The Argentine president, who converted to Judaism, attended a religious event that marked the start of a new week
Argentina’s Presidentelect Javier Milei attended the Jewish Havdalah ceremony on Saturday evening (November 25, 2023), which marks the end of Shabbat a holy day entirely dedicated to rest and the beginning of a new one on Saturday week marked. The celebration was led by religious leader David Pinto Shlita. In a moment of conversation between the two, the rabbi tells Milei that he will ask God to protect Argentina and make the country “back to what it was before.”
“I am sure that with God’s help you will help the nation and together with the Argentine people you will achieve this,” Slita said. Moved, Milei thanked the leader for his words.
According to Jewish tradition, Havdalah is the act that marks the distinction between the holy and the common. During the ceremony, a prayer is said over a glass of wine or beer and then the rabbi will pronounce the blessing.
Watch the ceremony Milei attended (3 min 20 sec):
Milei was raised Catholic and began studying Judaism in recent years. As he said in an interview with LN+, he is studying the Torah the holy book of the Jews under the guidance of a rabbi in September. All that remained was the official religious conversion ceremony in order to be considered a Jew.
On Monday (Nov. 20), Milei said his first international trips after his election would be to the United States, where he would visit the grave of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and to Israel. “The trip has a more spiritual connotation than other features,” he said in an interview with Rádio Miter.
The visit to the USA was canceled due to internal tensions in the government process. With that, the libertarian leader announced that his first official target as head of state would be Israel.