Rabbi Refuses to Give Menorah to Trump White House for Hanukkah Party

It was big news when NBA superstar Steph Curry chose to not go to the White House with his Golden State Warriors team to meet President Donald Trump after winning the 2017 NBA Championship. But he's just one player. After voicing his decision, President Trump uninvited the entire Warriors team. Next to opt out of a White House visit was the entire Women's Basketball team from South Carolina. The team, which won its first NCAA championship in April, was invited to attend a reception at the White House, but declined the invitation.

It's not only athletes who are refusing invitations to the White House. It will be very interesting to see how many Jewish leaders opt out of attending the annual Hanukkah reception at the White House next month. Invitations have already gone out and presumably only rabbis and other Jewish leaders the Trump Administration thinks would accept have been extended an invitation. However, there are likely to be many invitees, even ardent Trump supporters, who will cave to pressure and choose to not attend the Hanukkah party at the White House this year based on actions and public statements by the President himself.

What's interesting to note is that, while there hasn't been any news yet about people refusing to attend the Hanukkah party, there has already been talk of a Reform rabbi who has turned down the White House's request to borrow a menorah from the synagogue to be kindled at the reception.

President Obama lights a menorah in the White House. President Trump is having trouble getting a menorah loaned to the White House as one rabbi has already refused on ethical grounds. (Obama White House Archives)

The rabbi, who is at a Reform congregation and wished to remain anonymous, shared the account after nixing the White House representative's appeal to borrow a menorah to be used at the Hanukkah party. I learned about it from another rabbinic colleague, who posted the story on Facebook:

"I received this from a rabbinic colleague I deeply respect, and was deeply moved by their integrity and bold resistance:
Just got off the phone with someone in Washington, D.C., who is helping to plan the White House’s Hanukkah Banquet this year. It seems the White House was interested in borrowing a special hanukkiah to use in this year’s celebration.
I told her we are honored to be asked.
I told her I wish I could say yes.
I told her that Hanukkah’s celebration of religious freedom, spreading light in the face of darkness, cultivating hope instead of fear, is antithetical to everything this White House has embraced.
I told her we would have to say no.
Then I received a second phone call, that this conversation should be kept confidential. I asked why. Because it wouldn’t be appropriate, I was told. Because this is how things are done in Washington, D.C., I was told.
I told her I would take that into consideration.
I did.
And then I wrote this post."

I'm sure this wasn't an easy decision for the rabbi to make because there's a certain amount of clout in having your menorah be the one used in the White House. After all, most menorahs that are borrowed by the White House to light at the annual White House Hanukkah party are already famous or have some meaning as to why they were used.

So, already an NBA star, a women's college basketball team and a menorah have opted to dis the President and stay away from Trump's White House. It will be interesting to see who else does.

The White House Hanukkah Party 2015

My wife, Elissa, and I returned home Thursday following a busy two days in Washington D.C. Since becoming parents, we have both really made it a point to not go out in the evenings during Hanukkah, let alone travel out of town away from the kids. However, when I received an invitation to the annual Hanukkah Reception at The White House, we (of course) decided to make an exception knowing it would be quite the experience.

Like so many rabbis and Jewish community leaders I have enthusiastically followed the excitement of the annual Hanukkah party at The White House in past years from the outside looking in by scanning the photos and videos guests upload to Facebook and other social media. This year when the invitation arrived asking for my presence along with a guest, I knew Elissa and I would have a different perspective from the inside. After posting several photos (okay, a lot of photos!) on Facebook and Instagram during the party Wednesday evening, several friends asked me to blog about the experience, so here are some reflections:

We had heard a few fun tidbits from past attendees and they all proved to be true. The line of invited guests on the street outside The White House waiting to be processed by Secret Service security truly is an unofficial Jewish leadership reunion and a "Who's Who" of the American Jewish world. On the advice of some White House Hanukkah Party veterans, we got in line about an hour before the time on the invitation. We were surprised to see that the line was already about 40 people deep when we arrived. From our Uber car we could already see several friends and colleagues walking down the street toward The White House. At the front of the line I was excited to see Rabbi Burt Visotzky, one of my favorite teachers from rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

