{"id":148361,"date":"2022-09-30T15:55:51","date_gmt":"2022-09-30T22:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=148361"},"modified":"2022-09-30T15:55:51","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T22:55:51","slug":"president-biden-first-lady-jill-biden-and-second-gentleman-douglas-emhoff-at-a-reception-to-celebrate-the-jewish-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=148361","title":{"rendered":"President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff at a Reception to Celebrate the Jewish New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;THE FIRST LADY:  Good morning.  AUDIENCE:  Good morning!  THE FIRST LADY:  As we gather in honor of the High Holy Days, I know that all of our hearts are with those affected by the hurricanes.  May \u2014 many have had to flee their homes, as you\u2019ve seen.  Temples will be shuttered on Yom Kippur.  And some will have to break their fast without beloved family beside them.  I hope that their faith and our prayers bring them comfort during this dark time. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i9f8OBUUULk\" title=\"President Biden and The First Lady Host a Reception to Celebrate the Jewish New Year\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In Judaism, the Days of Awe \u2014 these 10 days of reflection and repentance \u2014 call for introspection.  But it\u2019s not an endeavor taken alone.<\/p>\n<p>The prayers on Yom Kippur begin with \u201cwe.\u201d  We have gone astray.  We have not lived up to the best versions of ourselves \u2014 as individuals and as a community.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a recognition of a powerful truth: that we fail together, we forgive together, and we heal together, too.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why there is hope to be found in this sacred time as well.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a chance to release the burdens that have weighed us down and reach toward the light of the divine; to be with family, facing the best and worst of ourselves surrounded by love, knowing that we will emerge stronger than before.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a moment to remember that we \u2014 the path we walk will one day end and hold close those who travel beside us.<\/p>\n<p>The Days of Awe remind us that it\u2019s never too late to begin again. <\/p>\n<p>We, all of us, are a work in progress.  So we continue that work: speaking truth, fighting for \u2014 for justice, believing that we can heal our broken world.<\/p>\n<p>Let us look toward the past with wisdom and turn toward the future with joy.<\/p>\n<p>Let us remember that there is hope and healing ahead.  In our highs and our lows, we are not alone, and there is beauty and sweetness in every step of the way.<\/p>\n<p>Now, I\u2019m grateful to be here with my family, including so many people who have become family over the years.  (Laughter.)  And that \u2014 it now includes Kamala and Doug.<\/p>\n<p>You know, there are so many things \u2014 (applause) \u2014 yes.  You know, there are so many things that you have both brought to our lives.  But during the High Holidays, I am especially grateful for the chance to join you, Doug, in honoring traditions that I know that you hold close to your heart.<\/p>\n<p>So, thank you for spending this special time with us.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone, please welcome the Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE SECOND GENTLEMAN:  Thank you, my good friend Dr. Biden.  You have always been such a leader in bringing people together, and you do it with compassion, and you do it with purpose.  And that\u2019s exactly what you\u2019re doing here today by welcoming our Jewish community to the White House.  So, thank you so much.<\/p>\n<p>And on a personal note \u2014 back at you \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 you and the President have really made our family feel like your family.  So, thank you so much.<\/p>\n<p>And again, I also want to echo Dr. Biden\u2019s words of comfort to those who have been affected by these horrible storms.  Our prayers are with you, and we will continue to do everything we can to support all of you and your families and your communities.<\/p>\n<p>And my wife, the Vice President \u2014 Kamala and I \u2014 (applause) \u2014 we\u2019re honored to join you as well as we welcome in this new year.  Shana Tova. <\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s a particular honor for me as the first Jewish spouse of a President or a Vice President.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>But do you know, for years, as a lot of you know, the Bidens invited our community for celebrations when they lived at the Vice President\u2019s Residence.  And now, the Vice President Harris and I \u2014 my wife \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 are \u2014 we are very grateful that we get to continue in the tradition that they set forth.<\/p>\n<p>The doorposts there are protected by mezuzot \u2014 that\u2019s two mezuzahs.  We hosted a Passover Seder.  We\u2019ve lit a historic menorah for Hanukkah.  