THE FIRST YOM LEHODOT

William Leisner
Sep 9, 2018 · 14 min read

(A play for young performers)

SCENE ONE: A town square in England, 1620. Town folk mill about, going about their usual routines on a typical day.

NARRATOR: (O.S.) This is the story of the first Day of Thanks, and how America was started. The story begins almost four hundred years ago in England.

(The TOWN CRIER ENTERS, ringing a hand bell. Everyone stops what they are doing to watch and listen as he crosses to center stage.)

TOWN CRIER: Hear ye, hear ye, Hear ye! By order of his Majesty, King James, the Church of England shall be the only faith practiced in his realm. Anyone who does not worship in this manner shall be punished!

(The crier resuming his bell ringing and chanting as he continues his way across the stage and EXITS.)

ENGLISHMAN 1: This is terrible! We should be able to worship Jesus Christ the way we wish!

ENGLISHMAN 2: I agree! The King is going against God when he denies the authority of the Pope!

ENGLISHMAN 1: (offended) No, faith should not be ruled by Pope or King, but by man’s own conscience!

ENGLISHMAN 2: (equally offended) That sounds like heresy to me!

ENGLISHMAN 1: Only a heretic would think that!

(The two men continue bickering as they move offstage. A third man and a girl watch them warily as they go. These are RABBI BENJAMIN BEN-AMI and his daughter, SARAH. Once the argument fades away, they speak to one another in cautious tones.)

SARAH: Papa, why is there so much anger about how we love God?

RABBI: It’s a difficult question to answer, Sarah. But it is very much like this all over Europe. Some Christians think the Pope and his bishops should rule over kings, and others who think God chooses the kings so they call rule over all.

(Another pair, LEVI and MIRYAM, joins them, while looking around for anyone watching them.)

LEVI: This is what Christians call oppression. Ha! What do they know from oppression?

MIRYAM: Catholics and Protestants are much more alike than they are different. Not like we Jews are.

(Others join the small knot of Jews gathered downstage, including another couple, JACOB and TAMAR.)

RABBI: No. It is far more difficult for us, because our ways are so strange to Christians.

TAMAR: My grandmother told me King Edward expelled all the Jews from England over three hundred years ago.

JACOB: Yes, but many were too poor to leave, and had to hide like we still do.

MIRYAM: Other countries hate Jews too. My grandfather had to escape from Spain when the Inquisition came to arrest and torture his family.

SARAH: Papa, could that happen to us here, too?

RABBI: I fear it could. We need to find a better way to live, so we can be free to follow our own faith.

(Murmurs of agreement from the group.)

JACOB: But how, Rabbi?

LEVI: I know! We should go to America!

TAMAR: Yes! A new world!

JACOB: A promised land, where we can be free!

LEVI: I know where we can hire a ship!

RABBI: (thinks deeply, then speaks) We would need to sacrifice much, and endure great hardship. But I believe it will be worth the risks. (the group cheers again) Gather your families, sell your homes and all you own. Like our ancestors, we shall cross the wide sea, and find a land to call our own.

(The congregation continues to cheer as they all EXIT.)

SCENE TWO: The New World, two months later. A broad clearing a short distance from the shore, bordered by forest.

NARRATOR: (O.S.) And so they hired a ship called the Honeysuckle. They sailed for two months across the Atlantic Ocean, until they finally reached America.

(Rabbi Ben-Ami enters from stage left, accompanied by a small group of fellow Honeysuckle passengers, including ISAAC.)

RABBI: We are here! Our new home!

LEVI: At last!

TAMAR: Give thanks to God!

RABBI: We shall call this place Etham, after the place where the Israelites entered the wilderness after leaving Egypt.

ISAAC: That’s a very good name, because this is a wilderness.

(SFX: A loud owl hoot. Everyone flinches in fear.)

ISAAC: (continuing) How will we live here? The growing season is already over, and the food we brought on the Honeysuckle has almost run out.

RABBI: Do not sound so dire, Isaac! This is not a desert, but a rich land of plenty!

LEVI: The rabbi is right! We will use our muskets to hunt for meat!

(And Levi, musket in hand, heads off to hunt.)

MIRYAM: And I can go out to look for berries or other fruits!

(Miryam, basket in hand, heads off to forage.)

SARAH: And I can dig for roots that are good to eat!

(She picks up a small hand trowel and moves upstage, behind a tree, to start digging.)

ISAAC: I’m sorry, Rabbi. My faith should be stronger.

RABBI: We all have fears, Isaac. But believe in the Lord, and He will provide.

SARAH: (excitedly) Look!!

(She comes out from behind the tree to rejoin the Rabbi and Isaac. Miryam and Levi both come running as well.)

