Home › Forums › Controversial Topics › White House Chanukah Party
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December 12, 2019 10:09 pm at 10:09 pm #1810518yehudayonaParticipant
The last several presidents have had White House Chanukah parties. They don’t necessarily occur on (or even near Chanukah). In 2011, Obama held one that was quite early, and Donald Trump tweeted a complaint: “Why was the Hanukah celebration held in the White House two weeks early? @BarackObama wants to vacation in Hawaii in late December. Sad.” This year Trump held the party even earlier, presumably because he wants to spend his holidays in Mar-a-lago or some such place.
Last year’s party has been in the news because Rudy Giuliani and his two Ukrainian friends, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, were invited. Allegedly, Trump met with them to discuss his plans for Ukraine.
This year’s party is controversial because evangelist Robert Jeffress was invited to speak. Jeffress has said “every other religion in the world [besides Christianity] is wrong: Islam is wrong, it is a heresy from the pit of Hell; Mormonism is wrong, it is a heresy from the pit of Hell,” and, “Judaism, you can’t be saved being a Jew.”
Do you think White House Chanukah parties are good for the Jews or bad for the Jews?
December 14, 2019 8:56 pm at 8:56 pm #1810753Sam KleinParticipant“EVERYTHING Hashem does is for the good rather YOU/WE like it or not and approve it or not.”
This is a fact that all of us as yidden know, so we never have a right to question Hashem on anything going on in the world currently or already in the past rather it looks great or vice versa a tragic jersey city terrorist act.
Everything Hashem does is for the good 24/7 and any person who disagrees with Hashem has a lack of faith and need to work on him/herself and bring themselves back closer to Hashem. Perhaps make yourself a daily learning seder of Chovos Halevavos (duties of the heart) and bring yourself closer to Hashem
December 14, 2019 9:50 pm at 9:50 pm #1810771knaidlachParticipanti think that its a very good thing.
December 14, 2019 9:50 pm at 9:50 pm #1810770knaidlachParticipantSK.of course you are right, but its not a contradiction to asking if something is good or bad. if someone is sick is it good or bad? of course Hashem made him sick and everything Hashem does is good, but at the same time one does whatever he can to become well. WE try hard for things to work out in a way that WE THINK is good. and after things happen we should examine it and decide if it was or good or not and if things have to be changed for the better. its not a contradiction.
December 15, 2019 12:23 pm at 12:23 pm #1810871yehudayonaParticipantknaidlach, could you elaborate? Why do you think it’s a good thing for there to be Chanukah parties in the White House? Do you feel the same way about the White House Pesach seder?
December 16, 2019 6:20 am at 6:20 am #1810971GadolhadorahParticipantLike everything else the Trumpkopf does, this was entirely an effort at his meshugah messaging. Why not invite some right wing evangelical racist galach to the Chanukuah party to reinforce his message that all yidden must either convert to X’tianity or die in some nuclear holocaust so that their moshiach can come. He would have shown some real class and cultural sensitivity by inviting a bunch of guys from Eastern Parkway to run up and down Pennsylvania Avenue waving yellow flags.
December 17, 2019 8:02 am at 8:02 am #1811350MilhouseParticipantWhy is anyone surprised or upset that a Xian minister says his religion is the only true one? What else should he say? Surely everyone believes their religion is the only true one, or they wouldn’t belong to it. We certainly believe that of our religion, so why should it upset us that they believe it of theirs?
The Xian bible says that it is impossible to be saved except by their god; every human being must either accept their god r”l, or else go to Hell. Catholics are not bound by what the Bible says, so their pope can say maybe there is another way to Heaven, just for the Jews. But Protestants are stuck with what their Bible says. This minister is honest; those who claim to disagree with him are either not being honest about it, or else they’re not being honest when they claim to be Xian.
The important point is that he loves us even though he thinks we’re going to Hell, just because the Torah says he should. He wants the blessing of “va’avor’cho mevor’checho”. And we should appreciate that.
December 17, 2019 8:03 am at 8:03 am #1811352RebbeDebbieParticipantWhy does the white house even have these public hannukah parties to begin with? Same goes with the pesach seders.
December 17, 2019 11:30 am at 11:30 am #1811442knaidlachParticipantYehudayona. of course a goy does not have to keep chanuka and pesach or any other mitsva besides the sheva mitsvos benei noach. but its very good when the president acknowledges and supports yiddishe traditions and in a public way. it sends a message to all Americans and to the whole world.
AND it makes those yidden that do not yet observe chanuka or other mitsvos to be proud of our religion and it encourages to get closer to yiddishkeit. for many yidden this might be a way to encourage them to keep more of yiddishkeit.December 17, 2019 8:40 pm at 8:40 pm #1811717yehudayonaParticipantMilhouse, of course no one is surprised that an evangelical minister has the beliefs he has. The strange part is that he was invited to speak at a Chanukah party. And if you think he loves us, I have a bridge to sell you.
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