The other rumor that is completely true is that the lamb chops at The White House are out of this world. Never have I eaten such delicious lamb chops before. They were enough to turn a vegan back into a carnivore. Just delicious! And of course, as in all years, The White House was made kosher and kosher supervised by Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive VP of American Friends of Chabad Lubavitch. In addition to all the photos guests post of themselves in front of the portraits of Past Presidents, one of the most common photos is of the sign from Rabbi Shemtov explaining the strict kashrut standards for the evening.

With Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Kosher Supervisor for the annual Hanukkah Reception at The White House

The security process was very intense, which is not surprising considering it is The White House and the President and First Lady were in attendance. After having our identification checked twice by Secret Service against the list of attendees we were then taken into a small security house one by one to be sniffed by a German Shepherd before going through the security scanners. Once inside The White House, however, it was a very warm and relaxing atmosphere without any concern for our safety.

With Matt Nosanchuk

Each year the annual Hanukkah reception at The White House is organized by the liaison to the Jewish community, a position currently held by Matt Nosanchuk. I had the honor of meeting Matt, a Detroit expat, at the Hanukkah party and I was amazed at what a spectacular job he does. Let's face it, it is not an easy task to produce two back-to-back parties for hundreds of Jewish leaders on the same day. I had a chance to also meet Jarrod Bernstein, a past liaison to the Jewish community position in the Obama administration, at the reception. Waiting for the President to speak, I also spotted Jay Footlick, who was the Jewish liaison in the Clinton Administration.

The Hanukkah party was, as I presumed, not a political event at all. There were Democrats and Republicans in attendance. It really was an opportunity to celebrate Hanukkah and not to debate any divisive political issues. I was, however, concerned about inappropriate comments that some people might make on photos I posted to social media that evening and I didn't want to have to be occupied with monitoring my Facebook account while at the party. So, before I left for Washington, I gave my assistant the task of monitoring my social networks for anything overtly offensive. At the end of the night, I'm happy to say that she only had to remove three comments that were inappropriate.

The best piece of advice about the party came from Rabbi Steven Wernick, the CEO of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, who had attended the afternoon party. Before we headed out that evening, I asked him for any pointers and he was emphatic about wearing comfortable shoes. I told Elissa and she quickly threw a pair of comfortable shoes into her purse. After standing for a long time waiting for the President and First Lady to enter the room, she switched shoes and was grateful for Steve's advice, especially a few hours later as we made our way from The White House to the Library of Congress for Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz's Hanukkah party (the "after party" as some refer to the congresswoman's annual get-together).

My wife and I with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz at her Hanukkah party at the Library of Congress

The White House is beautiful inside and even more so during the holidays. Guests of the party were free to roam from room to room. Some of the highlights were viewing the portraits of Past Presidents and First Ladies, looking through books in the library, checking out the beautiful candid photos of the First Family that adorned the walls, and admiring the display of the official White House dishes and holiday cards from past administrations. With The White House decorated for Christmas, it was comical to see so many rabbis -- of all denominations -- posing for photos in front of Christmas trees and wreaths.

My wife, Elissa Miller, with First Lady Michelle Obama at The White House Hanukkah Party

One of the highlights, of course, was actually shaking hands with President Obama and Mrs. Obama. A White House staff member told Elissa where the best place to stand would be and we took his advice. It was fun watching as the President shmoozed with the kids next to us, asking about their school and sports teams. Before we left for Washington I asked one of my children what he wanted me to bring back for him. I was thinking a t-shirt, but he asked me to get a video of President Obama saying "hi" to him. Surprisingly, I was able to comply!

