Pennsylvania Governor Josh SHapiro revealed in his new upcoming book that when being vetted as a possible candidate to run for Vice President alongside Kamala Harris in her presidential bid, the Harris team asked him if he is a double agent for Israel. This was in addition to many other questions about his relationship with Israel. 

Shapiro says in his book that when he asked about the offensive nature of the focus on Israel and specifically about being a double agent, the response was well, we have to ask...

If Josh Shapiro were theoretically a double agent of Israel, did Kamala Harris think he'd just answer yes when she asked him if he is? How could he have reassured her that he isn't? Other than his being Jewish, did they have any reason to believe he might be an agent of Israel? Did they find any indication in his behavior and decisions as governor that he might be an agent for Israel?

If you remember, at the time Shapiro denied any antisemitism in the decision to not select him as her running mate in favor of Tim Walz, who turned out to be a double agent for Somalia I guess. Good on Shapiro for burying it so his team wouldn't get hurt. His loyalty to her campaign is far more than she deserved

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  -- Former President and Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump about VP Kamala Harris picking Tim Walz as her running mate instead of Josh Shapiro

Thanks for telling me what I should be insulted about... it is not like Donald Trump picked a Jewish running mate. He didnt even consider one (that we know of). Should we Jewish people be insulted by that as well?

Millions of Jews around the world sat down to the Passover seder this week, including the Emhoff family and their gests. Doug Emhoff, a Jew, is the Second Gentleman, husband to VP Kamala Harris.

I think this is the 1st seder, as I saw it posted online already on Motzei Shabbat. I do not know if they also conducted a 2nd seder on Saturday night.

So why does this seder snapshot get PoTD when millions of Jews did the same around the world?

Well, because everyone is complaining about this one.

The not-religious Jews and the gentiles are complaining that the wine selection for the seder clearly included Psagot wines from a West Bank settlement.

The released images have created quite a stir.

BYOS - Bring Your Own Shovel

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Feuerstein made a tremendous kiddush hashem when his factory burned down in 1995 but he protected the jobs of all his employees and continued to pay them their salaries while rebuilding, despite there being no work for them during that period. Aaron Feuerstein recently died. 

The Second Family decided to honor Feuerstein in this way as part of the Biden Administrations theme of getting people to work together to get the country out of COVID.

source: TOI

So, the Vice President of the United States of America and her husband have now borrowed a mezuza and a menora for their public mitzvahs. What's next - a borrowed gragger for Purim? A borrowed Seder Plate? Maybe a borrowed tree for Tu Bshvat?

Emhoff is obviously an assimilated Jew - he is intermarried and from what I understand his first wife was also not Jewish - but he identifies openly as a Jew and is proud of that identity in his way. He is obviously not Jewish in the orthodox way, and I dont find it fruitful to judge Reform Jews by Orthodox standards or unaffiliated Jews by orthodox standards. Meaning, when a Reform Jew is pictured laying tefillin, for example, Orthodox Jews will often scoff that he or she does not even know how to put on tefillin as the placement is wrong. As if Reform Jews have to follow Orthodox law rather than Reform law or custom or do what they want when there is no Reform law. My point is Emhoff identifies as a Jew, even though he does not practice according to Orthodox standards.

Many non-Orthodox Jews, whether Reform or Conservative or other, affix a mezuza to the door of their home - some might only do the front door and not every internal door, but a mezuza they affix. For many it is part of the Jewish identity, even if they don't keep much else.

So Doug Emhoff and his wife VP Kamala Harris had a ceremony to affix the mezuza on the entrance of the Second Family's Residence. An historic moment in some sense. Perhaps even somewhat of a kiddush hashem as he proudly declares his affiliation to Judaism from nearly the highest podium in the world, despite the increasing polarization and increasing hatred and open antisemitism.

In today's world of polarization and extreme opinions, and the need to feel angry online about anything and everything, I was still somewhat surprised to see religious Jews angry about this. People were scoffing about it likely not being a kosher mezuza. 

People were angry that they are two-faced ultra-liberals but putting on a mezzua and doing something Jewish (as if Jews cant be liberals). People were upset that this is just a political ploy on the back of Judaism. 

People were upset that someone who clearly cares so little about Judaism was putting on this show as if he feels so Jewish. 

People were upset that they borrowed the mezuza from the Reform temple rather than buying their own mezuza - they can't afford a mezuza? they have to borrow one? (I admit I did think that was weird, but I dont really care). People even got upset that the Rabbi called it a Temple (they borrowed the mezuza from the Temple).

People were upset that they made this into a ceremony with a Rabbi and other notables attending - who turns the fixing of a mezuza on a door into a big ceremony? (Well, besides for every store and business and public building in Israel with the local newspapers publishing pictures of all these mezuza ceremonies of new businesses that opened recently)

Basically, people like to get upset at anything and everything.

That is beside for the fact that it is very common for even Reform Jews and other types of denominations far from orthodoxy to have a mezuza on the house. They dont need my permission or your permission, or our approval, to follow their own customs and put the mezuza on the house. Emhoff probably has a mezuza on their private house as well (though I have no personal knowledge if they do or do not) and I see noting unusual or "two-faced" about this. He is Jewish and he is liberal (as are probably about 75-80% of American Jews). 

I think Doug Emhoff did a good thing, even if it isnt done the Orthodox way and even if it wasn't with perfect intentions (though we have no way of knowing this)

VP Kamala Harris put out a Chanukah video with her husband, Douglas Emhoff.

Ben Shapiro didn't quite like the Harris video. I didn't either, not so much beyond it being a kitschy video, but Shapiro is pretty harsh. I didn't like it because she stumbled went with the easy explanation of "lights" with no meaning and kind of made up what Chanukah is. I don't expect her to know much about Chanukah, and that's ok, but she went for something deep with the video and it really wasn't.

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I wonder, if Biden or Harris should happen to see and hear this, would they appreciate the prayer and blessing or would they be upset about it?

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