A time of gratitude, we hope

Maybe you remember, or at recall seeing, the famous photograph of President Harry Truman holding a copy of the Chicago Tribune headlined “Dewey Defeats Truman,” except Truman defeated Dewey! Obviously, the Tribune editors were a little premature in publishing that edition! That is why I am a bit reticent in writing an article about the Cease-fire between Israel and Gaza, with the hope that it will lead to the end of the two-year war, almost to the day, October 7-8, 2023, when Hamas murdered 1,219 Israelis, and took 251 hostages, many of whom died while in captivity.

The cease-fire now presumably in place will allow thousands of Gazans to return to their homes, most of which have been destroyed during these last two years of Israel-Gaza war, and several dozen Israeli hostages are set to be freed, to return to their homes and families. I hope and pray that this cease-fire holds, that the return of Israelis and Gazans to their loved ones continues, and that this long and terrible war will end. We owe President Trump and his administration our thanks for his efforts to end this conflict. There is a gigantically long road ahead to rebuild trust, rebuild destroyed homes and neighborhoods, rebuild lives so tragically shattered. I hope that this article will not prove to be like the famous Chicago Tribune article I mentioned; premature, inaccurate, embarrassingly wrong.

I can be sure of one thing, though, the timing for this moment of gratitude, could not be better, because in our Jewish calendar, we are in the midst of the Biblical holy days Thanksgiving, the holiday of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of booths, when we give thanks for the harvest. This festival is symbolized by the building of small structures in our backyards, with open walls and branch covered roofs, where we eat our meals, communing with nature, and sharing our gratitude for our bounty. What more meaningful time could there be for this (hopefully) approaching time of cessation of war in Israel and Gaza, than this season where God commands us to give thanks.

My prayer is that all of us in the Low Country community, will have continuing and increasing reasons for gratitude.

Rabbi Ken Kanter currently serves the local Jewish congregation at the Temple Oseh Shalom in Bluffton, S.C.