SARAH: (continuing) Everyone, look what I found!!

(She holds up an ear of multicolored corn in each hand. The rabbi takes one to examine.)

RABBI: It looks like some strange native type of grain.

SARAH: (nodding excitedly) There’s enough to feed an entire village buried over there!

(Everyone cheers, except for Isaac.)

ISAAC: But, who buried it here?

LEVI: Everyone! Gather up all you can and bring it with us! We will feed ourselves for the winter, and then in the spring will plant what is left.

RABBI: The Lord has provided! Praise be to God!

ALL: Praise be to God! Praise be to God!

(Isaac is slow to take up the chant with the others, but eventually he does, though with far less excitement, and he trails behind the rest as they file behind the tree, gather up what corn they can, and march offstage.)

NARRATOR: (O.S.) And so the Ethamites — as the settlers of the Etham Colony decided to call themselves — gathered up the corn and used it to feed themselves over the long winter. But many still went hungry, and others became sick in the harsh cold. Nearly half of them died.

RABBI: (O.S.) Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

ALL: (O.S.) Amen.

SCENE THREE: “Etham Colony” the following spring. A portion of the background forest has been cleared, and a pair of small houses built in their place.

NARRATOR: (O.S.) Finally, the snows began to melt, and the sun began to shine through the clouds once again.

(Rabbi Ben-Ami enters, joined one by one by other Ethamites.)

RABBI: At long last, spring is here!

SARAH: The warm sun feels so good!

LEVI: Yes, we finally made it through the winter! Such a relief!

ISAAC: But many of us did not.

(Everyone falls silent at that, and takes a reflective pause.)

RABBI: We have lost many friends and loved ones. The entire winter was one long shiva. We mourn those who have died, but we also celebrate our new life. Come, let us begin to build.

(All the colonists take up hoes and shovels and start tilling the land. While they are all absorbed in their work, a pair of Wampanoag — MASSASOIT and SQUANTO — appear from stage right, on the edge of the fields. Miryam is the first to notice them, and screams out when she does. The rest of the colonists straighten up and turn toward the strangers, and quickly press together into a tight protective knot.)

SQUANTO: Welcome, Englishmen!

RABBI: (stepping forward) Hello. You speak our language?

SQUANTO: Yes. The white people have come here for many years.

MASSASOIT: But never with women and children, and never for so long in one place.

RABBI: Yes, we have come here to make a new home for our people. I am Rabbi Benjamin Ben-Ami.

MASSASOIT: I am Massasoit, Sachem of the Pokanoket Tribe. This is Squanto, my friend and interpreter.

SQUANTO: This land used to belong to my people, the Patuxet. They are the ones who gathered the corn that you took before the snows fell.

(A low guilty murmur spreads through the colonists.)

ISAAC: We did not know.

LEVI: We had our women and children to feed!

RABBI: We will be happy to repay you from what we grow and harvest.

(Massasoit and Squanto have a brief whispered exchange, then turn back to the colonists.)

MASSASOIT: This is acceptable.

SQUANTO: But you will not grow enough this way.

ISAAC: What do you mean?

SQUANTO: This soil is difficult to farm. I can show you a better way to plant your crops.

RABBI: Thank you, that would be very kind.

(Squanto gets down on his knees and starts to dig into the dirt with his hands, while the Ethamites huddle around and watch. Massasoit stands at a slight remove by himself, while the Rabbi, Sarah and Levi observe from the other side.)

SARAH: I’m glad they’ve decided to be our friends. Now we don’t have to be afraid of them anymore.

LEVI: They seem friendly now. But how do we know we can trust them?

RABBI: Levi, my friend, don’t try to find trouble; troubles enough are sure to find us without our help.

SCENE FOUR: Etham colony, summer. The corn stalks have grown to a couple feet in height. In addition to Squanto, another half-dozen Wampanoag are present, each having paired off with one or two Ethamites, teaching them how to make bows and arrows, treat animal skins, and perform other tasks.

NARRATOR: (O.S.) As time passed, the Natives taught the Ethamites a great many things to help them adjust to life in their new home.

SQUANTO: (to Jacob, showing him an arrow) When the feathers are attached straight, the arrow will fly true.

JACOB: Thank you for your help, friend Squanto. Soon I will be as good a hunter with a bow as Levi is with his gun!

SQUANTO: You are welcome, Jacob. But your muskets are very fierce weapons. Why do you wish to hunt with bow and arrow?

JACOB: Because our supply of gunpowder is limited. It’s better to save as much as we can for when we truly need it.

SQUANTO: Gunpowder is what makes your musket work?

