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Secular Holidays

Hand holding a lit sparkler with a background of tall grass and blurred lights.

Secular holidays give us the chance to widen our communities of celebration. We can join with other Americans for prayer, introspection or community service, as we observe holidays that connect us to each other. We can also interpret these holidays in a Jewish context, understanding them in light of the texts and experiences of our people.

Latest Rituals

In the Name of those Silenced on 9/11

A poem in memory of those who lost their lives on 9/11

  • by Rabbi Jack H. Bloom
9/11, mourning, names, remembering
someone's hands are holding a black and white photo of a child, underneath is a pile of photos

A Thanksgiving Prayer

A prayer which can be used both in synagogue worship and at the holiday table
 
  • by Rabbi Naomi Levy
abundance, America, blessing, family, thanksgiving
people enjoying a Thanksgiving meal

A Song of the Ascents

Psalm 128, from the weekday Shacharit service; likely recited when ascending to the Temple in Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festivals
blessing, children, gratitude, psalm
a person is picking apples from a tree

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Psalm 100, from the weekday Shacharit service, thanking “The Abundant One”
God, gratitude, psalm, worship
sheeps and lambs grazing in a field

In Appreciation of Those Who Work the Fields

An expression of mindfulness of and gratitude for farm workers

  • by Interfaith Worker Justice
food, gratitude, Labor Day, social justice, workers
people working in a field

Thanksgiving Day: A Modern Psalm

Written expressly for the Thanksgiving table

  • by Debbie Perlman, z"l
family, gratitude, psalm, thanksgiving
a family enjoying a meal together

Thanksgiving Supplement to Birkat Hamazon

To be inserted at the same point as one would add for Hanukkah or Purim

  • by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
birkat hamazon, food, gratitude, thanksgiving
people stretch their arms toward the air as leaves blow through the air

Appreciating Our Elders

Questions for an intergenerational Thanksgiving conversation

  • by Rabbi Doris Dyen and Reena Sigmund Friedman
elders, gratitude, questions, storytelling, thanksgiving
a person kisses an elder person on the cheek

1492

The ironically “two-faced year,” when the Jews were expelled from Spain and Columbus discovered America

  • by Emma Lazarus
Columbus Day
Ritualwell Tradition & Innovation logo placeholder

The New Colossus

The stirring ode to the “New World” inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty

  • by Emma Lazarus
4th of July, America, immigration, thanksgiving, USA
silhouette of the Statue of Liberty against a sunset
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