{"id":107960,"date":"2025-10-06T07:29:51","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T07:29:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=107960"},"modified":"2025-10-06T07:29:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T07:29:51","slug":"%e2%9c%a1%ef%b8%8fhistoric-celebration-nyc-synagogue-welcomes-archbishop-and-unveils-sandy-koufax-jersey-to-honor-60-year-milestones-for-us-jews-highlighting-legacy-community-and-unforgettable-mom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=107960","title":{"rendered":"\u2721\ufe0fHISTORIC CELEBRATION: NYC synagogue welcomes archbishop and unveils Sandy Koufax jersey to honor 60-year milestones for US Jews, highlighting legacy, community, and unforgettable moments \u2026ll"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Timothy Dolan speaks on Yom Kippur about 1965 Catholic doctrine declaring Jews innocent of deicide; rabbi recalls Jewish baseball legend famously skipping game for holy day that year<\/h2>\n
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JTA \u2014 In a special experience for his US congregation on Yom Kippur, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove brought out one surprise after another that might be anathema for a New York synagogue.<\/p>\n

First: a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey. But it wasn\u2019t the version worn last year when the Dodgers defeated both the Mets and the Yankees on their path to a World Series win. Instead, it was the version worn in 1965 by Sandy Koufax when the Jewish ballplayer famously skipped a postseason game for Yom Kippur.<\/p>\n

\u201cSixty years ago, nobody knew where Sandy Koufax was,\u201d Cosgrove said, alluding to contested lore about whether Koufax attended synagogue that day. \u201cBut we know where he was not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cosgrove, a Dodger fan himself, said he had studied the episode and determined that \u201cthe mythology that came to be associated with it\u201d was more significant than Koufax\u2019s decision not to play.<\/p>\n

What was most important, the rabbi said, was that American Jews learned that they could embrace their Jewish identity without giving up their hard-fought place in mainstream society.<\/p>\n

\u201cKoufax, by way of his unique athletic ability, was at stratospheric levels of American celebrity, and then he chose to remain chosen, to not compromise his religious convictions \u2014 a watershed moment,\u201d Cosgrove said. \u201cNo longer must Jews remain shy about public Jewish identification. Koufax\u2019s refusal to pitch gave Jewish life a kickstart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon, Cosgrove revealed a second surprise, also to mark a 60-year milestone in American Jewish history: Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, joined him on the\u00a0bimah<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Dolan and Cosgrove spoke for several minutes about Nostra Aetate, the landmark Catholic doctrine approved in October 1965 that declared that Jews were not responsible for the death of Jesus, rejecting ideas that had fueled centuries of violence against Jews. The doctrine is seen as pivotal to dramatically improved Catholic-Jewish relations and a bulwark against antisemitism among Catholics.<\/p>\n

Dolan noted that New York\u2019s 300 parishes took up a collection for Israelis devastated by the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, and raised enough to rebuild a home that was destroyed in the onslaught.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought to myself, this is an affirmation. This is the fruitfulness of Nostra Aetate,\u201d Dolan said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a long way to go, everybody. But you know how much at home I feel here? You know how much akin I feel with you? I don\u2019t know if that would have happened if Nostra Aetate had not been solemnly defined by the highest teaching authority in the church 60 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n