Home › Forums › Decaffeinated Coffee › John Cardinal O'Connor was a halachic Jew
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June 11, 2014 5:45 pm at 5:45 pm #612988lesschumrasParticipant
O’Connor’s sister has confirmed that their mother was born a Jew and their grandfather was a rabbi. O’Connor, the now deceased former head of the NY Archdiocese, was a strong friend and advocate of Jewish causes, never new his background. The sister discovered her mother’s background only recently
June 11, 2014 5:57 pm at 5:57 pm #1019600@Novominsker (joseph)ParticipantThere are many many halachic Jews who think they are gentiles. O’Connor’s mother converted from Judaism to Catholicism (apparently for marriage) and never told her son, the Cardinal. So he is from a recent family that left Judaism and yet he never knew he is Jewish. And he became a top figure in the Church, second only to the Pope (as all Cardinals are.)
How much more so the Jews who left Judaism throughout the last 2000 years, whether on their own (as 50% of Sephardic Jewry did in 1492 rather than leave Spain) or did so under force or were kidnapped as children and raised non-Jewish. All their decendents through the maternal line, for thousands of years, are Jewish even though they do not know it.
There very well may be, if not actually likely, many more halachic Jews who have no idea they are Jewish than there are Jew who know they are Jewish. In fact, there are likely hundreds of millions such halachic Jews.
On the opposite token there are many people who think they are Jewish while in reality they are gentiles. This is because of non-Orthodox conversions as well as all the descendents of such conversions. As well as others who somehow got mixed into the Jewish people. Unfortunately sometimes such people become an Orthodox “baal teshuva” and in reality they aren’t even Jewish.
June 11, 2014 6:39 pm at 6:39 pm #1019601MDGParticipantBecause he was from Zera Yisrael, he had a strong spiritual side.
June 11, 2014 7:57 pm at 7:57 pm #1019603ben_DavidParticipantIn Morocco (where part of my family is originally from)….there are many muslim families from Fez (called Fassis, who nowadays form Morocco’s social elite) who are halachically Jews and up until some decades ago,…still married only among themselves even though they were “officially” muslims. Some of these families still keep their old jewish names,…like Kouhen (from Cohen).
June 12, 2014 6:51 am at 6:51 am #1019604apushatayidParticipantwhy is this such a big deal. yeshu and his parents were also halachic jews.
June 12, 2014 1:10 pm at 1:10 pm #1019605nishtdayngesheftParticipantI would certainly not call him a “halachic Jew”. (I think RJBS would not appreciate it).
I wonder how you even know if if his mother was a Jew according Halacha.
June 12, 2014 4:41 pm at 4:41 pm #1019606midwesternerParticipantAPY: Parents? Mother and her husband yes. But his father was a Roman soldier, perhaps named Pondre.
June 12, 2014 6:21 pm at 6:21 pm #1019607apushatayidParticipantmidwesterner. I make it my business not to argue about the catholic religion, with catholics. if they wish to believe joseph and mary were his “parents” who am I to argue with them. as far as they are concerned a roman soldier wasnt his “father” either.
June 12, 2014 7:27 pm at 7:27 pm #1019608Trust 789Memberwhy is this such a big deal
This statement appalls me. What is such a big deal? A Jewish man unknowingly steeped in the sin of idol worship no big deal? Never having the opportunity to do mitzvos cause he didn’t know he is Jewish? How can anyone think it’s no big deal? It’s a tragedy!
June 12, 2014 8:02 pm at 8:02 pm #1019609apushatayidParticipantthe only thing that is tragic is your sanctimonious hypocricy.
June 12, 2014 10:20 pm at 10:20 pm #1019610lesschumrasParticipantNisht, his mother is buried in a Jewish cemetery in Connecticut and his father was a rabbi and a butcher. The current rabbi of the shul that owns the cemetery said non Jews were not buried there
June 13, 2014 2:20 pm at 2:20 pm #1019611Trust 789Memberapushatayid: It’s a pity that YWNCR doesn’t offer the option of blocking comments from personal view of certain posters. If they did, I would block you.
June 13, 2014 4:07 pm at 4:07 pm #1019612apushatayidParticipantAm I supposed to feel insulted?
Obviously to YOU this story is a BIG DEAL, so, exactly how is it a big deal? You saying tehillim for his neshama? Trying to get his sister to light shabbos candles? Reaching out to other lost neshamos?
This is in the news not because some religious catholic found out that his parents were Jews, but because of who that person was in the catholic hierarchy. To which I still ask, why is this newsworthy, why does the press make such a big out of this given that the original Christians were all Jews.
June 13, 2014 4:58 pm at 4:58 pm #1019613benignumanParticipantmidwesterner,
The person discussed in the Gemara (that I think you are referring to) is probably not the Yoshke of the Christian religion.
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