Chicago, IL – Joseph Reyes was doing Sunday what millions of parents do all across the country: taking his daughter to church.
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But for this 35-year-old father walking through the door of Holy Name Cathedral — so his daughter can hear the teachings of Jesus Christ — it could land him in the slammer.
“I have been ordered by a judge not to expose my daughter to anything non-Judaism,” Reyes said. “But I am taking her to hear the teachings of perhaps the most prominent Jewish Rabbi in the history of this great planet of ours. I can’t think of anything more Jewish than that.”
But last month, a judge issued a temporary restraining order specifically barring Reyes from exposing his daughter to any religion other than Judaism.
It happened after Reyes had his daughter baptized without first consulting his estranged wife.
Reyes and his wife are divorcing and are involved in a bitter custody fight. She says he always agreed to raise their child as Jewish. He says that’s not true.
“My daughter should be exposed to the religions of both my wife and myself … When she gets to the appropriate age, she’s going to make her own decisions on how she wants her relationship with God to ultimately be,” said Reyes.
This war veteran says it’s a right he fought for in the past and will fight for again.
“I was willing to die fighting for these rights in Afghanistan and there’s not a whole lot worse you can do to me than death,” Reyes said.
He said if he’s thrown in jail, voters should remember the judge come Election Day. Reyes said Judge Edward Jordan is the former head of the Decalogue Society, the Jewish Bar.
The order, as written by his estranged wife’s attorney, says that taking the child to church would cause irreparable harm.
Reyes says he simply wants to do what countless other fathers do every weekend.
“I think it’s really sad that as a country we’ve come to this point where a father can be jailed for being a parent to his child,” said Reyes.
Reyes did convert to Judaism shortly after the child was born. He says he was pressured to do so.
The attorney representing Mrs. Reyes chose not to comment. The judge could not be reached.
Why don’t all the ”ASKANIM”
Who are helping blacks in haiti get involved?
Oh bec there is no press coverage?
That guy doesnt look to normal…
Reply to #1 : Brilliant idea! What do you propose they should do here exactly?
like the kid will know anything anyway (today or later)…the kid was long gone when momma conceived the baby with daddy.
I know most members of the orthodox communitiy believe that this girl should probably have nothing to do with any other religion, however I think that people should recognize the greater underlying issue, THIS MOTHER MARRIED A NON-JEW. Now she’s worried about her daughter going to Church? I have to say I strongly think that her father has an equal right to teach or show his daughter any religion he wants to. This girls mother lost half of that right when she decided to marry him. Also, Since when does a judge have the right to tell someone what religion they can teach their Children? Is that a joke?
where is the mother ?
He violated a court order with premeditation, he should go to jail AND so should all the mothers that violate shared custody agreements.
This guy seems like either a wacko or simply dishonest as they come.
The Christian savior may have at one point been Jewish, but his faith as practiced by billions including this guy is certainly not Jewish, and he is clearly doing a disservice to his daughter’s faith by continuing to bring her to a house of worship of, and rituals from, a foreign faith.
I also strongly disagree that “it’s really sad that as a country we’ve come to this point where a father can be jailed for being a parent to his child,”: he’s not at risk of being jailed because he’s clothing and feeding his child; he’s at risk because he chose to take his daughter to a church, thereby suppressing his daughter’s religious upbringing; that doesn’t sound very fatherly to me so, again, he’s either a little “different” or, more likely, simply trying to get some good sound bites when he knows very well he is quite wrong.
Your all forgetting he got himself into this mess – and disobeying a judge is not going to do him any good
Well, if he violates the court order and ends up in jail, it will be his choice. Hopefully this will all play out before the child is old enough to remember. Her mother is still Jewish, and if the mother going against her ex-husband is what motivates her to raise her child with any Yiddishkeit, there is still hope. The yetzer hara can prod people to do the right thing after all…
As he converted to Judaism and agreed to raise his children as Jews, he lost all right to raise his children as anything other than Jews. We may not think much of his ostensible conversion, as far as his children are concerned it’s simple contractual law. All the judge did was compel him to abide by his own agreement. For thumbing his nose at the judge, he should be held in contempt.