Many people have asked me about the differences between the afternoon Hanukkah party and the evening Hanukkah party. I too was curious and asked William Daroff earlier in the day. He explained that both parties are essentially the same. The food is the same at both parties and each have a Jewish a capella group perform (The Maccabeats from Yeshiva University sang at the afternoon party and the Chai Notes from Cornell sang in the evening). This year, the afternoon party included a visit from Reuven Rivlin, the President of Israel, and Vice President Joe Biden and Ambassador Ron Dermer were there too. The evening party included all three Jewish Supreme Court justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, although we only saw Justice Ginsburg who stood right by us during the ceremony (the President jokingly referred to by her nickname, "The Notorious RBG").

With my wife, Elissa Miller, Ruth Messinger of AJWS and Rep. Eliot Engel

President Rivlin lit the Hanukkah candles at the afternoon party, while at the evening party we had the honor of watching as Holocaust survivor Manny Lindenbaum lit the chanukkiyah with his granddaughter Lauren. President Obama talked about Lindenbaum's story of being born in Germany, deported to Poland, and eventually escaping to England with his brother via the Kindertransport. His parents and sister perished at Auschwitz. The President also shared the story of of how Lindenbaum, at age 81, rode his bicycle 200 miles with his children and grandchildren last year retracing his voyage in Europe and raising money for HIAS (the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society).

With Holocaust survivor Manny Lindenbaum

After the ceremony, Elissa and I had the pleasure of speaking with him and he explained to us what he was talking with President Obama about when they huddled together following the ceremony. It turns out that when he received the call from The White House asking him to light the menorah, Lindenbaum was looking at a photo of his sister who was very young when she was murdered at Auschwitz. He brought a print out of that photo with him to The White House so his sister's memory would be with him. He teared up as he showed the President the photo.

With my wife, Elissa, and longtime Michigan Congressman Sandy Levin at The White House

The rabbi who spoke at the afternoon party made news for her speech, which I heard from the C-Span recording of that ceremony. While I agree with her message that we must stand together against hatred and that we should welcome refugees to our great nation, I think that she took a unique honor and used it inappropriately. The way in which she expressed all of her activist positions was undignified in that setting. Rabbi Sid Schwarz, who spoke at the evening party, on the other hand set the perfect tone and spoke beautifully about Hanukkah and its message for us today. I was very impressed by his words, which were meaningful and inspirational. Rabbi Schwarz's father fled Germany right before Kristallnacht and arrived to America on the St. Louis, the final voyage of that ship that arrived safely in America. The next voyage would be turned back to Nazi Europe as the passengers could see Miami and their fate was set. Rabbi Schwarz, like the skillful rabbi he is, used his personal story as a message about the importance of welcoming in refugees. He did it in a very dignified way and I feel honored that he was chosen to speak at the reception we attended.

Manny and Lauren Lindenbaum, Michelle Obama, President Obama and Rabbi Sid Schwarz

The rich history of The White House was palpable for me as Elissa and I sat on the sofas and touched the doorknobs. I had the opportunity to speak to a woman who was serving glasses of wine. She told me that she began working at The White House a few days following the assassination of President Kennedy, and that while she left her job for a few years she felt compelled to return because it was so rewarding. At the end of the evening we walked over to the windows in the Blue Room and looked out onto the Ellipse as we could see the National Menorah, the National Christmas Tree, and the Washington Monument. It was a moment we'll never forget.

Finally, the part about this experience I will cherish the most is what it means to me as an American to be able to celebrate a Jewish holiday in The White House. Our world is a very dark place right now with a scary amount of hate, violence and divisiveness. There are so many countries in which it is no longer safe to be Jewish, and yet, in its 240th year the United States of America opens the doors of "The People's House" to the Jewish community so we may celebrate our religious holiday in which we bring light into the world. With great humility, I feel truly blessed and honored to have been included in this memorable experience.

