Karov’s First Thanksgiving

It’s that time of year where everyone is asking about and sharing what they will be doing for Thanksgiving. Many friends and acquaintances have shared with me that it is their favorite holiday of the year. It’s an opportunity for them to visit with family they don’t see other times of the year over a delicious feast, all while counting one's blessings. 

While I’m a huge fan of gratitude practices, I’m not usually that into Thanksgiving.That being said, I’ve been finding myself particularly grateful lately. I suspect my gratitude at this harvest festival is connected to the last harvest festival I celebrated- Sukkot.

On October 12th, during Sukkot, we held a “house warming” event for Karov, to officially launch the community. The event was attended by a mixture of people- some who I’d known my entire life and some I had never met before. At the celebration in my backyard, I spoke briefly about the need for an egalitarian Jewish community in South Denver. We ritually called out the name “Karov”, three times to officially name the group. And my mentor, Rabbi Brian Field, and one of my former Bat Mitzvah students blew the shofar to symbolically sound in the new community. 

In addition to blowing shofar, Rabbi Brian also gave me a blessing to help sustain me during the hard, yet meaningful, work of getting a new community off the ground. Here are just a few of the beautiful words he shared:

“Rabbi Amanda, as you begin the holy work of inspiring and guiding

and teaching this community, I offer you these words of blessing:

May the One who brought you to this moment bless you and watch over you.

May the One who shines through you bless you with courage and Compassion.

And may the One who implores each of us to build this world from a foundation of love, bless you with a thriving community of souls to join you in taking up the holy invitation of Karov, of coming near.”

One thing that I’ve noticed in working with families celebrating different lifecycle events is that often it takes a little while to process the impact of an experience. It’s not uncommon that I will meet with a B’nai Mitzvah family a few months after their ceremony and they will tell me how meaningful it was in the moment but, now that a little time has passed, they are better able to absorb the awesome nature of the event and just how sacred it was. 

Arnold van Gennep coined the phrase “right of passage” to describe a ritual that helps one transition from one life stage to a next. According to van Gennep, a right of passage includes three stages: separation, transition, reincorporation. It wasn’t until just this week that it occurred to me how the reintegration stage doesn't necessarily mean just the minute the ritual concludes. Rather, it could refer to weeks or months later, once the impact of the lifecycle event has set in and the individual is adjusting to their new role.

It’s now been almost two months since the Karov Housewarming and I’m at the point where I can fully appreciate how magical that day was. I felt so loved and supported by everyone present. That day also served as the catalyst for launching deeper conversations with people who attended the event and others I’ve met since then. I’ve been absolutely floored and beyond moved by how generous people have been in volunteering their time, resources, and special skills to help Karov thrive. 

So, this Thanksgiving, I’m excited to celebrate the holiday, where I will be treasuring the depth of gratitude I hold for the opportunity to build Karov and for all the community members who are passionately joining me in this important work.

I hope your Thanksgiving is lovely and filled with gratitude.