Passover !

 I was invited to a Seder last night.  Doug Emhoff invited me to his Seder.  Really.  I was invited to the White House.

Me and about 34,000 other people.  

White House Seder

Yes, Emhoff -- the first Second Gentleman, the first Jewish spouse in the White House, held a virtual Seder via Zoom last night.  

The first Passover Seder in the White House happened during the Obama administration, and was for Jewish staffers and their guests.  Last night's event was prepared by Jewish staffers and by the Rabbi from Emhoff's synagogue, and was shared via Zoom and YouTube with a much broader audience.  

The Passover story is both ancient and modern, filled with discussion of oppression, freedom,  speaking truth to power... it was interesting to see all those highly-placed White House officials reminisce about their family Seders and then talk about social justice.  The Rabbi who led the service -- she was wonderful.  And the children from the Jewish Day school, who sang a few prayers, were absolutely adorable.

Of course there was a message from the President and Dr. Biden -- they stumbled over the Hebrew words, but their well wishes were sincere.

And then, at the end of the service, the Vice President joined her husband.  Did you ever notice?  When she sits beside him, and they are both facing the camera...when he starts to speak, she turns her head and looks at him...you can see she truly loves him.

If you're interested....the event was about an hour long, here's the video.