“Reyes and his wife are divorcing and are involved in a bitter custody fight….” that’s all you really need to know in this story.
Every lawyer knows (myself included) that Domestic Relations cases are the ugliest area of the law. Dad did not do this to expose the child to another faith, dad did this to annoy the ex-wife (and he succeeded).
Everything is on the table and everything that can possibly be thrown will be thrown.
That said, the father violated a court order and this should be sufficient to have his visitation rights curtailed or subject to supervision.
Feel sorry for the child with parents like that.
If the father “converted” to Judaism he obviously agreed to have the child raised as a Jew (since the child is Jewish in any case since the mother is Jewish); that’s an enforceable agreement, and the father should be jailed if he’s in contempt of that agreement. The bigger lesson is that if Jews want their kids to be Jewish they should marry Jews.
I would rather have her go to a Church with her Father and have a happy youth and then rejoin Am Yisrael when she gets older than grow up frei and angry and sad and not even have a religous background at all. If she has a neshamah it will draw her to Torah and Klal Yisrael. I know from experience.
He must be cleared of all charges. This is America- the secular authorities cannot control religion, especially what religion a child is exposed to. This man has the right to take his daughter wherever he wants, as long as the child will not be harmed. Going to a church is not a harmful experience (let’s not get kabbalistic vis-a-vis klippos here). This is a ridiculous case. The baby’s mother should be ashamed for making such a moron out of herself.
Reyes did convert to Judaism shortly after the child was born. He says he was pressured to do so.
Who converted him?EJF? Was it an interfaith conversion authenticated against all principles of Jewdaism.
People who marry out unfortunatly must realize that they & their offspring in spite of being Jewish are no longer coscidered to be Jewish. The Serian community went a step further not to take converts & to ostrasize anyone who married a convert.
The same goes for Ahmed Ben Sarah, until I see a written letter from Gedoilei Poskim apprroving, bringing these Jewish kids who grew up in an Arab Enemy household, with first language Arabic, who will definatly be missfits & find it impossible to blend, which could very likly get them to trace their father & go back to him & his ways, causing them to become spies or Chas veshalom even Homicide bombers or enablers. There was even a Ger with a Hamas brother who returned to his old religion at the expense of Jewish lives.
If you marry out you should know the consequences you rebelled against G-d his religion & your people. MHO until proven otherwise.
He has the right to take her to church just like the mother has the right to take her to synagogue, if he has to consult her before taking her to church then she has to consult him before taking her to synagogue.
Unfortunately this is happening in frum neighborhoods where perhaps devoted but yet non Jewish housekeepers are left in Jewish homes to literally raise children.Watch schoolbuses stop and who takes them off and where these children are sometimes taken on Sunday or even Shabbos while parents relax.
Some parents are oblivious and some don’t care as long as the kids are not in their way.
I’m sad to say that neither the mother or father care about the church!!! This is the non-issue!! the father takes the child to church to spite the mother I highly doubt the mother is remotely religious based on the fact she married a non-jew to begin with. The filing was done to spite the father. Neither of these parents really care about the child or they would put their religous opinions aside and do what is really best for the child. I wouldnt be surprised if this couple originally got married in a shul on shabbos!!! Unfortunately thats the way they do it!! Based on the picture I would say that the child is about 2 yrs old and really who takes a 2 yr old child to church to learn the teachings?????
What nonsense! This father has every bit as much right to take his daughter to church as his ex does to take her to synagogue. This judge should be impeached.
On the other hand, neither parent is fit, because they’re using their child as a weapon. Not that it hasn’t happened before.
I am very upset about this; I think that goyim should marry goyim and yidden should marry yidden. this is what happens when you marry out of the faith.
how did any jewish rabbi convert this guy if he was under pressure?
YOU ALL GOT IT WRONG!!!! The judge only forbid him cuz he baptized her without letting the mom know, which he had no right to do!!!
I”m I the only one who sees this as an outrightt chillul hashem imagine what they goyim are going to say exspecially since the judge is jewish this is outright chillul hashem
ooveyy don’t worry g d knows the heart
Jewish children should be raised Jewish. Period. As far as the secular legal court system, these type of rulings/decisions are made all the time in divorce cases. Daven for this child.