Thankful for what?

Here's the end of my column this week in the Jewish Journal, on something we can all be thankful for...

It struck me that perhaps this idea of having our own story is itself transformational.
Just like we can draw strength from the master story of the Jewish people, we each have our own stories that we can nurture and shape and draw strength from. As Rabbi Naomi Levy told me a few days ago, while talking about a new book she is writing, some of these stories are more difficult or tragic than others, some are easier, but for better or for worse they are our stories — the stories that we are called upon to make our own.
As we live out these stories, we make choices. We can choose to rally a community and help a friend with a brain tumor; we can choose to give a few hours of joy to a group of kids with special needs; and we can learn to appreciate the gifts of our tradition, which include a day of the week that can transcend the deepest grief.
Maybe, then, this is the blessing that we have to be most thankful for: the very idea that we each have a story we can call our own, and that we have the power to shape and influence that story — even if we can never write its ending.
Happy Thanksgiving.