Jews, The People of Thanksgiving

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “Jews, The People of Thanksgiving.”

This week was Thanksgiving (חג ההודיה), but for Jews we are already called, “The People of Thanksgiving. “We are named יהודים (Yehudim) after יהודה (Yehudah), the son of Isaac and Leah because Leah said (Genesis 29:35): “הפעם אודה את יהיה.” (“This time let me thank G-d”). Also as Jews, we are not just called the People of  Thanksgiving, but we are actively supposed to say 100 blessings a day thanking G-d, so in the true sense of the word, everyday is Thanksgiving Day for the Jewish people.

Jews are the People of Thanksgiving not only on Thanksgiving, but every day of the year. We are thankful for being the chosen people and for our redemption and return to the Promised Land of Israel; we are thankful for the life and opportunities that G-d has given to us; we are thankful in good times and G-d forbid, in the bad times; and we are thankful because, yes, ultimately everything from G-d is for the good.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Thanksgiving 2019: Inspirational Story

(Credit Video: Dannielle Blumenthal of Andy Blumenthal)

What Did The Turkey Say To The Chicken?

“Misery loves company” — even with a chicken and turkey.

Someone always has it worse.  

Too funny!  😉

Thank you to my son-in-law for sharing these.  

Black Thursday For Shopaholics

So Black Friday Shopping extravaganza that used to happen the day after Thanksgiving has now turned into Black Thursday mega-shopping on Thanksgiving Thursday.

–

The huge Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise, Florida is open 10 AM to 1 AM!

The mall was packed with people and the deals were pretty fantastic.  

Under Armour was 50% off!

True Religion was buy 1 get 1 free!

Almost every store seemed to be 1/2 price off already reduced prices.

What I liked in this video I took here was the WOW! display around the entire entrance to this Century 21 apparel store.

Watch the whole thing…it is really cool what they did with this frontage real estate for this store. 

Great job on the marketing and very inviting!

So lots of compulsive shopping, but not so much turkey today. 😉

(Source video: Andy Blumenthal)

My Aching Back

So I pulled something in my back recently. 

Had the worst sciatica pain down my hip and leg–could hardly walk or sleep from it. 

I went to the Orthopedist and he game me some meds for the inflammation and sent me for an MRI. 

Also, I went a number of times for acupressure, which was truly awesome. 

Came back to the Orthopedist and he asks how I am. 

I said:

Feeling a lot better, but the MRI shows a herniated disc. 

He says:

Go home and have a Happy Thanksgiving–we only do surgery to treat symptoms!

So I am truly happy that alls well that ends well. 

Thank you Hashem! 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Happy Friendsgiving

So I learned a new holiday terms today. 

Of course, you know about Thanksgiving–when we celebrate with our family all the wonderful things in life that G-d has blessed us with. 

Well now there is “Friendsgiving.”

This typically occurs on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and is enjoyed with friends (instead of family). 

We are still grateful, but we just are thankful with a different set of significant others in our lives. 

To me there is nothing like my family–as my father taught me:

Blood is thicker than water. 

But friends are important in our lives as well, and good and true friends are so hard to come by–so we should celebrate them and with them whenever possible too. 

Finally, I choose this flower, “Bird of Paradise” for this blog, because I love it and it is something wonderful from G-d that I am grateful for. 

Happy Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving to All!  😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Chocolate Turkey Delight

So this is the kind of dessert turkey that will sweeten your Thanksgiving dinner.

Gobs and gobs of white, milk, and dark chocolate.

And they actually shaped it all like a turkey.

Sort of cute, but also sort of sugary disgusting, no?

Generally, I’m not a huge fan of eating turkey either.

Maybe when they boil it in oil, and it’s cooked through and through, it actually comes out juicy and not so bad.

But give me a nice piece of beef, and I’ll be your pal forever!

A colleague who was a veterinarian and worked inspecting meat plants overseas told me some things about the cleanliness though that made my skin crawl.

“The cleanliness outside of the U.S. is WAY DIFFERENT than here!”–and not in a good way.

Even in places that do maintain clean facilities and healthy animals, the way that “they make the sausage” sounded so unappetizing.

It made me think of all those PETA and other commercials that show the chickens and other caged birds in those crowded and filthy (and diseased) conditions…even aside from the cruelty, it’s enough to make you cringe.

He said they mash the meat until it’s like just a pink paste that gets shot into the tubes for hot dogs and things like that.

“It looks disgusting!”

Also, they put parts of the animal in that are basically leftover meats from the head and other parts of the animal that did NOT sound desirable at all. 

I’m thinking to myself…FROM THE HEAD.

Uh, no more hot dogs for me, thank you.

I think that I’ll stick with a nice steak or burger or something KOSHER and palatable.

You can have your turkey and your sausage and eat it, but not me! 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

It’s About The People

The older (not that old) that I get, the more I realize that life and success is all about the people. 

Whether it’s our families, friends, and colleagues–it’s how we treat people and the relationships we form that count–and that enable us to achieve success together!

Many people just count their money instead of counting their blessings of hearts and souls. 

But while we certainly need a certain amount of $$$ to live, we really need ❤ to thrive. 

Today, before the Thanksgiving holiday, I just took a little time to walk around and talk with people here, thank them for their good work and friendships, and wish them a good holiday. 

It was such a little thing, but honestly I felt so good doing it. 

I am thankful for so many things this year, including all the wonderful people in my life who do so much to make my life joyous and fulfilling, but I am also grateful to G-d for continuing to open my eyes to what and who(s) that really count. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Appreciating Employees @ Holiday Time

So before the holidays, like Thanksgiving, many nice organizations try to do a little something for their employees and let them go home a little early.

It’s a small something that let’s people know they are appreciated, and on top of it, they get to “beat the traffic.”

I heard from someone that one organization was stopping this long time practice, saying that only the very head(s) of the chain of command, could do this for the people…but they didn’t.

Sort of “penny wise and dollar foolish” to take away that little spot-on giving to one’s staff. 

It’s goodwill, appreciation, and kindness that is especially appropriate before the holidays for hardworking and good people. 

One manager told me how their people especially looked forward to this little gesture, and often came to asking about it with such joy.

So the manager told me that they just said before holiday times, “I’m not looking what time you leave today.”

To me that sounded like genuine leadership, where people are not just treated as “human resources,” but instead “human capital”—something to invest in and not just something to use `willy nilly. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Only Game In Town

This was a funny sign up in Harpers Ferry yesterday, Thanksgiving Day. 

Outside this restaurant, it says, “Only OPEN Place in Town, GREAT Food.”

I suppose if it’s the only game in town, then whatever food they have is by definition “great”-compared to going hungry that is. 

Life is very much like this–where everything is relative. 

If I have too many choices–how do I choose? 

Whatever I choose, I may second guess myself that maybe another one would’ve been better. 

It’s like when I go out with my daughter to eat, somehow whatever she orders is always better than what I got!

But when choice is limited or non-existent, well then “beggars can’t be choosey.”

Essentially, your happy with what you have– perhaps, something is often better than nothing. 

But really it’s much more than that, because if you look closely at others, you realize that what you have is actually a pretty darn good lot in life–so don’t be envious, jealous, or be too quick to want to change places with your neighbor. 

Obviously, this was a very apropos sign for Thanksgiving–where we need to learn to be grateful for everything we have in life. 

It is our basket, and we wouldn’t want to trade it for anything in the world (and if you did, you’d be sorry afterwards). 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)