Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, husband of Kamala, botched this rendition of the story of Hanukkah so badly that he had to delete his post on social media. His story didn’t land well.

Doug Emhoff posted a photo on social media showing him lighting a menorah with Kamala Harris. The text on the post was his retelling of the story of Hanukkah. He is the first second gentleman in American history. He is also the first Jewish spouse of a vice president. He has recently been working on antisemitism issues at the White House. He is rather late to the game, though, as his focus on the issue was only announced this year and he held his first major meeting on the topic on December 7 when he hosted a roundtable discussion with Jewish leaders at the White House.

His page on the White House website touts his Jewish heritage.

As the first Jewish spouse of an American president or vice president, Mr. Emhoff has been honored to share his Jewish heritage and culture—from celebrating Passover in the White House to affixing Mezuzahs on the doorposts of the Vice President’s Residence. Mr. Emhoff has been a leading voice in combating antisemitism and hatred wherever it exists. He convened Jewish leaders at the White House for the first-of-its-kind roundtable to bring attention to the rise in antisemitism. He has also worked with Jewish student leaders on campus and with the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combatting Antisemitism to promote a whole-of-society approach to countering antisemitism. He regularly engages with individuals from the Jewish community as well as other faith-based groups to discuss the Administration’s priorities to strengthen religious tolerance and protect religious freedom.

So, with all that fanfare, it would be reasonable to expect him to recite the story of Hanukkah accurately. That didn’t happen, though. He got one part right. The word Hanukkah does mean dedication. The rest of the story? Not so much.

“The story of Hanukkah and the story of the Jewish people has always been one of hope and resilience. In the Hanukkah story, the Jewish people were forced into hiding,” he wrote. “No one thought they would survive or that the few drops of oil they had would last. But they survived and the oil kept burning.”

“During those eight days in hiding, they recited their prayers and continued their traditions,” Emhoff, who is Jewish and is working with the White House on combating antisemitism, continued in the now deleted post. “That’s why Hanukkah means dedication. It was during those dark nights that the Maccabees dedicated themselves to maintaining hope and faith in the oil, each other, and their Judaism.”

He added that he thinks of the story during “dark times.”

The Hanukkah story celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple. The Jews did not hide for eight days. Good Heavens. They celebrated a massive victory. The one-day supply of oil that they found lasted for eight days. Is that where the eight-day confusion came in?

In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance and belief in G‑d. Against all odds, a small band of faithful but poorly armed Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, defeated one of the mightiest armies on earth, drove the Greeks from the land, reclaimed the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and rededicated it to the service of G‑d.

When they sought to light the Temple’s Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum), they found only a single cruse of olive oil that had escaped contamination by the Greeks. Miraculously, they lit the menorah and the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days until new oil could be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.

The backlash came swiftly. Emhoff deleted the post.

Doug Emhoff apparently thinks the Macabees were hiding out in some sort of subterranean lair with an oil lamp.

This is emphatically not the story of Hanukkah.

Reconsecration of the Temple and recommitment to biblical values and teachings is the story of Hanukkah. https://t.co/ERZAWFN9GG

— Will Scharf (@willscharf) December 12, 2023

Conservative writer Noah Rothman asked how this could have happened. Maybe it was the work of interns who were too lazy to look up the information.

It’s inexplicable in general, but at this point in this environment, it is so ponderously inept could only be enemy action. There are saboteurs at work here. Gotta be it.

— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) December 12, 2023

Update: oooops! pic.twitter.com/ZnKSmSAPKt

— Katya Sedgwick (@KatyaSedgwick) December 12, 2023

It is no wonder that this administration’s approval ratings are so low. Where can we find a little competence? The Jewish Second Gentleman got the Hanukkah story wrong. It just makes me want to smack my head. And to work to get them out of the White House in 2024.

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