It came as quite a shock to Dr. David Weill, a prominent heart-lung transplant surgeon, when he fortuitously discovered he was Jewish. Although it is not unusual for a Jew to be a mosaic of disparate parts, Weill learned that his religious origins were not only dissimilar but also highly unusual.

In his recently published book, Tell Me I Belong, Weill, a resident of New Orleans who is married to a devout practicing Catholic, said it astounded him to have discovered that he is a descendant of generations of rabbis, a Southern Baptist mother, a German Jewish father, a Klan member, and was profoundly influenced by a Black church-going second mother.

Although his wife and daughters were Catholic, he never joined them at mass on Sundays. When his young daughter asked why he never went to mass with them he responded, “I’m not Catholic.” As children often do, she had a follow up question, “What are you then?” That was the spark that ignited his search for where he belonged.

Weill’s grandfather was Jewish and........

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