Video of the menorah lighting ceremony at The White House Hanukkah Reception 2015:

Why Netanyahu Should Address Congress Next Month

When it comes to politics, I've always thought that it's fair game for rabbis to weigh in. After all, I have a pulpit and a blog and I'm not afraid to use them. However, the caveat I have always made is that I am not a political pundit. I have no more expertise in U.S. foreign policy than the next guy who reads the Wall Street Journal every day and gets weekly email briefings from AIPAC, my undergrad degree in International Relations notwithstanding.

So, when the whole brouhaha broke about Rep. John Boehner inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before Congress without the blessings of the Obama Administration, I kept my opinion to myself. It certainly didn't seem like a controversy. Boehner's the Speaker of the House and is entitled to invite foreign dignitaries to speak there as he sees fit. I certainly wouldn't want the invitation to Netanyahu to compromise the unique relationship (or as AIPAC calls it, "The Friendship") between the United States and Israel to be tarnished, but that shouldn't happen I reasoned. Not to mention, Netanyahu is an intelligent and charismatic speaker who could certainly enlighten members of Congress about the situation with Iran's nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (WikiCommons)

The day after the news broke that President Obama was not happy about Boehner's invitation to Netanyahu, I had the privilege of hearing WSJ columnist Bret Stephens speak at Adat Shalom Synagogue at a Michigan AIPAC event. When asked about the Boehner-Netanyahu-Obama turbulence, Stephens reminded everyone in attendance about what we learned back in 5th grade about the U.S. structure of governance. The system of checks and balances is such that Congress doesn't have to ask permission from the Executive Branch before inviting a foreign head of state to speak to its members. That makes sense.

Michelle Obama's Dress in Saudi Arabia

When leading teen trips in Israel, there was always that first day in the Old City of Jerusalem. On the night before that day, I would often make an announcement on the bus as we headed back to our hotel or youth hostel. Prepping the teens for our exciting day in the Old City, I would remind the young women on the bus that they should dress appropriately making sure to cover their arms and wearing a skirt so as not to offend any of the Ultra-Orthodox near the Kotel (Western Wall) or on our walk around the neighborhoods of the Old City.

There would always be a couple teens who would challenge what I said, asking why we would have to adjust our normal attire for the sake of someone else's beliefs. Some of the teen girls would voice their opposition to the unfairness that the boys could still wear shorts and tank tops in the hot Jerusalem sun the next day, but the girls had to wear long skirts. The compromise was usually that the girls could wear shorts and just keep their skirts in their backpack so they could pull them out and cover up when we entered the Old City. It was a difficult rule for me to defend, but I explained that it was our way of showing respect... not to mention I didn't want to have to deal with the Israeli police who would let me know if any of the teens in my group weren't dressed appropriately for the Kotel plaza.

I thought of those days in Israel when I saw the news footage of First Lady Michelle Obama’s decision not to cover her head in a scarf in Saudi Arabia, when visiting there for the funeral of King Abdullah. She certainly wasn't the only First Lady to eschew this policy -- Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush also didn't wear head scarves during trips to Saudi Arabia. Mrs. Obama's face was blurred out by Saudi state TV and the new king didn't acknowledge her when he greeted President Obama.

The White House Passover Seder Tradition (As Told By Eric Lesser)

I led a Birthright Israel trip in December 2004 with half of the college student participants on our bus from the University of Michigan and the other half from Harvard. Before the trip I was a little concerned as to how the two groups of students would get along on the ten day experience.

However, not only did the Harvard and Michigan undergrads get along great in Israel, but there were some lifelong friendships that were formed. I had a wonderful time co-leading the trip with Gabi Soble, a kindhearted, talented staff member from Harvard Hillel. I also got to know some really impressive young people from Harvard including Eric Lesser. It was clear to me that Eric would go on to do big things in his career and the former President Obama aide is currently on leave from Harvard Law School to run for State Senate in Massachusetts. Of course, he has my full endorsement.

