Obama's White House Hanukkah parties are like car accidents. You can't help slowing down to watch the wreckage.
After a slick presentation by Obama, the stage gets turned over to some left-wing clergyman to rant about social justice. The train wreck last year was truly, truly spectacular with Susan Talve.
Talve is a member of the anti-Israel group T'ruah... the general conviviality of the Chanukah party was disrupted by a crazed rant from Susan Talve in which she seemed determined to jam as many leftist talking points as possible in her limited time. Instead of talking about Chanukah, Talve blathered on about getting, "guns off our streets" and to "clean up the fires of toxic nuclear waste".
Talve screeched, "I stand here with my fierce family of clergy and black lives matter activists who took to the streets of Ferguson".
Then, not satisfied with having made a disgrace of the Chanukah ceremony, Susan Talve declared, "I stand here to light these lights to say no the darkness of Islamophobia and Homophobia and Transphobia."
Talve babbled about insuring "justice for Palestinians" and began gleefully chanting, "Ins'Allah, Ins'Allah". Or "Allah Willing".
I don't recall Susan Talve mentioning G-d or a word of Jewish scripture. Indeed she spent more time talking about Muslims than about anything in Judaism.
Obama's final White House Hanukkah shindig sadly was somewhat tamer.
The more prestigious evening reception went to Rachel Isaacs, the conservative movement's first openly lesbian clergyperson. The afternoon reception was bestowed on Steven Exler, a clergyman associated with Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a left-wing seminary trying to do to Orthodox Judaism what the left already had done to Reform Judaism. YCT graduates tend not to be recognized as Rabbis by Orthodox Jews. But Obama has touted them on numerous occasions because they compulsively push social justice.
Steven Exler's rambling speech was more awkward than offensive. And more than a little odd.
He started out by insisting that the attendees sing a gospel children's song, This Little Light of Mine based on Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men". The Obamas, particularly Michelle, seemed a little confused. Not least by whether Exler was trying to sound black or doing his hippie camp counselor routine.
Exler no doubt thought he was singing a "Negro spiritual", but it's actually an old Sunday School song written by a "white guy".
It's not clear that Exler even knew the source what he was singing. He was most likely trying to pander to the Obamas. Which made the whole awkward moment even more hilarious. "The core message of Judaism has been the lyrics we just sang," Steven Exler declared.
Then he based his entire speech on that whole letting your light shine. Mainly for social justice. To the underprivileged, those different from us, hatred, prejudice, etc. If you've heard one left-wing sermon, you've heard them all. The only entertainment value came from Steven Exler's insistence on finding ever more exotic ways to mispronounce Chanukah in a bid for authenticity. At one point he was pronouncing it as two words. "Ha""Nuke-ah".
I don't know what holiday that is. But apparently Steven was there to celebrate this exotic new holiday of social justice with the Obamas and some of their closest anti-Israel friends.
"Over these last 8 years so much light has shone forth from this very space."
Turning to face Obama, Steven Exler declared, "This White House is a lighthouse, a beacon of freedom and justice, a beacon for the divine light that rests in the soul of every American and every human being, for the partnership of shining that light, and for teaching us time and again to find light in the midst of darkness, we turn to you President and Mrs. Obama, to say thank you."
Obama is a beacon of the divine light. Surely we have enough halo photos of him to prove that. But beacon, bacon, let's not quibble about it.
That's several miles beyond mere shameless flattery. But it was nice of Steven Exler to take the time to acknowledge his White House messiah.