Thanksgiving and the Torah-Keeping Believer in Yeshua Messiah.

In this installment, we reflect upon Torah-Keeping Believers in Yeshua celebrating Thanksgiving: Is it a terrible reminder of genocide that New World Settlers brought upon Native American Indigenous Peoples, or a day that believers should not keep, but instead stick to the mandated Feast of the LORD?

Perusing Facebook

This week while perusing one of my Facebook streams, I came across what I felt to be a very good question posed by one of my friends and followers. The gentleman, who is renown for asking simple but often controversial questions to our Facebook group, simply asked if we celebrate Thanksgiving or not. Interestingly, he did not ask for a reason for our yes or no answers.

A Question About Thanksgiving

I typically gloss over his questions because they garner so many varied and often weird responses, but this go-round, I was interested in reading what the responses would be. I was shocked to see that he had accumulated some 70+ responses. Curious to see why so many folks responded to what seemed to me to be an innocuous question, I clicked comments to see why so many folks had answered. To me, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would have a problem with Thanksgiving. I mean, of all the American holidays, why would any Hebrew Rooter/Messianic scoff at any day dedicated to giving thanks (ideally to the Creator) for all that He’s provided and done for us?

Opposed to Thanksgiving

Turns out, it did not take me very long to find a flurry of negative responses to this gentleman’s simple question. Some respondents took to a vitriolic rant against the celebration of Thanksgiving, while a few folks actually stuck to the gentleman’s question and simply answered yes or no.

Now bear in mind that most, if not all, of the respondents appeared to be self-professing Hebrew Rooters/Messianics; so the negative responses were primarily posted from a Faith perspective.

What do I mean by the negative responses to the question were posted from a Faith perspective?

Although I did not read all 70-some-odd responses, I read a great many of them before I, frankly, got fed up with the insanity of some of the negative answers. Some of the responses were laced with a sense of self-righteous indignation over the celebration of the holiday, while others were infused with an obsessively legalistic-draconian perspective that tied their position directly to Torah.

Two Negative Perspectives on Thanksgiving

The negative responses related to whether Hebrew Rooters/Messianics should celebrate Thanksgiving tended to fall into two-general categories:

1. An expressed indignation over the genocide of Native American Indigenous Peoples by the early American settlers, which they tied to Thanksgiving holiday.
2. A “if it’s not one of the 7-mandated Feasts of the LORD then I don’t celebrate or observe it” attitude.

Judging Thanksgiving and Those Who Observe It

Now, the tenor of those expressing these negative attitudes towards Thanksgiving carried with them one of harshness and exclusivity. In all honesty, the judgmental and self-righteous naysayers were outnumbered by the pro-Thanksgiving crowd. Those who expressed harshness and exclusivity in their responses against Thanksgiving, seemed to be coming from a self-righteous and judgmental place. They came across as, “how can or why should any well knowing and well meaning believer celebrate a holiday that is tainted with the blood of murdered Native American Indigenous people; and how can you observe anything other than the Torah instructed Feasts of the LORD?”

I have to tell you, at first I was somewhat taken aback by some of these negative responses. However, after a couple days of reflection, I pulled back on my uneasiness over their negative responses.

I Support Believers Celebrating Thanksgiving

You’ve probably figured out where I stand as it relates to members of our Faith Community celebrating or observing Thanksgiving, but in case you haven’t, plainly stated: we (i.e., my family and I) celebrate and observe Thanksgiving and have happily done so throughout our time in the Faith. My attitude towards the keeping of Thanksgiving did not change when I transitioned into Hebrew Roots. In fact, my attitude regarding the relevance of Thanksgiving has only strengthened during my time in the Faith. The way I see it, dear friend, is: if the world has set aside a day to give thanks for all that we have; that the nations’ leaders at some point saw fit to set aside a day of the year where we somehow acknowledge that our increase and sustenance comes from a greater, higher power; for the love of God and country, why would we NOT celebrate Thanksgiving? The Apostle Paul admonished that we should in everything give thanks…(I Thessalonians 5:18) Besides, what better time than Thanksgiving to be with family and friends and to give thanks to our Father in Heaven for all that He’s done for us?

Let me just say that my family and I do not keep or celebrate Thanksgiving as a memorial to the Pilgrims and Puritans who supposedly landed in Plymouth Rock Massachusetts and celebrated a bountiful harvest in 1621. Truth be told, the true origins of Thanksgiving are not all based upon that legendary feast that was held by the Pilgrims and the Native American Indians who aided them through a harsh period of time during their settlement here in the New World. The first Pilgrim-Native American Thanksgiving may or may not be factual. However, most Americans may be shocked to learn that Thanksgiving had been observed by peoples of Faith throughout much of Europe, well before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. It is clear that the Pilgrim and Puritans brought their Faith-based tradition of Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving with them and then continued those traditions upon their settling into the New World.

