Javier Miley He approached the rabbi Shimon Axel Wahnish At the beginning of 2021, when he had not yet applied for election as a representative and certainly did not believe that he could be close to becoming president. Those who know the libertarian leader well affirm this and are not just a fan of it State of Israel He also believed that he found “a treasure of wisdom” in Judaism, even though he is Catholic and attended a religious school. His meteoric rise in public political life in the last two years has occurred parallel to a intense personal spiritual process.
The candidate from Advances in freedom said upon winning his representative seat: “I am thinking about converting to Judaism and I aspire to become one.” “the first Jewish president in Argentine history”. Weeks ago on LN+ he advocated: “I’m close to being a Jew, I just need the blood pact”. But Milei still has not initiated the formal conversion process a journey that can take at least a year and which, as they say in the community, requires full commitment and many hours of dedication N. Especially when it happens hand in hand orthodoxy this is the area in which the libertarian operates.
Grace, however, He began to retrace his path, study and have experiences that point in this direction. There can be approximations between nothingness and the climax – which would appear in a rabbinical court.
There is one part of the conversion process to Judaism – as sources familiar with the process explain – namely type “emotional and social” and what does it mean living religion, Respect Shabbat and share the holidays of the Hebrew calendar with members of the community.
That would explain why Milei suspended his presidential campaign twice Travel to the United States for “personal reasons” which were, strictly speaking, spiritual in nature. In July, before PASO, he flew to New York to visit the grave of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, better known as “the Lubavitcher Rebbe”, Seventh leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty who died in 1994. And last weekend, in the heat of the general election race, He flew to Miami with his sister Karina to spend Shabbat with “friends” from the community Days before the Jewish New Year, as detailed in an interview on LN+ this Wednesday.
A person very close to Milei assured THE NATION that the libertarian leader “has not yet fully decided to convert,” despite becoming increasingly committed to Judaism. Anyway, It seems very difficult for him to formalize his conversion during the election campaign and to assume the presidency as a Jew if he wins the elections. On the one hand, for the time it would take to prepare to appear before a rabbinical court (probably abroad), something incompatible with local proselytizing demand. On the other hand, the process implies, they explain, close to the libertarian “Silence, reflection and maturation”, A mood that is incompatible with the adrenaline that the dispute over the Casa Rosada brings with it.
A conversion process like the one Milei wants to undertake requires intellectual work with a rabbi the decision matures, which must prove to be genuine and not out of opportunism or external convenience. In addition, it requires a detailed study of the Torah (the so-called Old Testament) and prepare for the final trial, which involves appearing before one Rabbi’s Court the reception of the commandments and the conclusion of the ritual with a cleansing bath or “Mikveh“.
Although he does not attend any courses, Milei has been studying the Torah self-taught for some time and is in constant contact with Rabbi Wahnish, to whom he asks questions every day, either in person or by telephone, and with whom he thinks about them for many hours, according to Milei himself.
They are close to the libertarian and point out that he is attracted to the dynamic of Jewish study, which is based on “questioning, reflection and questioning as practice.” per se“. Milei has told those around her that she believes so Consideration of the Torah provides a more comprehensive analysis of the reality of the land. “The rabbi who helps me study says I should read the Torah from the perspective of economic analysis,” Milei said.
Wahnish has a degree in educational psychology and leads a Moroccan Jewish community (Acilba), in the Palermo district, where he provides spiritual guidance to individuals, couples and families and is also dedicated to the study and teaching of Kabbalah and Jewish thought. He has radically lowered his profile since it was revealed that he was the Libertarian candidate’s adviser.
Close to Milei, they assured that the libertarian leader is not only learning from the rabbi, but is also working on it internally “Improve temperance, experience inner growth and be in harmony with yourself”. After PASO, the Libertarian candidate appears to be calmer and more in control of his outbursts, which once made him a television celebrity, but now that he can become president, they have a different weight in his image. “When I started my career in the media, I decided to defend my ideas. “They sent me on television panels to fight with 15 people,” Milei defended himself on TN on Wednesday. “Since I’ve been in politics, I haven’t offended anymore. It’s something I don’t do anymore, and yet they bring it up all the time.” She complained.
With regard to his possible conversion, Milei once spoke of the practical difficulties he would have as a practitioner in exercising the presidency. “What do I do when I’m president and it’s Shabbat? Will I deregister from the country from Friday to Saturday? “There are some issues that would make (religion) incompatible,” he said. A converted Jew should live according to the commandments of the religion and that means, among other things, not working or using a cell phone on Shabbat.
Milei wants to get to know Israel. He said that if he wins the presidential election, it will be his first state visit to that country and that he plans to move the Argentine embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as Donald Trump did with the US diplomatic mission. Whatever happens to his ballot, the presidential candidate conveyed to those around him that he has a strong desire to make this journey in the short term.
