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Jerry Herman, z”l
Tony Award-winner Jerry Herman, composer of Mame, Hello, Dolly! and La Cage aux Folles, died last week. His first Broadway score was for the musical Milk and Honey, which told the story of Jewish widows traveling to Israel with hopes of finding husbands. Among the stars of Milk and Honey was Yiddish theatre legend Molly Picon, who had first appeared on stage in 1904 at the age of 6. When Milk and Honey was in previews in New Haven, Picon got a rousing round of applause following her rendition of the song Hymn to Hymie. The show’s director, Albert Marre, then suggested to Jerry Herman that they add Picon’s “trademark move” at the end of that song. Herman questioned what the move had to do with the song, to which Marre replied, “We’re a musical comedy, we can do what we want.” What was the 64-year-old Picon’s “move” that Marre and Herman added to the show?
Jerry_Herman_2010 by U.S. federal government is in the public domain.
A. She launched into a Tza’ad Temani, the traditional Yemenite dance steps often performed at Sephardic weddings.
B. She started shimmying and shaking her arms in the air, a dance move that she first performed in the 1936 movie Yidl Mitn Fidl. In the movie, Picon and her father are traveling musicians in Poland, and she dresses as a boy for safety, which becomes complicated when she falls in love with another of the musicians and performs that dance move. Picon’s dance was later copied by Jerome Robbins for Tevye’s If I Were a Rich Man choreography in Fiddler on the Roof.
C. Picon, who was the daughter of Polish immigrants, danced the Mazurka, which is a traditional up-tempo Polish dance common among Ashkenazic Jews.
D. Picon revived her famous “patsh-tants” moves that she first performed in the film Mamele in 1938. Patsh-tants means clap dance, and refers to a style of dancing with hand clapping that was common at Jewish weddings in Eastern Europe.
E. She did a somersault, a move she had done since she was a rambunctious young girl dancing around her living room.
Chanukkah Miracle
The primary focus of Chanukkah is on the miracle of the oil. The Maccabees rededicated the Temple after their victory over the Greeks, and found only enough oil to last for one day. But miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, leading to the 8-day celebration of Chanukkah and the lighting of the menorah. When was the story of the oil miracle first mentioned?
A. The Jewish historian Titus Flavius Josephus wrote about the oil miracle in his book Jewish Antiquities, about a hundred years after the Maccabean victory. He described in great detail the decrepit condition of the Temple when the Maccabees arrived, including “plants growing in the temple of their own accord.” He also noted the effort of the Maccabees to find oil for the rededication of the Temple, writing, “they searched throughout the Temple, and in every corner, but did not find enough holy oil for their needs.” But Josephus ends by saying that “Judas and his men praised God for the light which shone for eight days and eight nights.”
B. The oil miracle was not mentioned until about 600 years after the rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees. In the Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 21b states that “there was sufficient oil there to light the candelabrum for only one day. A miracle occurred and they lit the candelabrum from it eight days. The next year the Sages instituted those days and made them holidays with recitation of Hallel and special thanksgiving in prayer and blessings.”
C. The miracle is described in the first Book of Maccabees which was written soon after the Maccabean victory. The book describes Alexander the Great’s conquest of Judea, his eventual replacement by Antiochus, and the Maccabean revolt and victory. The last chapter of the Book of Maccabees describes the return to the Temple and its rededication, stating “They rose early on the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Kislev, in the year one hundred and forty-eight, and offered sacrifice according to the law on the new altar for burnt offerings that they had made...For eight days they celebrated the dedication of the altar and joyfully praised God for the miracle of light.”
D. The Mishnah was compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince around 200 CE, about 350 years after the Maccabean victory. Much of the Mishnah focuses on the Oral Tradition, noting the debates of the rabbis on such topics as marriage, civil law, and sacrificial rites. In the Tractate Chanukkah, Rabbi Judah writes about the miracle of the oil lasting eight days, and goes on to describe the debate between Hillel and Shammai regarding the correct way to light the menorah (Shammai said that it was correct to light eight candles on the first night, and one less each subsequent night, while Hillel argued that “On the first day one kindles one light, and from there on, gradually increases the number of lights until, on the last day, they kindle eight lights.”)
E. In the Book of Chevron, written centuries after the rededication of the Temple, it was posited that oil could last forever, a concept which maintains primacy among certain politicians in America to this very day.