Thanksgiving—A Historic Perspective

Nevertheless, Thanksgiving is NOT specific to the United States and the Pilgrim settlers and the ensuing genocide of Native American Indians. Thanksgiving has always been a holiday that is celebrated and observed among many nations of the world, to include Australia, Canada, Grenada, Liberia, The Netherlands, the Philippines, Saint Lucia, Judaism (seen more as secular than religious), Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Granted, the dates for these various regional celebrations fall outside the United State’s tradition of the 4th Thursday of every November, but the fact remains that Thanksgiving is NOT an American invention.

The Truth About Thanksgiving

Is Thanksgiving about Pilgrims and Native Americans, or something more?

So the argument that Thanksgiving pays tribute to the genocide of Native American Indians is baseless and is set on a principle that falls well outside the true meaning of the day. Indeed, this nation’s genocide of her Native-Indigenous population, like slavery and other such atrocities, is a sorrowful dark mark in her history. There’s no doubt about it. Regardless, such terrible periods in this nation’s history should not cause us to lose sight of truth, reason and reality. Such attitudes are bred in the autoclaves of liberal thinking that serves only to dissuade others from the Truth, informed and honest thought.

Bottom Line: the Thanksgiving holiday we celebrate in this country has nothing to do with the genocide of Native Americans.

What about the celebration of holidays and traditions that fall outside the 7-mandated Feasts of Yahovah: should Torah-Keeping Believers in Yeshua Messiah avail themselves to celebrating such holidays as Thanksgiving? The simple response to that question is: where in Torah did Father instruct us to NOT celebrate such holidays? The instructions were that we must never follow after the ways of pagan nations; not to imitate or seek after the worship of pagan deities; nor to speak about these false gods.

Now, when we consider secular and quasi-religious holidays such as Thanksgiving, the litmus test that we employ should rule out any associated paganism. I honestly cannot find any associated paganism in Thanksgiving. Again, it’s just that simple.

Thanksgiving vs. Christmas and Easter

Some might interject into this discussion: well, why is it not okay to celebrate and keep Christmas and Easter; aren’t they celebrations and memorials of the birth, death and resurrection, respectively speaking, of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? My response to that question is a question: says who? Who says that Christmas and Easter are true commemorations and memorials to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Well, maybe these holidays commemorate those things for their Christ, but not my Messiah. And we could spend many additional hours discussing reasons why Christmas and Easter are not valid memorials and holidays that honor our Messiah, but I’m not going to torture you with that today. Bottom line my friends, Christmas and Easter have, and will forever, be intricately linked to paganism; plain and simple. And as hard as some might try, I don’t see Thanksgiving in the same light that I see Christmas and Easter.

My position as it relates to Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah celebrating Christmas and Easter is that doing so would constitute a violation of Torah in a very strong sense. Nevertheless, if any believer chooses to keep Christmas and Easter, that’s entirely between them and Father. As the old folks used to say when I was growing up: “I don’t have a heaven or hell to put them in.” So who am, then, to judge any who chooses to celebrate any one or all of these holidays?

A Change in My Internal Perspective

I have to say that I have, over the last year or so, undergone a rather significant internal shift in my perspective of the people of Yahovah. I will confess that I was throughout much of my time in Hebrew Roots, quite judgmental and I did not tolerate those who lived and operated outside my preconceived, defined righteousness box that I had erected in my pea brain, early on in my walk with Messiah.

I’ve come to learn, painfully so I might add, that it’s a full time job just keeping my own behind in line and walk this walk as best I can, with a lot of help from the Holy Spirit. I don’t have time to focus on what you might or might not be doing.

This Faith Community of ours is filled with a huge variety of understandings, practices and teachings, many of which I do not at all agree with. And if I were to keep slicing away at every conceivable connection I could have with members of our community on the basis that I don’t agree with their brand of Hebrew Roots, then at some point down the road, I’ll be standing alone; because I’ll tell you, if we are honest with ourselves and with one another, we are never going to agree on every single issue and aspect of our Faith. It’s just not going to happen.

Some Fundamentals Can’t Be Set Aside

Indeed, there are certain fundamental elements of the Hebrew Roots Faith that we must all agree with in order for this thing to operate as Father has established:

• Yeshua is our Master and the Messiah—He is the Son of the Living God. We must obey His instruction and follow His example. We are saved by the blood of His sacrifice on the execution stake and the grace of Almighty Yahovah.
• Yahovah/Yahuah/Yahweh is our Creator and the architect of our redemption and salvation.
• Torah is our constitution that we must obey and keep to the best of our ability. The keeping of Torah would include honoring the weekly Sabbath, the 7-mandated Feasts of Yahovah and the food laws. We follow Torah, not because it provides for our salvation, but we do so because Father requires that we live our lives the way He desires of us to live our lives. Torah is Father’s house rules. If we want to live in His house, then we must abide by His rules.
• The Bible is Truth and contains the Word of our Creator.

