Ivanka Trump talks about her conversion to Orthodox Judaism
“It’s been such a big life decision for me,” she said.
Ivanka Trump converted to Judaism after meeting her husband, Jared Kushner, although she rarely talks about it.
For the businesswoman, the subject is “so personal”.
“We are quite observant, more than some, less than others. I just feel like it’s such an intimate thing for us,” she told Vogue. “It’s been such a big life decision for me. I’m very modern, but I’m also a very traditional person, and I think that’s an interesting juxtaposition in how I was raised as well. I really find that with Judaism it creates an incredible blueprint for family connectedness.”
Trump, 33, and Kushner, 34, married since 2009 and now parents of two young children, keep kosher and observe the Sabbath. From Friday evening to sunset on Saturday, they disconnect from the rest of the world and spend time with their families.
“We don’t do anything but hang out with each other. We don’t make phone calls,” she said. “It’s an amazing thing when you’re so connected to really disconnect. And to [my three-year-old] Arabella to know that she has me, unchallenged, one day a week? We don’t do anything but play together, hang out together, take walks together. Pure family.”
It’s also good for Kushner. His wife, he said, really embraced the ritual and even learned to cook from it.
“Ivanka is such a type A,” he said. “She just does it. But she said, ‘If we’re going to do Shabbat, I’m going to cook. She has never cooked in her life and has become an excellent cook. So for Friday, she cooks dinner for both of us, and we turn off our phones for 25 hours. Leaving aside the religious aspect, we live in such a fast-paced world.
