A Jewish Thanksgiving Message: Covenant & Cornucopia
“Bendigamos al Altísimo,
Al Señor que nos crió,
Démosle agradecimiento
Por los bienes que nos dió”
(“Let us bless the Most High/ The Lord who created us,/ Let us give Him thanks/ For the good things He has given us.”)
Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at
The American Sephardi Federation
In honor of Thanksgiving, the ASF’s Sephardi World Weekly is pleased to offer the following “Letter from the Land of Israel”:
Professor Daniel J. Elazar (1934-1999) served as the first President of the modern American Sephardi Federation from 1973-75 and enjoyed a highly successful career as a political theorist, specializing in the Jewish political tradition and Federalism. A proponent of Classic Sephardic Judaism, Prof. Elazar also studied various issues connected to Israel and world Jewry before making Aliyah to Israel, where he founded and served as President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (now known as the Jerusalem Center for Security & Foreign Affairs).
Prof. Elazar thought deeply about the American experience and its connection to the Bible. A fascinating example of the connection between the two emerges in his thoughts on Thanksgiving.
One of the central ideas of Prof. Elazar’s thought was the concept of “covenant.” He even devoted a monumental four-volume series, The Covenant Tradition in Politics, to investigating the meaning and historical impact of the concept. While the idea of covenant was born in ancient Israel, Prof. Elazar argued that it still exerted a deep influence down through modern times, especially in the Founding of the United States: “The idea of separation of powers, especially among equals… is a product of covenantal political culture.”
Please join the American Sephardi Federation in advancing our purpose in the year ahead, from empowering new generations and strengthening Jewish unity to building bridges and celebrating the rich mosaic culture of the Greater Sephardi World. Your generous support will help us transform remembrance into renewal and renaissance.
In the third volume of his series, Covenant and the American Founding, Prof. Elazar treated the holiday of Thanksgiving. Together with Independence Day, he called the November holiday, one of “two major covenantal celebrations that persist into the postmodern epoch.”
What makes Thanksgiving so special? According to Prof. Elazar, Thanksgiving “is the premier national holiday because of what it combines and what it excludes. It combines both religious and patriotic sentiments in proper proportion.” This blending of religious and national dimensions characterized Biblical Israel, and it likewise characterized the original American point of departure when the Puritans arrived in their New Israel.
What’s more, Prof. Elazar points out how the religious dimension of Thanksgiving possesses its own uniquely American character: Thanksgiving “celebrates not only the American civil religion but the religious character of the American people, yet it is not identified with any specific religion or religious denomination.” The religious content of Thanksgiving is universal, not particular, i.e., Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. Anyone and everyone desiring to give thanks to the mysterious source of the American bounty is invited to participate in the holiday as an American. One does not even need to be religious to participate in the holiday, simply thankful: “Thanksgiving is not strictly religious just as it is certainly not strictly civil.” Ultimately, writes Prof. Elazar, “Each generation can develop its own combination of the two.”
Prof. Elazar’s thoughts on Thanksgiving stimulate the reader to a deeper appreciation of the unique character of Thanksgiving and, in a sense, the unique character of the American project. This Thanksgiving Holiday, we invite you to join us in giving thanks to the mysterious Providential power responsible for the improbable flourishing of American Sepharadim and, indeed, all Jewish communities in the United States from 1654 to the present.
As Jews are being threatened and attacked in our streets and on our college campuses, some may be dismissive about giving thanks. This would be a grave mistake. We must, as Dr. Mijal Bitton said at the March for Israel, “thank God that America and Israel changed the world and became our safe havens.” We must also always ensure that the United States of America, the “extraordinary country that has blessed us,” remains the world’s indispensable beacon and guarantor of liberty.
The American Sephardi Federation is always grateful for the opportunity to serve you and we ask for your support to accelerate the saving and sharing of Sephardi history, ideas, and culture. They are all essential for the Jewish future. Especially at this challenging time, we also ask you to contribute to our courageous and inspiring Sephardi House Fellows, who are on the frontlines resisting antisemitism. Together, let us give thanks and pray for a bountiful and peaceful year ahead.
“!תקבל ברחמים וברצון תפלתנו”
“May our prayer be accepted with loving favor!”*
The American Sephardi Federation
*Rev. David De Sola Pool, “Service for Thanksgiving Day” (The Union of Sephardi Congregations, New York, 1945), 15.