JACOB: Yes. (he picks up a musket lying beside him, miming as he explains) You see, you pour the gunpowder into the pan here. Then you pour more gunpowder down the barrel together with the lead ball. When you pull the trigger, the flint hits steel and makes a spark. That ignites the gunpowder and fires the ball.

(The Rabbi enters stage left, and calls from the edge of the stage.)

RABBI: Come everyone. The sun almost down. Shabbat is about to begin.

(The colonists go off to prayer services, following the rabbi and exiting. The Natives gather around Squanto, who still holds the musket.)

NATIVE WOMAN 1: It is a strange custom that they do no work on every seventh day.

NATIVE MAN 1: (to Squanto) Did you learn how to use their muskets?

SQUANTO: Yes, I think so. But we have no gunpowder.

NATIVE WOMAN 2: We can take some now, while they are at prayer.

NATIVE MAN 2: Yes! I know where they store their supplies!

(These two nod to each other, and rush off on their mission.)

NATIVE WOMAN 1: (to Squanto) Is this a good idea?

SQUANTO: We can say we needed it for hunting, and bring them our extra meat.

NATIVE MAN 1: Yes! They will thank us for such a gift on the day they cannot cook food themselves.

(The Native Man and Woman return, carrying a leather case.)

NATIVE MAN 2: Look, we found it!

(He opens the case, and his partner pulls out a white paper cylinder the size of an adult finger, twisted shut at both ends.)

NATIVE WOMAN 2: (handing packet to Squanto) Show us what he told you to do.

(Squanto takes the cylinder, bites off one of the twisted ends to open it, and pours a small bit of gunpowder into the pan. He then drops the rest down the barrel, and uses the ramrod to pack it in. The rest of the Natives move behind him as he aims off into the open field… )

(SFX: A musket blast. The onlookers all cheer as Squanto raises the musket over his head and whoops triumphantly…)

(SFX: A second musket blast. Squanto jerks, and drops to the ground, while the rest of the Natives stare in silent disbelief.)

LEVI: (O.S.) We’re being attacked! We’re being attacked!!

(The Natives all run off in panic as Levi rushes onstage, gun in hand, followed close behind by several other Ethamites.)

LEVI: We’re being attacked! We’re being attacked!!

(He stops short when he sees the body on the ground, and the colonists form a loose semicircle around it.)

SARAH: Is he dead?

MIRYAM: (pointing to the musket in Squanto’s hand) He was trying to steal our guns!

LEVI: I knew it! Savage devils!

SARAH: (kneeling and looking at the dead man’s face) It’s Squanto! Levi, you killed him!

(Shocked murmurs of disbelief and grief ripple through the crowd. Isaac crosses over to Levi, tears the musket from his hands and hurls it to the ground.)

ISAAC: You killed our friend!

LEVI: (shaken) I-I thought he was going to kill us all!

(SFX: Drums. The Ethamites fall silent as Massasoit then enters, accompanied by the Native witnesses.)

(SFX: Drums stop)

MASSASOIT: What has happened here? Who has done this?!

(No one answers. After an uncomfortable silence, Rabbi Ben-Ami steps forward.)

RABBI: It was a mistake, Sachem. He was holding a gun, and we were afraid.

(Massasoit scowls, then squats down to examine Squanto’s body.)

MASSASOIT: He was struck in the back! (he stands) Who did this? Give him to us to be punished!

(The Rabbi turns to face his people. They all avoid his look, including Isaac. The Rabbi pauses as he decides what to do, then turns back to Massasoit.)

RABBI: The loss of our friend Squanto is punishment of all the people of Etham. We will deal with the murderer in accordance with our laws.

MASSASOIT: “As he hath done, so shall it be done to him. Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.” This is what you tell me your law says.

LEVI: NO!!

(Levi flees in fear. The gathered Natives are about to chase after him, but the rest of the Ethamites pull themselves upright and present a defensive barrier, stopping the Natives. For several seconds, there is a tense, silent stand-off.)

RABBI: We do not want war with your people, Sachem.

MASSASOIT: Yet you broke from your prayers to kill this peace-loving man.

(There is a long, tense face-off between the two leaders. In the end, Massasoit looks away first, and gives a hand signal to his people. Four of them lift up Squanto’s body, and carry it off stage right.)

MASSASOIT: We will honor Squanto’s spirit. Let there be no more killing today.

(He and the rest of the Wampanoag turn their backs on Etham and exit.)

ISAAC: But what of tomorrow?

(The Rabbi puts a hand on his shoulder, but says nothing as he and the others gradually disperse and move off stage, leaving just Sarah, standing over the spot where Squanto fell.)

SARAH: (softly) Glorified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us all. Amen.

SCENE FIVE: Etham colony, autumn. The corn stalks are at their height, and bushels of already harvested corn, beans and squash sit along the edge of the field.