Toilets in Israel
President Trump railed against regulations which are designed to conserve water by claiming that people flush their toilets 10 or 15 times. Unlike America, Israeli toilets all have double handles, allowing the flusher to use less water when that is called for. Archaeologists in Israel have discovered toilets that are thousands of years old, and the Book of Judges includes a reference to King Eglon of Moab which says, “When they saw that the doors of the upper chamber were locked, they thought, ‘He must be relieving himself in the cool chamber.’ ” [Chapter 3, Verse 24]. Much is written in the Talmud about bathroom etiquette, including by Rabbi Tanhum b. Hanilai, who said “Whoever behaves modestly in a privy is delivered from three things: from snakes, from scorpions, and from evil spirits.” [Berakhot 62a]. In 1975, Israeli writer Alona Frankel wrote a toilet training book for her child that became universally used in Israel and around the world, and is still in print today. The child finally succeeds at the task, and ends the book by saying “Bye-bye, wee-wee, Bye-bye, poo-poo.” What is the title of that children’s book?
Ancient Toilets-Israel by Greg Schechter is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. My Little Pishers.
B. Haggadah Go. Now!
C. Judah Make-a-Pee.
D. The Book of Tuches.
E. Sir HaSirim (Potty of Potties).
Israeli Cars
Automobile manufacturers are in the news lately. Tesla had a huge fail during the marketing “reveal” of their new Cybertruck, when a steel ball thrown at the window smashed through the supposedly unbreakable armored glass. Dozens of companies are working on self-driving cars, including Amazon, Bosch, Apple, and Samsung, along with many traditional auto manufacturers. And the movie Ford V Ferrari starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale highlights the true story of Henry Ford II and Lee Iaococca as they attempted to create a racing car that could defeat the dominant Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. Meanwhile, an Israeli startup named REE has brought their own ingenuity to auto design. What is the unique feature of the automobile they are developing?
Breslau Car-1 by zeevveez is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Addressing the very high rate of injuries and deaths from auto accidents in Israel, REE has developed a car that will not crash into other vehicles, road signs, trees, or pedestrians. The car utilizes the Iron Dome technology developed by the Israeli defense industry. Sensors mounted on the front of the car detect potential obstacles ahead and immediately launch intercept rockets to eliminate the potential collision risk. The car’s production is on hold, however, as the courts attempt to resolve a lawsuit filed by the Israeli Safe Streets Association, a pedestrian-safety organization which objects to missiles being launched at jaywalkers.
B. Utilizing technology developed by Israel’s energy industries, REE has created a car which is completely powered by solar panels on its roof. The difficult part of the project was not the collection of solar energy (though the solar panels eliminate the ability to have a sunroof or moonroof on the car), but rather the storage of the energy for use at night or during periods of limited sunshine. Israeli engineers at the Technion Institute were able to develop storage batteries that are a built-in component of the car’s chassis and doors.
C. REE engineers designed the car based on the hoverboards which have become ubiquitous in Israel and elsewhere. The car does not have a front engine and steering mechanism, but rather functions with all of the major components (motor, brakes, drivetrain, steering, etc) built into the wheels, which are topped by a flat skateboard chassis.
D. Utilizing one of Israel’s most abundant resources, REE has developed a car engine that runs on salt water. The high electrical conductivity of salt water makes it a product that is very conducive to energy-producing reactions, and the only emission is clean water. The car is also lightweight, as all of the engine components are made of aluminum, to avoid the possibility of rust formation from the salt water.
E. Engineers at REE have designed an “Orthodox friendly” minivan, which they are calling the ChassidiVan. The 6-person vehicle is built with an expandable accordion design, allowing the car to be lengthened as the size of the family grows, ultimately accommodating up to 12 passengers. The car is programmed to automatically stop driving 20 minutes before sundown on Friday nights and holidays, and won't start up again until Shabbat or the holiday ends. The Diaspora model is specifically designed for export sales, as it is programmed to shut down for two days on the major holidays. The ChassidiVan also comes with a raised roof over the driver’s seat, based on the cupola top of the Israeli Merkava tank, to accommodate the tall shtreimel hat worn by religious drivers. Plus, the vehicle features 8 milchig and 8 fleishig cupholders.
