# "Mother of God" and Judaism

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-of-god-and-judaism/287103>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 28, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-of-god-and-judaism/287103 "2005-01-28T14:07:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-of-god-and-judaism/287103/1 "2005-01-28T14:07:46Z")

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I was watching a very touching program on Auschwitz yesterday, and in which there was a song based on the words written on a cell wall by a young Jewish woman. The song was sung in Hebrew (I assume) with english subtitles, and one of the subtitles was a plea to the “Mother of God”. 😕

I don’t think this is referring to the Virgin Mary because as far as I know Mary is not part of Judaism, so I’m curious what the phrase means to Jews. Can anyone enlighten me?

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**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-of-god-and-judaism/287103/2 "2005-01-28T14:45:49Z")

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Are you sure she was Jewish? Not everyone in the concentration camps were.

The phrase has no meaning in Judaism as the concept of a “Mother of God” is absolutely foreign.

Zev Steinhardt

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**Author:** ![Anonymous\_Coward](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/94ad74/32.png) [@Anonymous\_Coward](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anonymous_Coward)\
**Post date:** [January 28, 2005, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mother-of-god-and-judaism/287103/3 "2005-01-28T15:11:41Z")

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Thanks Zev, I automatically assumed it was a Jewish. As it turns out, I was mistaken.

With more research, I found the scoop. The song was _Symphony No. 3 “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs”, mvt II_ composed by Henryk Gorecki and was likely sung in Polish.

The words in question were written by Helena Wanda Blazusiakowna, which were inscribed on the wall of a Gestapo cell in Zakopane.

Another site lists the translation as:

Mother, no, do not cry,  
Queen of Heaven most chaste  
Help me always.  
Hail Mary.

Which obviously is Roman Catholic.