But now, we gather in the White House during the Days of Awe, as Dr. Biden mentioned, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.<\/p>\n<p>Now, in my family, Rosh Hashanah meant a trip to my grandmother\u2019s apartment in Brooklyn.  (Laughter.)  And I can still smell that brisket cooking \u2014 and burning \u2014 in the kitchen.  (Laughter.)  I can still taste the slightly warm challah, but slightly stale \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 on the table. <\/p>\n<p>And, of course, as a lot of you remember, my grandmother begged all of us kids not to jump on the couch because \u201cI took the plastic coverings off!\u201d  (Laughter.) <\/p>\n<p>But this is also a season to reflect and atone and repent for both of our shortcomings and those that we see around us.<\/p>\n<p>And let\u2019s be clear \u2014 we all know this: Jews worldwide face horrendous discrimination and violence and antisemitism.  And one of the reasons that our great President ran for president was to confront the kinds of hate and antisemitism that we all saw and were mortified by in Charlottesville.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And on this issue \u2014 on this issue, we have a President and a Vice President who know that all Americans must be able to worship without fear or violence.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>And we also know they are two leaders of deep faith who believe in tolerance and inclusion, not just for our Jewish community but for all communities.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>And our President has said, and I quote, \u201cIf Jewish history and tradition teaches us anything, it\u2019s the resilient belief in the promise of tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So as the Jewish community in the United States and Israel and around the world take stock and renew our hopes for the start to 5783, we are grateful to be sharing it in one of the Jewish community\u2019s best friends. <\/p>\n<p>Please join me in welcoming the President of the United States, Joe Biden.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Well, as you\u2019re about to find out, Doug and I married way above our station.  (Laughter.)  You\u2019ve already seen one example of that.  You\u2019ll soon see another.  Doug, thank you for the introduction.<\/p>\n<p>And Doug is right.  You\u2019re the first, but \u2014 Kamala often says \u2014 you won\u2019t be the last.  Kamala won\u2019t be the last woman to be Vice President \u2014 or President.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>So let me start by recognizing this reception comes at a very difficult time for so many Jewish families in Florida, possibly for some of you who have loved ones in Florida \u2014 mothers, fathers, grandparents, friends.  Our heart goes out to everyone there in the state experiencing what could be \u2014 may be one the most devastating hurricanes in the history of that state.<\/p>\n<p>And I say \u2014 I\u2019ll \u2014 I\u2019m going to say more about that this afternoon.  I\u2019m making a major address on this.<\/p>\n<p>So many families just celebrated New Year\u2019s and are now in this solemn part of the High Holidays.  Some of you are from the area or have family and friends there.  And as I said, it\u2019s got to be tough time for a lot of you.<\/p>\n<p>And I want to \u2014 Representatives Ted Deutch and Debbie Wasserman Schultz are here, and a lot of other friends.  (Applause.)  Good to see you, Ted.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019re working closely with the governor and the entire Florida delegation \u2014 Democrat and Republican \u2014 making sure that we do everything we can, including now search and rescue, recovery, and rebuilding efforts, which is going to go on for a while.  Going to go on for a long while.<\/p>\n<p>And whatever it takes, we\u2019re going to be there as one nation and one America.  We\u2019re not going to walk away.<\/p>\n<p>So let me just say, Ted, you\u2019re a dear friend.  You\u2019re retiring after 12 years.  Don\u2019t go.  Change your mind.  Do something.  (Laughter.)  We\u2019re really going to miss you, pal.  No, we really are.  We\u2019re going to miss you in Congress.  We\u2019ve worked together closely for a long time.  And I look forward to your leadership on the American Jewish Committee.  So, thank you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>When Jill and I were Vice President and First [Second] Lady, Jill and I honored \u2014 were honored to host the first Rosh Hashanah reception at the Naval Observatory.<\/p>\n<p>And today, as President and First Lady, we\u2019re humbled to host the first High Holidays reception ever in the White House with so many of our friends.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Now, if I acknowledge everyone by name, we\u2019ll be here \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 for the Hanukkah reception in December.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But this is \u2014 Ted \u2014 Ted and Debbie, I also want to acknowledge someone else who means a great deal to our family: Rabbi Michael Beals of the Congregation Beth Shalom in Wilmington, Delaware.  (Applause.)  There you are.<\/p>\n<p>With his predecessors \u2014 Rabbi Kraft and Rabbi Geffen \u2014 that\u2019s where I received my education.  I probably went to shul more than many of you did.  (Laughter.)  You all think I\u2019m kidding.  He can tell you I\u2019m not.  (Laughter.)  I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n<p>Beth Shalom is home for countless friends.  And, for me, it\u2019s been \u2014 it\u2019s been a home.  And over the years, we\u2019ve shared deep conversations about faith and \u2014 and finding purpose.  And they\u2019ve always, always, always been there for my family in the good times and not-so-good times.<\/p>\n<p>And just like rabbis, synagogues, and Jewish community centers in your hometowns, you\u2019re always there; your congregations are there for you and for everyone in the neighborhood, whether they\u2019re Jewish or not.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s the tradition I got raised \u2014 I spent a lot of time \u2014 I\u2019m a practicing Catholic, but I \u2014 I\u2019d go to services on Saturday and on Sunday.  (Laughter.)  You all think I\u2019m kidding.  I\u2019m not.  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>So, look, that\u2019s the power of the Jewish community all across America.<\/p>\n<p>And Doug mentioned the High Holidays are a sacred time for introspection and renewal and \u2014 and repentance, and a time to ask for forgiveness, to mend our relationships with God and with our fellow men.<\/p>\n<p>The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who passed away two years ago, once said that the most important lesson of the High Holidays is that nothing \u2014 nothing \u2014 is broken beyond repair.  Nothing is broken beyond repair.  It\u2019s never too late to change and to be better.  I\u2019ve always believed that message, and I also think it\u2019s universal.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ve emerged from one of our most difficult moments in our history.  I believe nothing is broken beyond repair, and there\u2019s a lot we can do to change things and bring people together.<\/p>\n<p>We can and we are emerging stronger from this pandemic.  We\u2019re building an economy that works for everyone.  We\u2019re \u2014 we\u2019re responding to the cry of \u2014 for action by the climate.  We\u2019re \u2014 we\u2019re \u2014 (applause) \u2014 we\u2019re actually rallying the world.  We\u2019re rallying the world to keep support for Ukraine strong and consistent and \u2014 (applause) \u2014 and Ukraine\u2019s right to exist as a people. <\/p>\n<p>You know, and we\u2019re \u2014 we\u2019re showing that we can do big things as a country when we work together, regardless of our political party, from taking on gun violence, to supporting our veterans, to rebuilding America itself, to ending cancer as we know it.<\/p>\n<p>But there is a lot more we can do, but we have to do it together, to restore the soul of America.  When I ran, I said one of the reasons I was running, literally, was to restore the soul of America, bring back some decency and honor in the way we talk about one another, the way we deal with one another \u2014 standing up to antisemitism that was constantly lurking in the shadows.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>You know, the Jewish people know better than any what my father, who was not Jewish but would constantly use the phrase, \u201csilence is complicity.\u201d  \u201cSilence is complicity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I was reminded of that yet again during my recent trip to Israel.  I reaffirmed America\u2019s unshakable commitment to Israeli security.  As a matter of fact, the Prime Minister was telling me \u2014 he said, \u201cI remember what you said\u2026\u201d  I\u2019d forgotten what I said when I landed.  (Laughter.)  He looked at me, he said \u2014 he said, \u201cYou looked at me and you said, \u2018It\u2019s good to be home.\u2019\u201d  (Laughter.)<\/p>\n<p>But, you know, the first place I went back to was Yad Vashem.  And there were two Holocaust survivors there who immigrated to America after the war but returned to that sacred ground to speak to young people so we never forget.<\/p>\n<p>And I think that after all they experienced in the \u201840s, today they\u2019re witnessing a record high antisemitism in 2022 they never thought would be the case again.  Although, maybe they did, in their hearts, think it could happen.  But they were there.<\/p>\n<p>I decided to run for President \u2014 and this is not hyperbole \u2014 you know \u2014 you\u2019ve heard me say this for over \u2014 almost three years now that, when I saw those people walking out of the fields \u2014 literally walking out of the fields in Virginia, carrying torches, Nazi flags; and chanting the same exact antisemitic bile that was chanted on the streets of Berlin and Germany in the early \u201830s. <\/p>\n<p>And when asked, when the young woman was killed, \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d  And the comment made by a former leader was, \u201cThere are good people on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve made it clear since I was elected, including two weeks ago at the first-of-its-kind summit against hate-fueled violence at the White House: Hate can have no safe harbor.  