דונלד טראמפ
דונלד טראמפOfficial White House Photo by Andrea Hanks

A prominent haredi rabbi from central Israel is calling on followers to adjust their Sabbath practices, in order to ‘bless’ President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign days before the 2020 election.

Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Diner, a prominent decisor of Jewish law from Bnei Brak, released a video message calling on Orthodox Jews to start the Sabbath ten minutes early this weekend, in order to ‘merit’ a Trump victory in next Tuesday’s presidential election.

“This week, in our holy land, we switched to the winter clock, meaning that night starts an hour earlier, and that affects us on the Sabbath very much.”

“In a few more days it will be the eve of the Sabbath, and everyone must be prepared for Shabbat to come in at around 4:30 p.m. instead of 5:30, so don’t wait until the last minute to get ready. That’s very difficult, since during the summer we have weeks were even by 7:00 we don’t have to be ready – and now it starts around 4:30, so we have get ready earlier.”

“We know that through the merit of the Sabbath, bringing in the Sabbath early can lead to deliverance and salvation.”

“Now we’re in a situation where next week there is the vote in the US for who will be the next president. And our dear friend, Rabbi Yitzhak Zilberstein, has already said that having Trump as president has done a great deal of good for the Jewish people and we appreciate what he as done.”

“So [Rabbi Zilberstein] had requested synagogues to recite the ‘Mi Sheberach’ prayer for healing [Trump].”

“And now, with the election a week away determining whether he will stay or go, continue or leave, we very much want him to win. We want him to win because it is good for the Jewish people and good for Torah learning and good for places where Torah is learned and good for observing the Torah. So what should we do?”

“Remember that when we bring in the Sabbath early, we have the merit of the Sabbath with us. That means that by bringing in the Sabbath early, we are asking God…to have mercy on us and to help us so that next week we can ensure the continuation of Trump’s term as president.”

“Of course anyone who can vote should go and vote for him. But by the merit of us strengthening the Sabbath, God will have mercy on us and we will merit to have Trump continue on and to strengthen the Torah.”