Report: Ivanka Trump Got Permission From Rabbi to Break Jewish Tradition for Inauguration

You may already be aware that Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter of President Elect Donald Trump, converted to Judaism when she married Jared Kushner. But you probably didn’t consider just how that will affect her move to Washington, DC and whatever official or unofficial role she and her husband have in her father’s administration. In a 2015 interview with Vogue, Ivanka described her family as “pretty observant,” to the degree that during the Sabbath, “from Friday to Saturday we don’t do anything but hang out with one another. We don’t make phone calls.” But how does that affect someone with a Secret Service detail?

We got our answer on Thursday. Citing an interview with Israeli Republican Party Chairman Mark Zell, The Jerusalem Post reports that, at least after the inauguration on Friday, the Trump/Kushner family has gotten rabbinic permission to use a car during the Sabbath. Under the principle of “pikuach nefesh,” where preservation or protection of human life takes precedence over any other biblical considerations, they were granted an exemption for security reasons. It was not made clear if this was specific to this weekend (due to the crowds at the inauguration) or a more long term consideration.

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