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Bendigamos (“Let us bless”)
(Cover photo courtesy of JewishMusic)
Believed to have come to the United States from France via Curaçao and Jamaica, Bendigamos (translation) is a traditional Sephardic song of thanksgiving after a meal. In this recording, Rev. Abraham Lopes Cardozo, A”H, Hazzan of Congregation Shearith Israel: The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue at New York from 1946-1986, sings the hymn according to the Western Sephardic tradition.
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Image credit: The historical and contemporary cornucopia or “horns of plenty” as represented by a Maccabean coin of Yoḥanan Hurqanos, a vintage Thanksgiving greeting card, and a modern Israeli shekel coin.
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Upcoming Events or Opportunities
Our friends at The Habura present:
Members Online Series
Hegyonei Uziel
An Introduction to Rabbi Uziel’s Rooted Cosmopolitan Judaism
“Join Dr. Aryeh Tepper for a three-part exploration of Hegyonei Uziel, the culminating work of Rabbi Ben-Sion Meir Hai Uziel 1880-1952), will examine R. Uziel’s on the soul, Torah generations, the e sessions 1, and suffering, revealing
the foundations of his Rooted Cosmopolitan Judaism, and to arouse interest in a group that will learn the book, lishma.”
Sundays at 2:00PM EST
30 November
7 December
Members Access Here
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Our friends at Magen David Sephardic Congregation in partnership with the American Sephardi Federation present:
Jews of Sudan; A Film Screening
“Jews and the Longest Kiss in History”
With remarks by Dr. Jeffrey Malka
(Grandson of the last Chief Rabbi of Sudan)
In commemoration of the Expulsion of Jews from Arab and Moslem Lands
“Discover the untold story of the Jewish community of Sudan— a journey that began with just eight families under Egyptian-Turkish rule in the late 1800s.
This powerful film follows their remarkable rise, their exile amid growing persecution, and the extraordinary secret mission in 1977 to rescue the sacred Torah scrolls and transfer the buried remains from Khartoum to Jerusalem. A moving historical chronicle of identity, courage, and the systematic erasure of Judaism in Sudan.”
Saturday, 6 December 2025, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST
@Magen David Sephardic Congregation
11215 Woodglen Dr, Rockville, MD 20852
Sign-up Now!
Tickets:
Complimentary ($5 Donation requested, not required)
RSVP required
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The American Sephardi Federation with the Sephardic Foundation on Aging proudly presents:
Salud i beraha: The 9th Annual NY Ladino Day!
Curated by Jane Mushabac and Bryan Kirschen
- Musical Performance featuring Brazilian Ladino singer Fortuna, accompanied by her quartet
• Keynote Speaker Dr. Joe Halio
Sunday, 11 January 2:00-5:00PM EST
In-Person @ the Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street, New York City
Full program details will be announced soon.
Sign-up Now!
Early Bird Tickets:
$20 Early Bird General Admission
(Admission to Ladino Day)
$30 Friend of NY Ladino Day
(Includes a copy of the book: The Historic Synagogues of Turkey, and admission to Ladino Day)
$50 VIP Friend of NY Ladino Day
(Includes VIP reception prior to the program, a copy of the book: The Historic Synagogues of Turkey, and VIP seating at Ladino Day)
*Early Bird prices end on 1 December 2025
Since 2013, Ladino Day programs have been held around the world to honor Ladino, also known as Judeo-Spanish. January 11th marks New York’s 9th Annual Ladino Day hosted by the American Sephardi Federation.
Ladino is a bridge to many cultures. A variety of Spanish, it has absorbed words from Hebrew, Turkish, Arabic, French, Greek, and Portuguese. The mother tongue of Jews in the Ottoman Empire for 500 years, Ladino became the home language of Sephardim worldwide. While the number of Ladino speakers has sharply declined, distinguished Ladino Day programs like ours celebrate and preserve a vibrant language and heritage. These programs are, as Aviya Kushner has written in the Forward, “Why Ladino Will Rise Again.”
Postcard: Frederic Leighton’s “Old Damascus: Jew’s Quarter (Gathering Lemons),” c.1873-1874
Please support New York Ladino Day with a generous, tax-deductible contribution to ASF so we can continue to cultivate and advocate, preserve and promote, as well as educate and empower!
Donate Now to Support NY Ladino Day!
Sponsorship opportunities available: