海角大神

Wednesday saw the first major diplomatic breakthrough since the Israel-Hamas war began. Prisoners will be exchanged, and a four-day pause in the fighting will allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. But in Israel, there鈥檚 no sense that the end of the war is close.

There is much hand-wringing about artificial intelligence, and for good reason. Can we develop it responsibly, or will profits push scruples aside? OpenAI embodied an interesting approach to that question. The company鈥檚 descent into chaos this week points to the challenges ahead.聽

The rest of today鈥檚 Daily focuses on the themes of this holiday weekend in the United States. First, one of our reporters went deep on gratitude last Thanksgiving with a story about letters of thanks, and then he joined our podcast to talk about it. For this holiday season, he鈥檚 back with a personal update after an illuminating year.

Turkey leftovers aren鈥檛 the only food that gets thrown out. More than 125 billion pounds of uneaten food ends up in U.S. landfills each year. But these cookbook authors don鈥檛 just help readers eat well. They also help you reduce food waste in commonsense ways.

In tough times, being grateful can feel difficult, even a forced form of 鈥渟uffocating optimism.鈥� But this writer went deeper. In seeking something more active than counting blessings, she found awe and appreciation 鈥� even transformation 鈥� in her connection with others.

When wars break out in distant lands, it is natural to care for the innocent people put in harm鈥檚 way. Such caring has risen dramatically during the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Some favor concern for Israelis, others for Palestinians. Yet others reach for a higher practice of care, rooted in the tenets of religious faith.

At a church in Palo Alto, California, for example, local rabbis, imams, and clergy from other religious traditions gathered Nov. 11 for a prayer vigil in response to the war, but aimed at healing divides in their own community. 鈥淲e鈥檝e grieved together, we鈥檝e wondered what we might bear witness to during this very difficult time,鈥� the Rev. Eileen Altman, associate pastor at the city鈥檚 First Congregational Church, told the Palo Alto Weekly.

鈥淲e felt like, even if we don鈥檛 quite know what to say yet, we know we want to pray together for peace. We want to sing together, we want to pray together. We want to be together.鈥�

That solemn unity and praise is at the heart of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. In times of peace and prosperity, Americans gather to share gratitude for the blessings in their lives. During times of war, the occasion carries an even deeper resonance.

In 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the first national Day of Thanksgiving and Praise. In the midst of a conflict 鈥渙f unequalled magnitude and severity,鈥� he implored Americans to 鈥渟olemnly, reverently and gratefully鈥� acknowledge God鈥檚 mercy 鈥渨ith one heart and one voice.鈥� Marking Thanksgiving in 1940, before the United States had entered World War II, first lady Eleanor Roosevelt urged an obligation toward 鈥渙ur fellow human beings 鈥� people ... whom we could love and understand if it were not for this thing called war.鈥�

At the turn of the 20th century, Mary Baker Eddy, who founded 海角大神 Science and this newspaper, wrote in The Boston Globe that Thanksgiving 鈥渟ignifies that love, unselfed, knocks more loudly than ever before at the heart of humanity and that it finds admittance.鈥�

One reason for the prayer vigil in Palo Alto was to open doors between strangers in the community. 鈥淗ow do we love our neighbors if we don鈥檛 even know them?鈥� asked Samina Sundas, a Muslim civil rights advocate and an organizer of the event. 鈥淪o my request to my fellow Americans would be: Please get to know your neighbors. ... Because the only way this can subside 鈥� this war and violence 鈥� is if we see each other and see our humanity,鈥� she said, according to the Palo Alto Weekly.

That kind of selfless love needs no special day for gratitude. In seasons of war, it is especially needed to express moments of union that can help open windows for peace.