The White House had several bands playing throughout the event, playing music by Jewish composers and klezmer music too. I felt emotional the whole time, but when they played my Grandfather’s favorite song to sing, “Shalom Aleychem,” it hit me deep in the kishkes. My grandfather left school at 15 to work as a hat maker, fled Poland/Ukraine, and took a chance at surviving in America. Two generations later, I sat in front of the President and listened to the song he sang to me as a child. Wow. The