The Jewish
Vol. 45, No. 49 Albany, N.Y.
The voice of and for the greater Jewish community: Northeastern New York, Vermont, Western Massachusetts.
Andrew,
itʼs Shabbos!
By MARC GRONICH
Violate the Shabbat! That’s the word
from our new governor, Andrew Cuomo.
His spokesman Josh Vlasto on Tuesday
told The Jewish World, “We have con-
sulted with Jewish leaders, both political
and religious, including Assembly Speaker
(Sheldon) Silver (D–Manhattan), who
agree that the inauguration should proceed
on January 1.”
With Gov. Paterson’s term ending on
Friday, Dec. 31, for the continuity of state
government, Governor-elect Andrew
Cuomo, 53, will be sworn in during a
small ceremony at midnight.
Jews and Seventh Day Adventists had
been wondering what will happen next, as,
“We have consulted with Jew-
ish leaders, both political and
religious, including Assembly
Speaker Silver, who agree that
the inauguration should pro-
ceed on January 1.”
—Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto
for only the fourth time since 1900, a New
York State first-term inauguration has
fallen on Shabbat.
Will there be festivities that will
exclude these religious people? Appar-
ently the answer is yes, as it was for
Cuomo’s father, Mario, inaugurated as
governor on Shabbat in 1983.
Rabbis and legislators we surveyed all
thought that the governor should be sensi-
tive to Jewish concerns. Their remarks
were made before the announcement from
Vlasto.
Sen. Hugh Farley (R-C, Niskayuna),
who represents the observant Jewish com-
munity in Schenectady, said, “The cere-
mony has to be addressed as to how the
Jewish community feels about it. Those
are the people who are important.”
Rabbis Weigh In
Fifteen rabbis from Saratoga Springs to
Albany said they would prefer that the
inaugural not be held on Shabbat. Twelve
state lawmakers, six from each house,
Democrats and Republicans, agreed. One
prominent group from New York City had
a different view of the situation.
However, the New York Board of Rab-
bis wrote, “the consensus is that thankfully
we live in a country where we can practice
our religious traditions freely. The inaugu-
ration is not a religious event but a secular
celebration determined by a secular calen-
dar. On that day, we will pray for the wel-
fare of our country and state as we do each
Sabbath. We look forward to working with
the governor during his term of office as
we collectively confront the challenges
that impact on our lives.”
December 16, 2010
Rabbi Debora Gordon, of Troy’s
Reform Congregation Berith Sholom,
focused on the public’s participation in
government.
She said, “I would move it to Sunday
afternoon. More New Yorkers can attend
or watch if it is not held during the Mon-
day through Friday work week, and that’s
important for encouraging the public’s
connection to its elected government. Our
tradition teaches us to pray for the welfare
of the government of the land where we
live, for upon it our own welfare depends.
That was in the days before representative
government was the norm. Today, we need
not only to pray for it but to be involved in
it. Kudos to those who, with slight
accommodations, make it possible for us
to be fully involved.”
Many downstate lawmakers concurred.
“There is a big difference between the
Sabbath where everything is closed
down,” but many Christians “go to our
religious services and we do things after
the services,” said Sen. Eric Adams (D-
Crown Heights, Brooklyn).
Sees No Problem
But one state legislator surveyed was
puzzled by the question.
“What percentage of New York state
would this affect? Who would not be able
to attend? I’m not even sure if it’s the
majority of Jews,” Ass. Jack McEneny (D-
Albany) said. “As a Christian, I would not
resent it if the governor-elect moved the
ceremony to a different day. If you were in
the hospitality business in Albany you
would consider it to be a justifiable eco-
nomic stimulus to have people up here
spending money and providing jobs for
people so they could feed their families.”
Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) repre-
sents more Orthodox Jews than any non-
Jew in the state. His constituents asked
him to try to get the ceremonial inaugural
changed.
“A number of people in my district
want to be part of the celebration and fes-
tivities. Certainly they have a right to ask,
and hopefully I will hear from the gover-
nor soon and we will get an accommoda-
tion. The second is also a Sabbath for a lot
of Christians and others, but honestly, to a
large degree, they treat the Sabbath in a
little more flexible manner than Jews and
Seventh Day Adventists.”
Seeks Inclusion
“I think that it’s appropriate to ensure
that there is an event that everyone can
attend,” said Attorney General-elect Eric
Schneiderman (D-Manhattan), who is
Jewish.
He said that he is planning his celebra-
tion in Manhattan on Sunday, Jan. 9.
There are three Orthodox Jews in the
state Assembly and none in the state Sen-
ate. Ass. David Weprin (D-Queens), who
is Orthodox, is serving his second term in
the lower house. His father, Saul, was a
former speaker of the Assembly.
“I would like to be there, actually, but I
won’t be if it’s on Shabbos. I’ll take my
personal oath of office Friday before sun-
down but I think you just fill out a piece of
paper basically. I’m not going to take a
formal oath.”
“Problematic”
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver did
not comment for this story.
Another iconic Orthodox Jew in the
state legislature, who is entering his 29th
year of public service, Ass. Dov Hikind
(D-Brooklyn), pointed out that it would be
problematic even if the Orthodox Jews
who wanted to attend the inaugural stayed
over Friday night in Albany and walked to
the event. “In order to even enter (the
inaugural ceremony) you need certain doc-
uments and that becomes a problem
because if you’re an Orthodox Jew you
don’t carry on the Sabbath, as I don’t, you
can’t have anything in your pocket. Not
having ID, not having the tickets you need
to get into the events, and so on, is just not
realistic.”
One senator was betting on the inaugu-
ral not taking place on the Sabbath.
“I think that he’s the kind of guy that
wants to come in and just do the job and
he doesn’t need the pomp and circum-
stance of an inaugural and if he chooses to
$
1.45
have one, he can have one at any point,”
said Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn).
“Knowing the attorney general and know-
ing his father and knowing the sense of
traditional values that they hold very
strong, I would think it would weigh very
heavily on his mind what he would do on
the Sabbath.”
Doing The Right Thing
Ass. Alec Brook-Krasny (D-Brooklyn),
a Jewish-Russian immigrant, said, “We
won’t be seeing the Orthodox Jewish com-
munity if it’s happening on Saturday. So
my recommendation would be to just post-
pone it.”
Sen. Bill Larkin (R-Newburgh), who
represents the large Satmar Jewish com-
munity of Kiryas Joel and a substantial
Jewish community in Monroe, who is
Irish-Catholic, said Cuomo should not
hold the inaugural on the Sabbath.
Representing Orthodox Jews in
Rochester is Democratic Ass. Joseph
Morelle. He said, “I think they (the inau-
gural committee) would prefer to do it on
a weekend because people are out of work
and could travel and participate in it but
I’m sure the governor-elect will do the
right thing.”
All lawmakers questioned suggested
that the inaugural, whenever it is held,
should be subdued and modest in the con-
text of a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit
and looming layoffs.
One lawmaker remembered the last two
first-term inaugurals, “When Gov. Pataki
got in the first time he took the Knicker-
bocker Arena and an elaborate blue carpet
and covered the entire floor of the arena
and it was quite an elaborate affair,” McE-
neny recalled. “Eliot Spitzer built an entire
stage over the fountain area on the west
side of the Capitol. Those first time inau-
gurations tend to be very large.”
Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-
Manhattan) said having an over-the-top
inaugural party would be unseemly.