A rare convergence of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving on the same day; the ethics of making it illegal to help the homeless; and a Lutheran charity that uses dogs to comfort disaster victims.
Author Archives: Fred Yi
Thanksgivukkah
For the first time since the 1800s, the first full day of Hanukkah coincides with Thanksgiving Day this year, and according to many in the Jewish community, the two holidays have much more in common than just a calendar date. They both celebrate gratitude, community, and religious tolerance. “The story of Hanukkah is a story of religious freedom. It’s a story of a people yearning to truly live as full Jews and yet also be fully integrated into a secular society. The story of Thanksgiving is of pilgrims yearning for their own religious freedom and trying to find their identity in a new world that they didn’t even know yet,” says Rabbi David Paskin.
Rabbi David Paskin Extended Interview
“If Thanksgivukkah can be a spark that allows us to bring a little bit of the Hanukkah light into a Jewish person’s Thanksgiving table, then that’s a gift.” Watch more of our interview about the rare convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah with Rabbi David Paskin at Kehillah Schechter Academy in Norwood, Massachusetts.
Relocating the Homeless
As cities grapple with the problem of homelessness, some believe the solution is to move them to “retreats” outside the city. But critics say such proposals are cases of “out of sight, out of mind” that will actually result in more homelessness.
Comfort Dogs
Headquartered in Addison, Illinois, Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) has a program called the K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry, which seeks to provide comfort and compassion to hurting people. The specially-trained dogs often visit hospitals and nursing homes, but they are brought to disaster sites as well. The dogs and their handlers were early on the scene after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, and they visited Boston soon after the marathon bombing. Last week, they traveled to Moore, Oklahoma, to visit victims of the deadly tornados. LCC president Tim Hetzner describes the dogs’ ministry.
Catholic Bishops, Catholic President; Gun Violence; Long Forgotten Mentally Ill
A conversation on the agenda of the US Catholic bishops and the anniversary of JFK’s assassination; the debate over gun control in communities of faith; and a movement to identify the unmarked graves of mentally disabled patients.
Catholic Bishops, Catholic President
For American Catholics, “the election of Kennedy was an important moment in history, where they were recognized and accepted by American society as true Americans,” says Rev. Thomas Reese, S.J. But anti-Catholicism continued to linger until JFK’s assassination, when the 34th president became an American martyr, and it was no longer acceptable to be anti-Catholic.
Rev. Thomas Reese, S.J.: “A Vote for Continuity”
At their fall meeting in Baltimore, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops elected a new president, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky. Father Thomas Reese, SJ, senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, describes the new president and discusses the effect of Pope Francis on the US bishops.
The Long Forgotten Mentally Ill
At the cemetery of a former Minnesota mental hospital, hundreds of patients were buried in nameless graves marked only with numbers. But disability rights groups and family members are working to identify the graves and give these forgotten dead a respect and dignity they did not receive in life.
Legislative Prayer, American Dream, Kristallnacht, Coventry Cathedral
A Supreme Court case tests the limits of public prayer and the First Amendment; growing income inequality threatens to put an end to the American Dream; the 75th anniversary of a violent anti-Semitic pogrom in Germany known as Kristallnacht recalls the “night of broken glass” and the silence of most churches; and the destruction of Coventry Cathedral during World War II leads to a worldwide ministry of peace and reconciliation.
