Rabbi Levi Shemtov, Executive Vice President of American Friend of Lubavitch (Chabad), arrived at the White House on Friday with a lulav (palm branch) and etrog (citron). About thirty staffers took the opportunity to perform the mitzvah (Torah commandment) that characterizes the holiday of Sukkoth. Ivanka, the president’s Jewish daughter, exhibited a keen knowledge, reciting the blessings and performing the mitzvah precisely as dictated by Jewish law.
Ivanka Trump shakes the #Luluv at the White House today with Rabbi Levi Shemtov pic.twitter.com/Ybwj2OHs0b
— Jewish Insider (@J_Insider) September 28, 2018
The event held in a conference room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building is an annual White House tradition but the Chabad press reported that many present expressed the hope that next year’s gathering will be held in a Sukkah (booth).