The Small Book Donald Trump Reportedly Keeps Over His Heart

Takeaways:

• Marla Maples says Trump carries the Zohar’s Book of Pinchas close to his heart.
• The claim is unconfirmed by Trump himself.
• Maples has kept kosher and Shabbat for over 20 years.
• She recited the Shema during a robbery and still says it daily.
• Ivanka Trump converted through the traditional Jewish process in 2009.

A camera crew from Israel’s Channel 12 sat down with Marla Maples expecting a conversation about politics. What they got instead was a story about a book tucked against someone’s chest.

A Confession on Camera

Maples told the interviewer that her former husband carries an Aramaic copy of the Zohar’s Pinchas section, worn beneath his clothing. She said he keeps it there “for protection and healing.” 

She also offered a personal read on the man behind the practice: “He has a very big heart,” and added that he wouldn’t be in his position without a real desire to help others. 

Trump’s team has not confirmed the Zohar claim publicly, so it belongs to Maples’s account rather than verified fact. Still, the image is hard to shake: a world leader with a centuries old mystical text resting against his heart.

What Makes Pinchas Different

The Torah portion of Pinchas comes from Numbers 25, describing a moment of crisis among the Israelites and the covenant of peace that followed. Kabbalistic sources have long linked this portion to healing and to the sealing of a covenant of peace, brit shalom. 

Fun fact: the Zohar is written mostly in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. Jewish tradition offers a few explanations for this, including that Aramaic was the everyday spoken language of the era in which the text emerged, and that its unfamiliarity to the average reader helped keep the deepest teachings within a smaller circle of study. 

Another trivia note: Pinchas is one of the few biblical figures granted an eternal covenant of priesthood for a single decisive act.

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A Life Built Around Shabbat

Maples has kept kosher for more than twenty years and has observed Shabbat for many of those. She described trips to Safed, a city regarded as one of the great centers of Jewish mysticism, along with visits to the graves of revered religious figures and lighter moments like water skiing on the Sea of Galilee.

The most striking story from the interview happened roughly two decades ago, on a trip to Nigeria. Maples said three armed men stopped her group and forced everyone to the ground. With no clear way out, she said her mind went straight to the Shema, Judaism’s central declaration of faith. She let go of trying to control the situation and trusted, in her words, that everything was in God’s hands. Moments after she finished the prayer, the men simply walked away and left the group untouched. Maples said the moment marked her so deeply that she has recited the Shema every single morning since.

Ivanka’s Path and a Family Changed

Maples was married to Trump from 1993 to 1999 and is the mother of Tiffany Trump, which makes her Ivanka’s former stepmother, not her mother. Even so, she connected her own Shabbat practice to what she watched unfold in the family years later. Ivanka Trump converted to Orthodox Judaism before marrying Jared Kushner in 2009, choosing the most rigorous path into Jewish life rather than a simplified route. Ivanka has described the decision as offering “an amazing blueprint for family connectivity.” Maples said Donald was “exposed to it extensively” through years of watching his daughter build a Jewish home, keep kosher, and step away from technology every Friday night. 

The Thread That Connects It

Trump’s team hasn’t confirmed the Zohar story, and maybe it never will. But the man leading the most powerful country in the world has spent decades surrounded by people who chose Jewish tradition on purpose. His former wife built her life around Israel, Shabbat and kosher food. His daughter converted before her wedding and raised her own children the same way. A president this closely tied to the practices of Sinai, whether by his own hand or by the family around him, is a remarkable thing to witness in this era. It started, according to Maples, with a small book he decided was worth carrying.

Want to keep reading? Read here about why the number 40 keeps showing up in Judaism and the mystical meaning behind it. Explore more on faith, values, and the Land of Israel at Sinai Project.