ASHINGTON - Inauguration Day next year falls on a Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. But if Senator Joseph I. Lieberman is elected vice president, he could still participate in the ceremony, his rabbi said yesterday.
Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, observes the holiday by not working, driving, or writing from sundown Fridays to sundown Saturdays. The Connecticut Democrat, however, does vote when the Senate meets in a rare Saturday session. He cites an exception in Jewish law that allows work when human life or national security is at stake.
Rabbi Mark Dratch of Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, Conn., said the senator's faith would not keep him from the festivities on Jan. 20.
''It is certainly possible for him to attend the inauguration,'' Dratch said.
In Boston, Grand Rabbi Y.A. Korff of Zvhil-Mezbuz, an ultra-Orthodox congregation, said, ''On a technical basis, he would be permitted to participate because he could walk. The only question is if it is keeping with the spirit of the Sabbath Day, and that would be up to him to decide.''
Douglas Hattaway, a spokesman for Al Gore's campaign, said there hasn't been any discussion whether Lieberman would participate in Inauguration Day ceremonies. ''That's putting the cart before the horse,'' Hattaway said. ''We're focused on Election Day at this point.''
The 20th Amendment of the Constitution requires the president and vice president to take office at noon on Jan. 20.
''The Constitution just requires that the president- and vice president-elect take the oath on Jan. 20, and they can do that in a private ceremony,'' said Donald Ritchie, an associate Senate historian.
If the public ceremony date were to change, it would need to be decided quickly after the election because Congress's joint inaugural committee has started planning the event, Ritchie said.
Michael Kranish of the Globe Staff contributed to this report.
