Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
The following photograph appeared in the "Yedioth Achronot" newspaper: President Joe Biden had kneeled in front of Rivka Ravitz, head of President Reuven Rivlin's staff, after hearing she was the mother of 12 children.
I asked Rivka Ravitz to tell me more about the photograph that was published in Israel and throughout the world: "I was privileged to meet three American presidents up close. Obama in the oval office, Trump in Jerusalem, and now Biden. It's difficult to explain the feeling when the president of the greatest world power kneels opposite you and bows in tribute. After he rose, Biden said to me: 'I have here a picture of my mother, you must see who she was,' and he showed me a picture of her. I was in shock, but afterwards I tried to collect my thoughts.
I went back to my grandmother, who arrived at the age of 3 in the United States, after a long journey of two months in which the family did not taste any meat, in order not to eat any treif (non-kosher) meat. When grandmother grew up and had children of her own, another chapter of self-sacrifice began. Her family left a comfortable life and business and made aliyah to the Land of Israel after the Six-Day War. My mother was only a teenager and she held during the entire 12-hour flight a Torah scroll that my family brought to Israel.
From my perspective, he actually kneeled for my mother, my grandmother, and all mothers wherever they may be. He did not bow because I was the head of the president's staff, and he does not know that I will soon finish my doctorate. He wanted to express appreciation for the values of family, home, motherhood, and sacrifice for the sake of the next generation."