NARRATOR: (O.S.) For the rest of the summer, the Wampanoag kept to themselves and did not visit Etham. The Ethamites likewise avoided the Natives so as not to stir up more troubles. Then, as the harvest approached and summer turned to autumn…

(SFX: shofar being blown. The Ethamites come parading onto the stage, led by the Rabbi blowing the shofar, and cheering “L’shanah tovah!” and “Happy New Year!” They then gather at center stage and the rabbi lowers the shofar.)

RABBI: Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this season.

ALL: Amen.

RABBI: Today is Rosh Hashanah, the head of a new year. We celebrate the Creation of the Heavens and the Earth 5382 years ago, but we also celebrate what we have created here in Etham. We thank God for seeing us through to these days of wonder, days of introspection, days of awe.

ALL: Baruch HaShem.

(The colonists break into smaller groups, with the Rabbi and Sarah taking front stage center. Sarah carries a small basket with her.)

SARAH: (kisses him on the cheek) L’shanah tovah, Father.

RABBI: (hugs her) L’shanah tovah. It is such a joy to be free to worship freely, and to blow the shofar as the Torah commands! But I do wish we had the apples and honey to make this a sweet new year.

SARAH: (reaching into her basket to pull out small cups) But we do have ripe wild berries. And this maple syrup is even sweeter than honey!

(They each take a berry, dip it into the syrup, and eat. Both look pensive as they swallow.)

RABBI: It was Squanto who taught us how to tap the maple trees.

SARAH: And the other Wampanoag showed us which berries were good, and which poisonous.

(They silently reflect on their lost and estranged friends. As they do so, Levi emerges from stage left.)

ISAAC: (the first to notice him) Levi! You’re back!

(Everyone turns toward him, murmuring in surprise.)

JACOB: We haven’t seen you for months!

TAMAR: What happened?

(Levi ignores everyone, slowly walking across the stage. The Rabbi moves to block his path, and puts his hands on his shoulders.)

RABBI: Brother Levi, where have you been?

LEVI: Praying and repenting, Rabbi. And now I wish to return.

RABBI: Of course. But you know what must be done first.

(Levi nods, then walks past the rabbi to the field. He picks up a bushel of corn, and carries it off stage right. The rabbi follows, as does Sarah, and then the rest of the Ethamites, taking all the bushels away.)

SCENE SIX: Massasoit’s village. A dome-shaped wigwam sits at the edge of the Wampanoag’s fields.

(SFX: Shofar in the distance, growing closer. Massasoit emerges from the wigwam, and others of the village gather with him, watching as the Ethamites approach en masse. Levi moves ahead of the rest of the group, lays his bushel at Massasoit’s feet, and remains bowed over before him.)

LEVI: Sachem Massasoit, I come before you a sinner. I killed Squanto, your brother and our friend. Worse, I also killed the trust you placed in Rabbi Ben-Ami and all the Ethamites. I cannot ask you to forgive me, but I do ask you to forgive them.

RABBI: (joining Levi) I also have sinned against you, Sachem. The Lord’s greatest commandment is, What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. But we have treated your people with suspicion and distrust and violence — just as the people of Europe treated us. We came here to be free to practice our faith, but I have been untrue to that faith. We come here today, during these holiest of holy days, to atone for our failings.

(The rest of the Ethamites who had gathered up bushels then move forward, and lay them before Massasoit and his fellows. The Natives murmur in surprise as the Sachem considers this silently, then speaks.)

MASSASOIT: White men have visited here for many years. They hunted our game, burned our woods, taken our people away in chains. When you arrived and started to build a village, we prayed to manitou to destroy you. I watched you suffer through the winter, and I was glad. Squanto changed my heart, and convinced us to make friendship with you. Today, you have shown me the wisdom of his words, and the wrongness of my own heart. (steps forward and extends hand) I forgive, and ask also to be forgiven.

RABBI: (clasping his hand) Thank you, Brother Massasoit. Shalom!

MASSASOIT: Shalom!

(The rest of the Ethamites and the natives all cheer.)

NARRATOR: (O.S.) And so, on Yom Kippur, as the Ethamites fasted and made teshuvah, the Pokanoket prepared a great feast for them to break their fast together.

(A table is brought out, laden with all sorts of food. The colonists and natives sit side by side and joyfully start eating.)

NARRATOR: (O.S., continuing) And that is why, even to this day, all those who have come to America, whether Jewish or Gentile, celebrate Yom Lehodot, the Day of Giving Thanks, to reflect on all the gifts this New World has given us. We remember the debt we all owe to the Native peoples, try to make amends for the wrongs done them, and pray that the long peace first forged at Etham Colony shall continue for all days.

ALL: Amen.

CURTAIN.