Netanyahu Indictment
Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu faces a leadership battle within the Likud party following his indictment for fraud, breach of trust, and bribery. In one investigation known as Case 2000, it is alleged that Bibi pressured Sheldon Adelson, owner of the Israel Hayom newspaper, not to expand, which would benefit another newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, and its publisher Arnon Mozes who was also indicted. This case pits Netanyahu against Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, who were previously among Bibi’s biggest supporters. Miriam Adelson, who is the current publisher of Israel Hayom, told investigators, among other things, that Sara Netanyahu complained that when Israel Hayom published a picture of her, the picture was too small. What bad consequence did Sara Netanyahu say would befall Bibi because Israel Hayom did not defend him enough?
Sara and Benjamin Netanyahu
A. She stated that their lack of support would lead to Bibi’s electoral defeat.
B. She complained that if Donald Trump got impeached, Bibi would be blamed for naming an Israeli town after him.
C. She said the newspaper’s lack of support for Bibi would lead him to be blamed if Iran got nuclear weapons and wiped out Israel.
D. She said that because of their lack of support, Bibi would definitely be indicted.
E. She said that the paper’s insufficient defense of Bibi would lead to his ouster, followed by his loss to Sean Spicer on Dancing With the Stars.
Hunter Biden
Impeachment hearings for President Donald Trump focus on his withholding of Congressionally-authorized United States aid to Ukraine in order to first get a Ukrainian commitment to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. It is alleged that this was an extortion effort by Trump for the purpose of hurting his Democratic rival and benefiting his own reelection efforts. Hunter Biden has what Jewish connection in his life?
Hunter Biden 3219469044 by acaben is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
A. Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa, who is Jewish, are members of a Reform synagogue. Hunter Biden recently became one of two non-Jewish members of the Board of Trustees of the Temple.
B. Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa, who is Jewish, both have tattoos which read “Ani Dodi v’Dodi Li” in Hebrew (“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”)
C. Hunter Biden attended Georgetown University, where he was one of the first two non-Jewish members of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.
D. Hunter Biden and his wife Melissa, who is Jewish, both have tattoos which read “Shalom” in Hebrew.
E. Hunter Biden, whose wife Melissa is Jewish, joined the board of her synagogue, which paid him $50,000/month, even though he never did any work and he did not even show up in shul.
Adam Neumann & WeWork
Israeli Adam Neumann graduated from the Israeli Naval Academy and became a captain in the Israeli Navy before going to business school at Baruch College in New York. In 2010 he co-founded WeWork with his friend Miguel McKelvey, providing shared workspaces geared to startups, entrepreneurs, and small companies. WeWork (which at one point included the following slogan on their website: “We dedicate this to the energy of we – greater than any one of us but inside each of us.”) grew over the next nine years to employ more than 5000 people, and achieved a value of approximately $47 billion. The company began plans for an IPO in 2019, but public scrutiny of the company’s business model and Neumann’s leadership led to a huge drop in valuation (to approximately $12 billion) and a postponement of the IPO offering. Neumann stepped down as CEO in September. Neumann has always been a controversial figure. He claimed to have convinced Rahm Emanuel to run for president and says that Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman improved the standing of Saudi women because of his intervention. He also stated that he aspired to be the Prime Minster of Israel, as well as the “president of the world.” Prior to starting WeWork, Neumann unsuccessfully pursued other business ideas, including the design of a line of women’s shoes with collapsible heels. Which of the following was another one of Neumann’s failed business concepts?
TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2017 - Day 1 by TechCrunch is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. He created a baseball cap with a built-in solar panel that could be used to charge cell phones. The product was marketed with the line “Use your head on a sunny day.”
B. He created a company which sold baby clothes with knee pads, under the slogan “Just because they donʼt tell you, doesnʼt mean they donʼt hurt.”
C. He designed a golf ball with a built in GPS which would communicate with golfers via their cell phones, enabling them to locate where the ball landed, thus preventing them from losing their balls. The product slogan was “You'll never be teed off after you teed off.”
D. He designed an airbag to go on wheeled baby walkers, marketed with the tagline “You have ten in your car. Shouldn’t you have at least one for your baby?”
E. He designed a synagogue with individual phone booth sized rooms for each congregant to pray in, under the slogan “You love to daven. You just can’t stand the whiny sound of the Jew in back of you.”