On a Birthright Israel trip with Eric Lesser packing food for the homeless in Israel

Clint Eastwood Talks to Obama's Empty Chair

Watching Clint Eastwood's speech at the Republican National Committee convention last night I just knew it would turn into a meme and a Twitter frenzy. And it did.

Clint Eastwood performing an old comedic routine of talking to an empty chair made international news immediately. Some called it funny, while others thought it was disrespectful to the sitting President of the United States. Most people thought the shtick made Eastwood look a bit crazy.

This morning I tweeted the following joke: "Flipping through channels last night & watched few mins of Gran Torino. Confused. Don't remember scene where Clint Eastwood talks to chair." That tweet immediately got this funny response from Twitter user ‏@skii_bum1985: "@RabbiJason I learned something important the other night: Don't invite Clint Eastwood to a Seder, he might yell at the empty chair."

That would turn out to be the first of many connections made between the imaginary seat of Barack Obama to the empty seat of Elijah. My colleague and friend Rabbi Rachel Gurevitz submitted a wonderful post to the PopJewish.com blog that compares Obama's empty seat with Elijah's at every bris. She writes:

Elijah's Chair was the original empty chair. It shows up at a Bris (circumcision) in particular, but there are other community occasions when the idea of an empty chair - an extra seat that indicates openness to receiving an unexpected visitor or guest - is commonly referred to as 'Elijah's chair'. On Passover, we also have the tradition of 'Elijah's Cup'. The story behind this tradition is that there were certain questions that the Sages of the Talmud were unsure how to answer, specifically with regard to how they designed the Passover Seder ritual, but on other occasions as well. Elijah, who is held in Jewish tradition to return to announce the arrival of the Messiah, would be able to resolve our unanswered questions when he did so.

Of course a meme has been started based on Clint Eastwood's performance last night. I thought this one was pretty funny:

I created my own contributions to the meme using Photoshop. Here is Clint Eastwood at Barack Obama's bar mitzvah as he hoists him up in the chair during the Hora dance:

 And here's the imagined conversation if President Obama were actually sitting in the chair:

As Rabbi Gurevitz notes, the idea of an "Elijah chair" for Obama isn't such a stretch. Tablet, an online journal, related a few months ago that some of Obama's donors use the term "Elijah's Chair" to refer to the empty chair left at the tables of certain major donors just in case the President comes by to sit and shmooze.

Well, at least Clint Eastwood brought some fun to what are usually pretty dull conventions.

White House Comedian Ari Teman Gets a Laugh Out of Obama

Ari Teman is having a great year. First, the Jewish comedian and founder of Jcorps wins the highly competitive Jewish Community Hero award. Next, he gets invited to the White House Hanukkah party. I'm pretty sure it was a legit invite and that he didn't just crash an official White House party like Tareq and Michaele Salahi did last month.

Seth Galena, one-half of the Bangitout.com duo, reported on Facebook about Ari Teman's White House experience. Apparently, he didn't just shake the president's hand in the receiving line, but actually used the time to tell Barack Obama a joke. The party was a who's-who of Jewish D.C. including an assortment of Jewish leaders from across the nation.

Here's the apparent conversation between Ari Teman and the 44th president of the U.S.:

Ari: Mr. President, I'm a comedian from New York --
Obama: Are you funny?
Ari : I tell jokes about you on stage every night, can I tell you one?
Obama: Sure.
Ari: I'll say "Obama" instead of "Mr. President."
Obama: Sure.
Ari: So, they're calling Obama a Nazi --
Obama: Oh yeah (nodding)
Ari: Which I think is fantastic... because if you thought the Presidency was a tough job for a black guy to get!
[Obama starts cracking up.]
Ari: ...Nazi... we have overcome! Mr. President, you have broken down color barriers.
[Obama, still laughing, shakes Teman's hand again and gives him a hug]
Obama: That's great!!