President Javier Milei of Argentina gives a speech after his inauguration ceremony at Casa Rosada presidential palace on Dec. 10, 2023, in Buenos Aires. ((Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images)

(JTA) — When it came time to swear in his new foreign minister, Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, turned to one of his favorite topics: the Torah.

Milei, who is not Jewish, cited the week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha, when inaugurating Gerardo Werthein, a Jewish businessman who is assuming the role. Milei fired his predecessor, in part because Argentina voted at the United Nations against the U.S. embargo of Cuba. Werthein had previously been Argentina’s ambassador to the United States.

In public comments during a ceremony this week at Casa Rosada, his official residence, Milei drew a connection between the Torah portion, which describes God sending Abraham to Canaan to create a great nation, and Werthein’s task in steering Argentina’s foreign relations.

“The powers of heaven are sending you signals, Gerardo, because it speaks of the beginnings of Abraham’s travels throughout the world, spreading the messages of the creator,” Milei said in Spanish, according to a video shared online by an Argentine news agency. “God tells him in this parashah that he will have a lot of influence on the nations of the world, and gives him an important responsibility to bring the messages of the Torah, of life and freedom to the entire world.”

A parashah is one of 54 portions of the Five Books of Moses read each Shabbat in synagogue; Jews study and chant the week’s portion according to a fixed calendar.

The Catholic-born Milei has been famously drawn to Judaism and said he intends to convert once he leaves office. (He says it would be impossible to serve as president and observe Shabbat fully, a commitment that involves abstaining from writing, driving and using electricity for a full day.) He studies regularly with a rabbi, Axel Wahnish, whom he appointed as his ambassador to Israel. He has also cited Jewish stories at other events at Casa Rosada, including when he told the Hanukkah story and gave a menorah to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, last year.

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