Chabad Shliach Recites “Shema Yisroel” at White House Reception

By Mica Soffer, Publisher and Editor of COLlive.com

Jewish pride at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

An exuberant crowd of elected officials, rabbis, business leaders and Jewish activists from around the United States gathered at the White House on Wednesday for the two annual pre-Chanukah receptions.

President Donald Trump commanded over both events, as he was joined by First Lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen.

At the first reception, Trump signed an executive order that declares Judaism as a nationality, thereby allowing the government to cut ties and funding with colleges that support the anti-Semitic BDS movement.

But it was during the second reception later that day that a universal aspect of Jewish advocacy came to light.

Trump invited to the podium Rabbi Moshe Margareten, Skverer Chassid who directs the Tzedek Association, and Rabbi Zvi Boyarsky, the Los Angeles-based director of constitutional advocacy for the Aleph Institute.

The two are credited with successfully lobbying for the First Step Act which expanded avenues for eligible elderly and terminally ill prisoners to get their sentences reduced by allowing for their motions to be directly filed with the courts.

Trump signed the bill into law last year in a rare moment of bipartisan support that will have a transformative impact on the American criminal justice system, affecting tens of thousands of inmates, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

Speaking at the reception, Rabbi Boyarsky said the bill followed the opinion of the Rebbe expressed back in the 1970s that there was a fundamental flaw in incarceration disconnected from re-education and rehabilitation.

“Rabbi Moshe and Rabbi Zvi, we salute your leadership and we thank you very much for the job you did,” President Trump said before inviting Boyarsky to speak and Margareten to symbolically light a Menorah.

“G-d bless you for signing the order to combat anti-Semitism,” Rabbi Boyarsky began his remarks, proudly wearing a black fedora worn by Chabad chassidim. He was flanked by Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Elan Carr, Envoy for Monitoring and Combating anti-Semitism.

Rabbi Boyarsky then asked participants to begin with a short prayer in memory of the victims killed a day earlier in an anti-Semitic attack by Black Hebrew Israelites on a kosher grocery store in Jersey City. He went on to recite “Shema Yisroel” with the crowd in a powerful moment of Jewish defiance.

He then said, “the Rebbe advocated that through good behavior and participating in educational programs, demonstrating remorse and the will to lead a life of honesty and integrity, prisoners should be able to earn reduced sentences and the ability to continue goodness to the world.”

“Mr. President,” he continued, “through the monumental First Step Act, you have helped countless worthy individuals reach their potential and share their unique divine light with the world… With G-d’s help, you have delivered – big time – just as you promised.”

He went on to mention how the son of former kosher meat executive Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin “spent much of his childhood praying that every knock on the door would be his father’s miraculous return. To so many children like him, you have been G-d’s angel and the answer to their heartfelt prayers.”

It was on Chanukah 2 years ago that Trump commuted the harsh 27-year sentence of Rubashkin. The move was received with widespread celebration and appreciation in the frum Jewish community in Brooklyn and worldwide.

The menorah that was kindled was obtained for the White House event by Chabad Rabbi Avrohom Richter, chaplain of Otisville Correctional Center in New York. It had been created and used by inmates.

VIDEO: Exclusive footage from the White House
President Donald Trump Address followed by Rabbi Zvi Boyarsky Address:

Lighting of the Menorah by Rabbi Moshe Margareten:

Describing the miracle of Chanukah in his remarks, Trump said that the Jewish people searched for oil to rededicate the Temple, but they only found enough for one day.

“They needed a little help from Sheldon (Adelson),” the President quipped, to laughter from the crowd. “Sheldon would’ve had a lot of oil immediately,” he said, referring to business magnate and political donor Sheldon Adelson.

Trump said the miraculous story is a “reminder of the Jewish people’s resilience, endurance and faith. For centuries, the Jewish people have endured violence and oppression beyond measure, but no cruelty can overcome the might of your spirit, and no destruction can crush the eternal strength of your resolve.”

Trump spoke about his accomplishments for Israel and the Jewish people, including the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, ending the Iran nuclear deal and recognizing Israel’s sovereignty of the Golan Heights.

Following his speech, the crowd burst into chants of “four more years.”

In attendance were Rabbi Avraham Shemtov, the Rebbe’s Shliach to the White House and Chairman of Agudas Chassidei Chabad International, along with his wife Mrs. Batsheva Shemtov; Israel’s Ambassador Ron Dermer, former Trump advisor Jason Greenblatt and others.

As with every year, the reception was strictly kosher under the supervision of Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Head Shliach of Washington, DC, and Executive Vice President of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad).