QUESTION: What is your opinion about celebrating the holiday of Thanksgiving with a turkey dinner?
ANSWER: Thanksgiving is a holiday that was manufactured by gentiles for the purpose of going to church. That’s what the original purpose was. It’s only recently that it became a ‘legal holiday.’ But it used to be a Christian holiday and that’s what it is all the way down till today.
And because it’s not a legal holiday alone, therefore it’s avodah zarah and Jews are forbidden to participate in such a thing, to eat a turkey dinner. Even if the turkey doesn’t have religious symbolism, because it’s connected with the holiday and the holiday itself has religious symbolism, that’s enough to make it forbidden.
There’s a Gemara that says it’s forbidden to wear laurel leaf on the day of a certain gentile avodah zarah. Now, laurel leaf has no religious significance. But because the gentiles wear laurel on that day, it’s forbidden.
And so, if you eat turkey especially for Thanksgiving, you’re an oved avodah zarah. That’s my opinion. Some people are weak in this matter but I think it’s real avodah zarah. I think that a Jew should make a sacrifice not to eat turkey. However, like I told you earlier there are those who permit it and even though I say it’s all wrong I’m not going to force my opinion on you. But if anybody in my synagogue would ask me such a question, I would give it to him. But since you’re not in my synagogue, I’ll let you go.
Reprinted from the Parshas Chayei Sarah 5784 email of Toras Avigdor based on Tape #R-30 (November 1972).
