The Family Bible Is a Guest for the Oath, but Not a Participant

clipped from www.nytimes.com The Family Bible Is a Guest for the Oath, but Not a Participant A few hours before the inauguration on Friday, the mayor’s aides distributed an exhaustive description of the Bible that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg would use to take the oath of office. It belongs to his mother, Charlotte. It was printed in 1909 by the Canal Street Hebrew Publishing Company in Manhattan. Its translator? Isaac Leeser. With so much attention paid to the book’s origin, it was a wonder that nobody reminded the mayor to place his hand on it as he was sworn in. As Mr. Bloomberg recited the oath of office, he held his right hand in the air, and dropped his left hand to his side. The Bloomberg family Bible, held by his two daughters, Emma and Georgina, hovered, conspicuously handless.