Halloween in Israel
Halloween is controversial in many segments of the Jewish community. Halloween originated as a pagan festival, and was later adapted by the Catholic Church as All Hallow’s Eve, preceding All Saints Day on November 1. Because of these roots, many Jews do not consider the holiday appropriate to celebrate; however, others view it simply in modern-day terms as an American fun neighborhood celebration with candy, costumes, and parties. Given that history, the holiday is largely unrecognized in Israel, though in recent years there have been some Halloween celebrations–not door-to-door trick-or-treating for children, but among young people who celebrate in nightclubs, bars, and community centers. Which of the following is a real event from Halloween 2019 in Israel?
A. Halloween Costume Party at Mike’s Place in Tel Aviv, advertising that “Everyone is dressed to kill or be killed so don’t miss it.”
B. Halloween week at Kuli Alma in Tel Aviv, promoted with the description “Why not squeeze the lemon until it’s a skeleton. Than we hang the skeleton and use it as decoration.”
C. Halloween Costume Party @ The Kerem House in Tel Aviv, a center which typically offers Shabbat meals, lectures, and open mics. According to their advertising for the event, “Halloween is a celebration where little kids dress up and get candy, teens dress up, get drunk, and go get candy, and adults dress up, get drunk, and give out candy, funny how things all work out.”
D. A spooky Halloween Party at the Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem. Ads say “Make sure you have a pretty cool costume on because there will be prizes waiting for you. DJ Brother of God will take care of the music.”
E. The Lubavitchers of Bat Yam threw their annual Chabadoween party, noting in the publicity that “Goldenberg Chews will be given out to all. Children can try bobbing for apples, though that is the forbidden fruit and biting it will lead all attendees to be expelled from the party. Awards for the best Yac-Ov’-Lantern.” At the party, there was a tie in the costume contest, with the 300 attendees sharing first place for their identical Rebbe costumes.
Trump Hotels
In a rare move, President Donald Trump backed down from one of his highly-criticized plans—to hold next year’s G-7 meeting at Trump National Doral, one of his many hotel/resorts world-wide. The plan was seen as a violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which prohibits government officials from receiving money and gifts from foreign governments. Trump has previously been denounced for maintaining his ownership and/or control over many golf resorts, hotels, and other facilities, all potentially a violation of that clause. The Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC recently instituted a change to make that property more attractive to Jews. What was that change?
WERK for Consent by Ted Eytan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
A. The hotel set up one of its elevators as a Shabbat elevator, which is programmed to stop at every floor, enabling religious Jews to ride up and down on the Sabbath without violating rules about the use of electricity.
B. The hotel added a kosher option to one of its restaurant menus, with prepackaged kosher meals being brought in from an area kosher caterering company, with entree prices ranging from $105-$125.
C. The hotel set aside a small meeting room in its convention center for use by Jews who wish to hold morning and evening minyan services. On Sunday morning, they also provide bagels and lox to those participating in the morning minyan.
D. The hotel replaced the Gideon Bibles in a number of their rooms with copies of the ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash. The rooms with the Jewish bible have been designated with a Jewish star on the door.
E. In an effort to be welcoming to their Jewish guests, the hotel’s Benjamin Bar & Lounge added an item to their menu which is listed as “Kosher Snacks” with the description “please inquire, you get to open your own bag!”
Sukkot and Camels
The Talmud references camels in discussions regarding the holiday of Sukkot. What did the rabbis say about camels and Sukkot?
A. The rabbis stated that it is acceptable to build a sukkah on a camel’s back.
B. In a discussion of sukkah-building rules, the rabbis considered the problem of building a sukkah in the dessert where there were few resources. They noted that a sukkah could be built using camels as the walls, so long as palm fronds, which were usually available in the desert, were spread from hump to hump, creating the necessary s’chach roof.
C. The rabbis indicated that it is acceptable to use camel hair as s’chach, the topping of the sukkah, so long as there is also at least one variety of tree branches used.
D. In discussing how large a sukkah should be, the rabbis noted that a sukkah should have seats for at least two people. It was further stated that a single-humped camel was not acceptable seating, but a two-humped camel counted as the required two seats.
E. The rabbis ruled that it was acceptable to smoke in a sukkah. However, they noted that it was not acceptable to smoke Camel cigarettes as camels are not a kosher animal.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur, also known as Yom Hakippurim, means “Day of Atonement.” What is another explanation for the name Yom Kippur or Yom Hakippurim?
Smoked fish sampler by T.Tseng is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. The name Yom Hakippurim can be translated as “A Day Like Purim.” On both Yom Kippur and Purim, we strive to make the mundane holy. On Yom Kippur this is done by avoiding focus on physical pleasures (such as eating and bathing). On Purim we actually elevate our physical selves into a holy realm through noisemaking, costuming, and eating.
