Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Televangelist Who ‘Laid Hands’ On Trump Is Hosting A Special Passover Seder

A popular televangelist who “laid hands” on Donald Trump leading up the election — praying for the candidate’s success and evoking Jesus Christ — will be hosting a “Messianic Seder” on the second night of Passover.

“I’m going to show you the different elements, beloved ones, of the Passover and show you the application for your lives today,” said Kirt Schneider, host of “Discovering The Jewish Jesus,” in a promotional video for the event.

Schneider calls himself a Messianic Rabbi and a “Jewish believer in Jesus.” He joins a number of evangelicals and Messianics who have popularized the Christian celebration of the Passover Seder.

In the Christian or Messianic adaptations of the Passover Seder, Jesus is seen as the sacrificial Passover lamb. “The Bible tells us that Christ has become our Passover,” Schneider said. “Jesus is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”

This Christian embrace of Passover — and Christian interest more broadly in traditionally Jewish holidays or rituals — has bewildered and offended some in the Jewish community.

In 2015, Schnieder led a prayer ceremony in Trump Tower alongside a group of evangelical leaders —including Trump’s “spiritual advisor” Paula White. Schneider placed his hand on Trump’s face and offered a blessing — in both Hebrew and English.

Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.