Thoughts at the Inauguration

I was honored to be invited to the inauguration of our new Governor Ron DeSantis this week in Tallahassee. Additionally, this was the inauguration of the Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Chief Financial Officer, and Agriculture Commissioner. I traveled to our state's capital on Tuesday with my son Yehoshua for this occasion. There were a few shul members there as well. Of course, much pomp and ceremony was surrounding the affair, but there were a couple of thoughts that I was reflecting on as I was participating in the inauguration that day.



We are living in a period of hyper-partisanship, and our state's race for governor was not immune from it. There was a lot of negativity and low points throughout the campaign. The election itself was very close with one candidate able to eke out a narrow victory. The remarkable thing about our democracy is that following the election, we can have a peaceful transition of power. Despite the political differences that we may have we are blessed to live in a state and country in which we can transition from one president to another and one governor to another without any violence or military uprising. That cannot be said for many other parts of the world in which rival political factions frequently descend into rioting in the streets or even civil war. This point was not lost on me as I watched from a few feet away as I saw our new governor place his hand on the Bible and swear that he will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and the State of Florida.



Another significant moment at the inauguration not only for all Floridians but for all Jewish Floridians was the oath of office taken for Agriculture Commissioner by Nikki Fried. The oath taken by Nikki Fried was on the oldest Hebrew Bible in the United States which is currently housed in the library of the University of Florida. Nikki Fried, the first Jewish woman to serve in the post in the Sunshine State, called the University of Florida, her alma mater, to ask if there was a special Bible she could use for the occasion. Well, she was in luck since the library at UF owns a two-volume Hebrew Bible dating to 1814, one of about 100 remaining that were published in Philadelphia that year using fonts from an older edition printed in Amsterdam. The first volume contains the Torah, and the second includes the remaining 19 books of the Prophets. So on a gloriously sunny morning at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fried laid her hand on the Tanach and took the oath of office. I couldn’t help but feel how proud and fortunate we are to be living in this great country and state. Our people have suffered for so many thousands of years in many countries and were not able to advance politically or have religious freedom. Let us not take this blessing that our generation has for granted.



Have a great Shabbos,



Rabbi Yaakov Fisch