It\u2019s never defeated; it only hides.  It hides under rocks.  And when we breathe a little oxygen under those rocks, it comes out \u2014 it comes out.<\/p>\n<p>And failure to call it out is complicity, and the silence is complicity.  We can\u2019t \u2014 (applause) \u2014 no, I mean it.<\/p>\n<p>We can\u2019t remain silent.  The rest of the world looks to us.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why I established the first Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat \u2014 Combat Antisemitism at the \u2014 at the ambassadorial level.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>I appointed Deborah Lipstadt, a Holocaust expert, to this critical position.  She is here today.  Where are you, Deborah?  All the way in the back.  (Laughter.)  That\u2019s usual with her humility.  But, Deborah, thank you for being willing to do it.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>And we worked with Congress to secure the largest increase in funding ever for physical security of nonprofits, including synagogues, religious organizations.  (Applause.)  Because nobody \u2014 nobody should fear going to a religious service or a school or walking down a street wearing a symbol of their faith.  Nobody.  Nobody.  Period.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>We launched the first National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism and its first-of-its-kind White House Initiative on Hate-Motivated Violence, working hand in hand with the Jewish community.  And many in here are working with us.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not going to remain silent.  We can\u2019t remain silent.  I mean this sincerely.  If we let it go, democracy and everything else is at stake.  We can\u2019t remain silent.<\/p>\n<p>So, let me close with this.  The Jewish tradition holds that from the time the Book of Life is opened on Rosh Hashanah until the gates close on Yom Kippur, our fate hangs in the balance.  It\u2019s in our hands \u2014 it\u2019s in our hands to change, to do better to ourselves, for ourselves, and for others.<\/p>\n<p>I believe we face a similar inflection point as a nation.<\/p>\n<p>My hope and prayer for the year ahead is that, for one of the most difficult moments that we\u2019ve gone through in a long time, we emerge stronger.<\/p>\n<p>That resilient belief in the promise of tomorrow is embodied in thousands of years of Jewish history and in the story of America.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s do the work ahead \u2014 let\u2019s do the work together, regardless of what your political persuasion.  Let\u2019s recognize the work of our democracy.<\/p>\n<p>You know, as the Talmud instructs, \u201cIt is not required that you complete the work, neither may you refrain from it.\u201d  \u201cIt is not required you complete the work, but neither may you refrain from it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To bridge the gap between the world we see and the future we seek, to keep the faith, to remember who we are.  We\u2019re the United States of America, damn it.  There\u2019s nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together.<\/p>\n<p>So God bless you all.  May this be a happy, healthy, and sweet new year.  And may we all be inscribed in the Book of Life.<\/p>\n<p>But before I leave today, I have a special part of this program I want to mention.<\/p>\n<p>One that \u2014 of things that Jill and I appreciate the most about opening the White House to celebrate people who mean so much to the country \u2014 I can\u2019t think of anyone better who embodies the sacred spirit of this season than the special guest we have here today.<\/p>\n<p>Born in Tel Aviv.  Stricken by polio as a \u2014 as a child that\u2019s made it difficult for him to walk ever since.  Came to America to pursue his God-given talent that moves our souls.  An Israeli-American icon of our time.  One of the most celebrated violinists of our times.  Please join me in the Foyer to hear a special performance from Itzhak Perlman.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>Itzhak.  He plays from the heart.  As the rabbis tell us, \u201cWhat comes from the heart enters the heart.\u201d  And you\u2019re about to experience it. <\/p>\n<p>God love you all.  God be willing that we have a good year.  Thank you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, what\u2019s your message to Vladimir Putin today, following the annexation?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019ll be talking about that a little later today, okay?  Let\u2019s celebrate now.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;THE FIRST LADY: Good morning. AUDIENCE: Good morning! THE FIRST LADY: As we gather in honor of the High Holy Days, I know that all of our hearts are with those affected by the hurricanes. May \u2014 many have had to flee their homes, as you\u2019ve seen. Temples will be shuttered on Yom Kippur. 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