Image by Getty Images

(JTA) — If Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s visit to Hasidic Brooklyn this week had yielded only one amusing moment, Dayenu – it would have been enough.

But, thank God, there were many in the Republican presidential candidate’s visit to a Jewish bookstore, shmura matzah bakery and Hasidic school in Borough Park on Tuesday.

“It’s a wonderful, wonderful holiday for our friends in the Jewish community – the Passover,” Kasich told reporters after emerging from the matzah bakery, a box of the fresh-baked stuff in hand.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Yes, Jews are known to love The Passover, almost as much they love The Pre-Election Drop-By from vote-seeking politicians.

Flanked by Hasidic publicist Ezra Friedlander, Kasich then launched into a brief appraisal of the links between Passover and, um, the blood of Jesus Christ.

“The great link between the blood that was put above the lampposts” – er, you mean doorposts, governor — “the blood of the lamb, because Jesus Christ is known as the lamb of God. It’s his blood, we believe …”

Kasich’s only saving grace was that his remarks kept getting interrupted by the subway rumbling on the elevated tracks overhead.

Talking about Christ’s blood during a visit to Borough Park? Oy vey. Please, somebody, prep this guy. Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn want to hear about food stamps, affordable housing, Medicaid. Ix-nay on the Jesus-nay.

“He’s very knowledgeable and he takes his religion very seriously,” Friedlander later told JTA in an interview. “In context, I thought it was appropriate.”

Friedlander is a registered Democrat who plans to vote for Hillary Clinton in next week’s primary election.

Kasich also made the cardinal error of shaking his box of shmura matzah as he spoke to punctuate his remarks – a cringe-worthy move for Jewish shmura matzah consumers. If the high-priced, delicate matzahs inside are broken, they become unsuitable for ritual use.

Before visiting the matzah bakery, Kasich ran into a group of young Hasidic men at a Jewish bookstore in Borough Park.

“What do you guys do?” the governor asked.

“Study,” they said.

“And what are you studying?” Kasich asked.

“Talmud,” the men responded.

“OK, but what are you learning right now?”

“Um …” Long pause.

“And what is your lesson?” Kasich pressed.

“Hilchos Shabbos. The laws of the Sabbath,” they finally responded.

“Yeah …” Kasich said. Awkward pause.

“You know who I like?” Kasich finally said. “Joseph. You guys like Joseph? You study Joseph? What do you think about Joseph? Did you hear the most important thing Joseph said to his brothers?”

Silence.

“My brothers, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good,” said Kasich, an Anglican who was born Roman Catholic.

Toward the end of his visit, Kasich told his interlocutors, “Pray for me, would you?”

Having won just one state so far in the Republican primary contest, Kasich could use all the help he can get.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

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.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

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

$90 $180

$360

Other amount