Getty Images

(JTA) — New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has a couple of Jewish connections.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Since 2012, his brother-in-law has been retired Jewish baseball player Kevin Youkilis, a former all-star third baseman for the Boston Red Sox. The owner of the Patriots, the only team Brady has played for in his 15 years in the NFL, is Robert Kraft, a Jewish business magnate and philanthropist who also owns the New England Revolution soccer team.

But no one can explain why Brady has a menorah.

In a New York Times profile published Monday, Mark Leibovich writes that he noticed a Jewish candelabra standing in Brady’s house:

He marched me back into the house, through the kitchen and past a shelf that displayed a large glass menorah. “We’re not Jewish,” Brady said when I asked him about this. “But I think we’re into everything… . I don’t know what I believe. I think there’s a belief system, I’m just not sure what it is.”

Have there been other Jewish clues in Brady’s past that might explain this intriguing find? Leibovich goes on to explain that Brady got several Bibles sent to him in 2005 after he said “God, [there’s] got to be more than this” on “60 Minutes” in reference to winning his third Super Bowl. Brady was raised Catholic, and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, is a sixth-generation non-Jewish Brazilian.

Maybe he was inspired by Cameron Diaz’s decision to have a Jewish wedding? Or perhaps he is hoping a menorah will bring him some old-fashioned mazel for the big game on Sunday?

Your guess is as good as ours.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount