Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, marked yet another first in their historic duties by placing a mezuzah on the right-hand side of the vice presidential residence's doorway, as is customary in Jewish homes.
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According to Rabbi Peter Berg of Hebrew Benevolent Congregation in Atlanta, who provided the mezuzah and led the private ceremony, the instant in which the item was mounted to the Naval Observatory's doorway was probably the first time an executive residence in the US at such a high level has had a mezuzah installed on it.
Doug Emhoff is the first Jewish spouse of any president or vice president, whereas Harris also made history earlier this year by being the first woman and first woman of color to occupy her position.
For us, and for everyone, Thanksgiving is a time for reflection on the past year. One of my favorite memories was when our family visited and together we hung a mezuzah on the front door of the Vice President's Residence. pic.twitter.com/Lj5jYM4Hic
— Douglas Emhoff (@SecondGentleman) November 18, 2021
"It's an extraordinary moment in United States history," Berg told CNN. "And it was one of the great honors of my lifetime to be able to stand there with the second family as they placed that mezuzah on their home for the very first time."
"Both the second gentleman and the vice president spoke off the cuff about what it meant to them to be standing there. Remember, this was not a public event. There were no cameras and no staffers there. There weren't Jewish elected officials. It was just a private family moment. And that to me is what made it so beautiful," Berg said.
"When I started talking, we all teared up because of the significance and the history," he added.
Furthermore, the second family has plans to install a second mezuzah in the house, this one deriving from the University of California Berkeley's Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, according to an official.
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