how to make a Molotov cocktail with a chilling name: “A Schlissel Special” (named after Yishai Schlissel who stabbed three people at last year’s march and is now serving a 12- year sentence for attempted murder).

It is no less than tragic that the leaders of three religions have united, not on one of the million challenges facing the poorest city in Israel, but by the hate for the marchers.

The route of the Jerusalem March for Pride and Tolerance is symbolic: it runs from Jerusalem’s Independence Park to Liberty Bell Park.

Yet the way things are happening right now, we should be holding the “Shame and Intolerance March”, led by the chief rabbis, other religious leaders, the mayor, the police, and half a million silent Jerusalemites who are letting this incitement run wild.

The march is no longer a march of the gay and lesbian community, but the march of all Israelis who believe in freedom of expression and tolerance.

B'shalom,

Anat

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