These and a few others are essential elements of our Faith that define who we are as a unique Faith Community. Those deeper aspects of our Faith that include how we are to keep the Feast Days and questions on the divinity of Master Yeshua are certainly topics and issues that at some point must be discussed in the Body, but they are not foundational to Hebrew Roots and the Messianic Community; and if we differ in how we go about dealing with these, not-so essential elements, we certainly can still fellowship and glorify Father together.

The Plank in my Own Eye

And this is what I’ve come to learn and understand and embrace in my walk with Messiah. I have no authority to judge anyone as it relates to how they walk out this Faith of ours. First and foremost, I just need to worry about me and my walk. Secondarily, I also need to be of ready-help to any who would come to me for assistance or guidance. I will always avail myself to give any who asks a reason for the hope that is in me with meekness and fear (I Peter 3:15). This is one of the main reasons I do this podcast program. We put content out as it relates to our understanding of the Faith, and then it’s up to the body of listeners to determine what to do with that content.

Where Do You Fall Out on this Issue?

The lesson to be had with this whole discussion around whether Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua should celebrate or observe Thanksgiving, is one of: what does the Holy Spirit tell us (as a Body and as individuals) to do about Thanksgiving, and other such holidays? Is our perspective and practices related to Thanksgiving based upon what Father has spoken to us about it; or is it based upon our own personal convictions and sense of righteousness? If we are opposed to the observance of Thanksgiving and we’re a Torah Observant Believer, how do we view our brothers and sisters who do keep Thanksgiving? How do we see them? Do we see them as having not reached our level of understanding? Or maybe we simply see them as Yeshua would see them: as brothers and sisters who choose to keep Thanksgiving?

A Spirit of Judgment

A spirit of judgment can be a terrible things to possess, and a most difficult thing to dispossess oneself of.

The biological brother of our Master, James, brilliantly wrote of this type of thing:

Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another (James 4:11,12; KJV)?

In his addressing the overbearing Judaizers of the Roman Assembly of Messianic Believers on the divisive issue of meats that may (or may not have) been sacrificed to pagan gods and idols, the Apostle Paul expounded in great length on the whole issue of judging one another. The entire chapter of Romans 14 addresses this issue of judging, so I will just condense the chapter and highlight the pertinent parts. It reads:

Now as for a person whose trust (i.e., faith) is weak, welcome him—but not to get into arguments over opinions. One person has the trust that will allow him to eat anything, while another whose trust is weak eats only vegetables. The one who eats anything must not look down on the one who abstains (bear in mind this is not Paul condoning the eating of foods that are forbidden by Torah—only those foods that are potential foods sacrificed to idols); CONTINUING–and the abstainer must not pass judgment on the one who eats anything, because God has accepted him…One person considers some days more holy than others, while someone else regards them as being all alike. What is important is for each to be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes a day as special does so to honor the Lord. Also he who eats anything, eats to honor the Lord, since he gives thanks to God…You then, why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For all of us will stand before God’s judgment seat; since it is written in the Tanakh, “As I live, says Adonai, every knee will bend before me, and every tongue will publicly acknowledge God.” So then, every one of us will have to give an account of himself to God. Therefore, let’s stop passing judgment on each other! Instead, make this one judgment-not to put a stumbling block or a snare in a brother’s way. So then, let us pursue the things that make for shalom and mutual upbuilding. Don’t tear down God’s work for the sake of food. True enough, all things are clean; but it is wrong for anybody by his eating to cause someone to fall away. What is good is not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The belief you hold about such things, keep between yourself and God. Happy the person who is free of self-condemnation when he approves of something! But the doubter comes under condemnation if he eats, because his action is not based on trust. And anything not based on trust is a sin (Romans 14:1-23; CJB).

Bottom Line

So none of us should be ashamed to keep Thanksgiving if we are so led by the Holy Spirit to do so. Likewise, if the Spirit has led us to abstain from the keeping of Thanksgiving, then it behooves us to not squander the day, but to use the day, as we would any day that Father gives us that we do not work, but glorify and honor Him. He alone deserves our praise and our thanksgiving. For we serve a great God who has blessed and kept us.

In closing, let me just say that, regardless what position each of us takes on the issue of Thanksgiving, let us base our position in Spirit and in Truth and give our God the glory. And regardless which side of the coin we land upon, let us have warm and blessed feelings towards one another and look forward to the next opportunity where we may fellowship and worship our Elohim.

Blessings to you. If you are observing a day of Thanks this week, have a blessed Thanksgiving. If you are not, have a wonderful day off in Yeshua Messiah. Take care, until next time.