Thanksgiving

My aunt Sara used to live in a building called the Mayflower. That's about as close as a connection I can make to Thanksgiving and the Jews.

Maybe not.

If I have my history right, sometimes a dubious proposition, the Pilgrims emigrated from England seeking religious freedom. (And, sometimes when you say the word freedom, don't you just want to shout it out like Mel Gibson did as William Wallace in Braveheart: FREEEEE-DOMMMMMM.) And, Jews, of course, have immigrated to America for years, seeking freedom of all sorts, such as religious, economic, and artistic.

So, Jews have a lot in common with those Pilgrims. (Although I have to say American Jews, collectively, are snappier dressers.) All Americans who came here from someplace else seeking freedoms that were not allowed in their countries of origin have something in common with the Pilgrims.

The main theme of the new Museum is, in fact, freedom. The core exhibition will illuminate the rights and freedoms enjoyed by all Americans by exploring the life experiences, struggles and triumphs of American Jews. It will question freedom's blessings and costs.

The postcard below, from the Museum's collection, illustrates in a small way one of the costs of freedom. The cost of life borne by our country's soldiers.

The postcard, according to its back (below), was published by the Jewish Welfare Board in Boston and depicts Thanksgiving dinner for 150 soldiers and sailors stationed in the Boston area.

According to the Smithsonian Institute, the Jewish Welfare Board was organized shortly after America’s entry into World War I, consolidating religious groups in the Jewish community to become an official agency to work with the War Department through its Commission on Training Camp Activities.

The JWB built buildings and stocked libraries on army installations and distributed books, articles, Bibles, and prayer books supplied through its affiliation with the Jewish Publication Society. It established community branches in the “second line of defense,” by supporting Jewish workers in the shipyards, arsenals, and other military plants and factories, as well as hospitals and universities where the government had taken over under military regulations.

Enjoy American freedom this Thanksgiving. Enjoy your holiday. And to all the troops serving on the country's behalf, stay safe.