It was also theater, in perhaps the best sense - a narrative brought to life on the national stage. One tale being told was, of course, the traditional Passover story of the Jews' escape from bondage in Egypt. But also on the menu was the ongoing story of Barack Obama, a complex man whose personality, for the next four years at least, won't be fully distinguishable from the demands of his unbelievably complex job.
Like most of his religious activities, the seder appeared to mean something personal to Obama. Though a Christian, he has always been more of a seeker than a religious doctrinaire. Paying respect to Islam, rarely talking about Jesus (at least in public), thoughtfully dealing with the Reverend Wright controversy during his campaign, and now holding a seder - all these have signaled the spirit of a masterful politician, yes, but one driven by (in his own campaign catchword) hope rather than cynicism, intellect rather than dogma.
Of course we Jews are a very quarrelsome people. (Witness the old joke about the two Jews rescued from a desert island; they'd built three synagogues, "the one I go to, the one he goes to, and over there is the one we don't go to.") Two of Obama's closest advisors, Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, are Jewish, but so were most of the architects of neoconservative foreign policy.
Some, especially in Israel, viewed the White House seder as a stunt to help generate support among liberal American Jews for policies that might clash with the new Netanyahu government. Others pointed to the absence of Emanuel and Axelrod as evidence that the White House didn't take the event seriously, though it seems churlish to fault the advisors for wanting to spend the holiday with their families. But most reaction in the US was positive.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov, director of the Washington office of American Friends of Lubavitch (an Orthodox sect), saw in the seder the continuation of "a trend of an interest by the White House in things Jewish... Anytime people can get a better understanding of why we do what we do, it's probably good for the Jews. Ignorance of Jewish practices historically led to unnecessary tension and even blood libels, specifically around the time of Passover."
In this sense, the seder can be seen as a model for the American people of tolerance and understanding, in the same way a White House garden is spoken of as a model for a national greener way of life. Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, put the seder into a Christian context: "It is impossible to understand the Eucharist without understanding the Passover meal," he said, adding that the White House seder "shows respect and solidarity."
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
Man we're really seeing a wide variety of opinions just in this series!
2 - Eric Olsen
yes, we are, which is the BC way!
3 - Arch Conservative
"But President Obama is around. He’s everywhere: traveling to foreign countries, giving press conferences, appearing on You Tube, making speeches; he’s on television, and he and Michelle are on the cover of every possible magazine, smiling and telling us how great life is."
Translation: He's a smug, narcissistic piece of garbage.
4 - Phillip Winn
Yes, Archie, because no previous President has ever traveled to foreign countries, given press conferences, or made speeches. Obama is the first President to ever go on television.
And, of course, he is demanding that magazines put him on their covers, and since we lack freedom of press in this country, they have no choice but to comply.
Or, just maybe, possibly, all those magazines are using candid or non-exclusive photos, and President Obama is just doing his job. Because I have these strange ideas, could even be memories, that Ronald Reagan was very much in the public eye while he was President as well, and I don't remember him being a "smug, narcissistic piece of garbage."
Yeah, I think I'm going to go with "B." Your translation is more projection than translation.
5 - roger nowosielski
Well, ladies and gentlemen. Let's not congratulate ourselves prematurely. I'm kind of disappointed of late of Obama's lack of enthusiasm and electrifying quality which characterized his primary appearances. No doubt it's difficult to maintain such high level in light of the problems facing us. How can you be upbeat day in and day out?
But I do remember JFK and RFK, which is not fair perhaps to the younger generation.
6 - Eric Olsen
I think Obama fares pretty well under the JFK comparison - remember that the press was still very compliant and discreet regarding personal foibles in that day
7 - roger nowosielski
It may be so, Eric. And the times were surely different. Perhaps the difference comes down to the fact that we were more naive then and more idealistic.
I don't think it's any longer the case, not even when it comes to the youth.
8 - Mongo
Some good signs in the economy today.