Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Ivanka Trump Goes to Shul on Sukkot and the Media Doesn't Get It


Newspapers in the U.S. and in London have been running articles and photos this week of Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner pushing their baby daughter in a carriage (or pram). The media's interpretation of the photo is that of a celebrity launching a new hat style and her husband carrying flowers that he bought for her.

It doesn't take much for anyone familiar with the Sukkot holiday to see that she's wearing a hat because that's what Orthodox Jewish women do when they go to shul and what Kushner is carrying is a lulav, wrapped in the cheap plastic bag that it comes in.

Rabbi Jason Miller, a writer for Jewish and internet sites and blogger at RabbiJason.com, points out the cluelessness of the media with this situation. In his current blog post, Miller comments on two funny aspects of this celebrity sighting:
First is the fact that the well-to-do couple wouldn't be using a fancy etrog holder. As Kushner was pushing their baby daughter Arabella Rose on the second day of Sukkot, he was also carrying a lulav and etrog. One would think that Donald Trump's daughter and son-in-law would have a nice silver etrog carrying case, but it appears that the Kushner-Trump couple is sporting the simple cardboard box etrog carrying case along with the plastic bag the lulav comes in.
The second funny thing is that the Daily Mail first published this photo over the weekend in its online edition explaining that "Jared, wearing a casual black jacket, pushed little Arabella Rose's pram along the streets on their way to lunch. He also held some flowers in one hand - perhaps a gift for his wife." I suppose you could combine a palm branch with some myrtle and willow branches to form a bouquet of sorts, but I don't think it's a popular gift for ones wife.

There was no word on where the couple was headed for yuntif lunch or if they had their own sukkah outside of their Manhattan home.
Miller's blog post got us thinking...how about a new reality show -- Sukkahs of the Rich and Famous?  Are there any show producers reading this post?

25 comments:

  1. what about the "Christ Church" just over hius shoulder?

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  2. So what ! I was the Cantor of a Shul that was next to a church, and there was no significance in the proximity.

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  3. actually I love it
    Jews and Christains united
    what could be more beautiful?
    we all love G-d

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  4. I'm impressed at the tsnius of her outfit.

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    Replies
    1. It's great to see a woman dressed up to pray with her family!

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  5. Did Ivanka convert to Judaism and has their baby converted as well? If so what denomination did she convert into (reconstructionist, reform, conservative, orthodox ect)

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  6. According to her Wikipedia article, Ivanka (Yael) Kushner Trump converted into Orthodox Judaism. The etrog in the cardboard box looks fine to me...

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  7. I hope that someone wrote a letter to the editor regarding the caption with that photograph to set everyone straight with the truth!

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  8. Ivanka Trump converted to Orthodox Judaism before she had the baby, therefore the child is considered Jewish from birth.

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. The Rabbi has put before us evidence that Jews do not control the newspapers. In fact, it would even seem that there are precious few Jewish reporters.

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    1. That i would have to agree with, since so many articles are against you Jews
      and pro Arab, which I cannot understand.

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  11. It is beyond dismaying that the famous and well to do folks in our society simply cannot win! Here is a young couple who are observing, in an appropriate & modest form, a religious holiday. Why must the media (and others) be so mean spirited,instead of recognizing their simple good taste for basic religious practices---when it would have been SO easy for them to adopt the Kardashian family style of operating.

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  12. The "Christ Church" may be the one that is two blocks from their (orthodox) synagogue in Manhattan.

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  13. Apparently the only time any media can report anything about the amazing Jewish people, State of Israel and all the medical, technical and scientific advances they have made is in a negative light. Everything they do is either ignored or given a bad rap. They want them to give back land they fairly won. In that case Texas and many other states would have to be returned!!!!
    SR

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  14. Unfortunately it takes the media to misconstrue a beautiful picture of a beautiful family walking properly dressed to the Jewish holiday service of Sukkot while carrying the traditional lulav and esrog. It seems nothing can escape the hate and ignorance piled on top of innocent Jews.

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    1. Would be nice to compliment them on showing some positive values, unlike so
      many others in the news.

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  15. I so agree with the two previous comments made by both anonymous. Sometimes I think that the media can be damgerous in their false reports. Don't write or comment on issues that you do not understand. Ask for advice from someone who knows.

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  16. I do not know wether they went to a shul or a church, but I know that there are very good looking couple and it is a pleasure to look at them with a baby.

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  17. Shalom, Good Yom tov to Ivanka, Jared and Arabella Rose. Sukkot is a lovely festival - hope they enjoyed it.

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  18. Yes we can be proud of Ivanka that she converted and especially to an orthodox jewess.
    This was a lovely picture indeed.

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  19. Many years ago, when there were stores that carried records and CD's, a local record store in Dallas had an "International Section." If a CD had the word "Israel" or the word "Jewish," then it was filed under "Israel," even if the Jewish music was from the United States or England. If, on the other hand, it had the word "Yiddish" then it was filed under "Ireland."

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  20. Let us Jews continue to be proud of all of our accomplishments and great contributions to all people while the remainder of the world's Jew haters try to destroy us by word and/or deed. We value the life of all people and have fought against all odds to survive and continue the greatness we have strived for.

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  21. All of this is too funny! As a Jew myself, I truly don't believe that the media showed any hate or anything like that. Whoever took that picture simply made up a story to go along with it for monetary purposes. Apparently there was no investigation for the truth, which simply shows that many articles are written out of shear ignorance. I can only laugh at the ignorance because it makes the media look really stupid!

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