New York Today: The Local Roots of Thanksgivukkah

Yana Paskova for The New York Times The first Thanksgiving sermon preached at the country’s oldest Jewish congregation, Shearith Israel, on display at the synagogue.

You may know by now that Thanksgiving this year falls on the first day of Hanukkah, a once-in-many-lifetimes coincidence.

But the two holidays have more in common than you might think.

And perhaps the best place in the United States to explore their overlap is Shearith Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in the city (and the continent, for that matter).

In 1789, George Washington proclaimed “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” across the fledgling nation.

At Shearith Israel, the rabbi responded by instructing his congregation to observe this new holiday.

His Thanksgiving sermon is on display at the synagogue, which is now on Central Park West.

So where does Hanukkah come in?

When Congress debated a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, supporters likened the holiday to the celebrations after the building of the temple in Jerusalem in ancient times.

Shearith Israel’s new rabbi, Meir Soloveichik, who was installed on Sunday, pointed out that it is the rededication of the temple that forms the basis of Hanukkah.

In other words, way back when, Shearith Israel was embracing a national holiday that already had been connected in some way to Hanukkah.

“The jokes about ‘Thanksgivukkah’ are funny,” said Rabbi Soloveichik, who teaches at Yeshiva University.

“But to truly appreciate the connection between the holidays, you have to understand the history.”

The title of Rabbi Soloveichik’s inaugural sermon on Sunday?

“Thanksgiving: America’s Hanukkah.”

Here’s what else you need to know for Monday.

WEATHER

Still very cold, but better than Sunday, with periwinkle skies and a high of 33.

Clouds tonight. Consider setting out your boots. Rain, even sleet, may fall on Tuesday.

COMMUTE

Subways: Nothing to worry about. Click for latest status.

Rails: Looking fine. Click for L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.

Roads: No problems. Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s.

Alternate-side parking is in effect.

COMING UP TODAY

- Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio speaks at the Summit on Children at Columbia University. 12:45 p.m.

- City Council members and activists rally at City Hall to support a proposed ban on polystyrene, a.k.a. Styrofoam. Noon.

- Marty Mar Alert: The Brooklyn borough president, Marty Markowitz, gives away turkeys at Borough Hall Plaza. 11 a.m.

- The American Museum of Natural History lights its origami holiday tree, with ornaments in the shape of the snakes, frogs and spiders from its exhibit on poisons. [$22]

- David Byrne brings back his Philippine-themed concert, “Here Lies Love,” for just one night to benefit typhoon victims. 7 p.m at Terminal Five. [Tickets start at $58.80; some are still available]

- Bonhams auctions the Maltese Falcon statuette that appeared in the 1941 film, and other movie memorabilia. 1 p.m.

- Lady Gaga will play the Roseland Ballroom next spring, before that vaunted venue closes down. Tickets go on sale here. 10 a.m.

- The writer and creator of Jezebel.com, Anna Holmes, reads from her new book, “The Book of Jezebel: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Lady Things,” at New York University. 6 p.m. [Free]

- Happy Evacuation Day! Today, 230 years ago, the last British soldiers pushed off from the Battery in a longboat after their seven-year occupation of the city.

- For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.

AND FINALLY…

“Never have I had such a joyous time,” one letter begins. “I don’t think we ever stopped laughing.”

The author: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Her correspondent: Edward I. Koch.

Mr. Koch, who was the city’s mayor from 1978 to 1989, died in February.

His ephemera, including Ms. Onassis’s letter, will be auctioned off today by Doyle New York.

Other letters are from Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, Yitzhak Rabin, the Clintons and Margaret Thatcher.

Ms. Onassis, whose note is expected to go for a modest $200 or $300, praised the famously outspoken mayor.

“Your love of life is contagious and you sent everyone home feeling a joy and insouciance that does not happen every day in dear old N.Y.C.”

Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.

New York Today is a morning roundup that stays live from 6 a.m. till about noon.

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