President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle hosted a private Pesach seder in the White House Thursday, fulfilling a campaign-trail promise he made a year ago. The guest list included a group of around 10 aides who, unable to go home for the Yom Tov last year, held an impromptu seder in the basement of the Sheraton hotel in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as the Obama primary campaign drew to a close in the state.At the end of the seder, after the traditional refrain of “Leshana Habaah B’Yerushalayim,” Obama and others in the group jokingly added, “Next year in the White House,” an official said.

The informal seder was conducted by Eric Lesser, 24, personal aide to senior adviser David Axelrod. Lesser worked during the New Hampshire primary.

White House videographer Arun Chaundhary - a constant presence on the trail - also landed invites for his family.

Also invited were Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama’s closest advisers, and family friend Eric Whitaker, who is visiting from Chicago and attended a seder last year with the campaign.

Obama’s personal aide Reggie Love, Michelle Obama’s deputy chief of staff Melissa Winter, personal aide Dana Lewis and associate social secretary Samantha Tubman all received invites.

The White House chefs prepared the seder in the family dining room in the executive mansion, the White House said.

President Obama broke new ground by personally hosting a White House Seder. The event was lauded by the National Jewish Democratic Council as the nation’s first White House seder.

“By hosting the first presidential Seder in America’s history, President Barack Obama shows the personal and deep relationship he has with the Jewish community,” Deputy Executive Director OF the National Jewish Democratic Council Alexis C. Rice told the Associated Press. “There is no question, Obama is a true friend of the Jewish community.”