Friday, / December 27, 2024
Home / news / Photos

“It’s been fun,” Governor Rick Perry told reporters of his life as Governor. “Some of you got to watch [my son] Griffin walk in the chamber when he was two-years-old. And now he is thirty-one and got his own babies.”

When asked by a reporter last Thursday what the most memorable moment he had in the thirty years in office, he said it would have to be lighting the menorah and dancing with Chabad in his office.

In 2010 Perry received a group of Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis in the governor’s public reception room, where he lit the shamash, used to light the other candles. Rabbi Yossi Lazaroff, the Chabad representative to Texas A&M University, said the blessings and lit the menorah. The governor looked on as the rabbis then began to sing a traditional Chanukah song.

As the song moved to its fast phase, the governor began clapping with the rabbis, and the crowd spontaneously danced around the governor’s desk. The then 60-year-old governor joined in the dancing. “This is real dancing,” he said,

That video of the governor dancing has become iconic and was played on national television during his presidential bid in the Republican primaries.

When a reporter for the American Statesman jokingly asked him if he was planning on banning dancing at this years Chanukah menorah lighting set to take place on Tuesday, December 16th, outside the Texas State Capitol building. “No, no, no, man. You gotta do the dancing,” the governor said.

 

Comment

Be the first to write a comment.

Add

More Galleries
The “World’s Widest Menorah” will be kindled at Chabad of Clearwater, Florida
The menorah measures 61.3 feet long—a nod to the Torah’s 613 commandments. This year, its message of Jewish pride will also include the prayerful hope…
A unique menorah stands at Wasilla Lake in Alaska’s Mat-Su Valley, placed by Rabbi Mendy and Chaya Greenberg of the Mat-Su Jewish Center Chabad
Its unique design was created by Alaskan artist Patrick Garley of Arctic Fires Bronze Sculptureworks. The menorah was sponsored in honor of former Mayor of…
Olathe, Kansas—the state’s fourth-largest city—will welcome its first Jewish center
Olathe, Kansas—the state’s fourth-largest city—will welcome its first Jewish center, as Rabbi Mendel and Sheina Wenger have moved to Olathe, where they are founding a…
Sukkah on aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln
As the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln continues its mission in the Arabian Sea defending Israel and deterring Iranian aggression, it will have a symbol…
Keren Mamosh Impact Report
In a special initiative marking the 30th yahrtzeit of the Rebbe, Keren Mamosh, under the auspices of Machne Israel awarded 100 special grants to Chabad-Lubavitch…
Chabad Rabbi sworn in as first Jewish Rabbi chaplain in the Oregon Army National Guard
Tigard, Oregon Chabad Rabbi Menachem Orenstein was sworn in as a chaplain in the Oregon Army National Guard — the first Jewish rabbi chaplain in…
Newsletter
Donate
Find Your Local Chabad Center
Magazine