Biden brings a menorah lighting back to the White House
President Joe Biden’s staff dispatched invitations to a “Menorah Lighting to be held at the White House” on Dec. 1, the evening when the fourth candle of the eight-day festival of Hanukkah was lit. The event was quite different from last year’s event, hosted by Donald Trump.
President Trump in 2020 held what he called a “Hanukkah Reception” in midafternoon before Hanukkah began. The reception was a heavily partisan affair, no candles were lit, much food was consumed, and some of the participants went maskless, the raging COVID epidemic notwithstanding. Most Democrats as well as many Jewish leaders stayed home.
President Biden’s “menorah lighting,” by contrast, promises to privilege ritual over reception, focusing on the lighting of the traditional Hanukkah candelabrum itself. The event was nonpartisan, with COVID-19 precautions enforced. According to the Jewish Forward, no food or drink was served at all, so masks didn’t even need to be lifted. In addition, the guest list was severely pared down to encourage social distancing – so much so that a senior White House official was quoted as saying it would likely be the smallest White House Hanukkah party in history.