B. The root of kippur or kippurim is kaf/peh/resh, which is the Hebrew word “kafar,” meaning “cover.” One explanation is that we are asking God to cover his eyes to forget our sins.
C. The word kippur shares a root with the word “kapporos” (Ashkenazic pronunciation) or “kaparot” (Sephardic pronunciation). Kapporos means casting, and is the ceremony wherein Jews twirl a chicken over their heads to cast off their sins. This ancient ceremony predated the establishment of the Temple in Jerusalem, and was incorporated into the Yom Kippur ritual, lending its name to the holiday.
D. The root of kippur or kippurim is kaf/peh/resh. As the peh and the feh are basically varieties of the same letter in Hebrew, this root is linguistically the same as the Hebrew word “k’far,” meaning village. Therefore, Yom Hakippurim actually means “the day of the villages,” referring to the fact that on this one day of the year residents of all the villages in the land gather together to pray to God for forgiveness of their sins.
E. The name Yom Hakippurim translates as Day of the Kippurs, the small oily herring fish which is traditionally eaten at the break-the-fast meal following the holiday.
Shofar
Jews around the world will once again hear the sound of the shofar as Rosh Hashanah is celebrated this week. The shofar is typically made of a ram’s horn, but in Yemenite tradition the horn of a kudu is used. The shofar ceremony comprises two blessings followed by a series of blasts consisting of three different notes: tekiah–one long blast, shevarim–three broken sounds, and teruah–nine staccato notes. The total number of blasts is traditionally 100 for Ashkenazic Jews and 101 for Sephardim, with Yemenite Jews sounding 41 blasts. The shofar has also made appearances in popular movies, songs, and television programs, including which of the following?
10thStreetShofar (retouched) by Jonathunder is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
A. The 1983 movie Return of the Jedi and the 1979 film Alien.
B. Judith Shatin’s 1996 composition Elijah’s Chariot which was commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, and the 2013 album Shofar Rags by electronic musician Alvin Curran.
C. Steve “Gangsta Rabbi” Lieberman’s 2005 recording of Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport and punk band Yidcore’s 2007 song They Tried to Kill Us. They Failed. Let’s Eat!
D. Madonna’s 2005 song Isaac which featured a shofar blown by Yemenite singer Yitzhak Sinwani, and a commercial for the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards featuring rapper Macklemore blowing the shofar.
E. The 1963 movie Come Blow Your Horn and Carol King’s 1971 hit song Shofar Away.
Ukrainian President Zelensky
The current president of Ukraine is Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky defeated incumbent President Petro Poroshenko with 73% of the vote in April, 2019. He is now at the center of a controversy regarding a whistleblower complaint within the United States Intelligence service that purports to indicate that President Donald Trump improperly pressured Zelensky to assist him in his electoral campaign, particularly in trying to besmirch Joe Biden. Prior to his election as president, Zelensky, who is Jewish, was a comedian and actor who appeared in numerous movies and television shows. One of Zelensky’s roles was as the lead character in Servant of the People. What was the plot of Servant of the People?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by U.S. Embassy Kyiv Ukraine is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
A. The TV show Servant of the People was a comedy created by Zelensky, based on the movie The Butler, by Lee Daniels. In the show, Zelensky plays a butler, Fedir Tereshchenko, who worked in the Ukrainian president’s residence. Unlike Cecil Gaines, the title character in The Butler, Tereshchenko is a bumbling idiot who accidentally walks in on a secret sexual dalliance involving the president and a Russian spy. Despite efforts by the president to have Tereshchenko assassinated, the secret is exposed, Tereshchenko becomes a national hero, and is ultimately elected president following the resignation of the disgraced leader.
B. The television show Servant of the People was a comedy/political satire about a Ukrainian high school history teacher, Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko (played by Zelensky), whose rant about government corruption was filmed by a student. The video was uploaded to the internet where it went viral, eventually leading to Holoborodko being elected president of Ukraine.
C. Based on stories he had heard of ways that waitstaff in restaurants often prank rude diners, Zelensky began working as a waiter in restaurants in the Ukraine, and engaged other waitstaff in conversations about their actions, including spitting in food, “accidentally” tripping and spilling drinks on obnoxious diners, and other bad behavior. Zelensky secretly recorded those conversations, which formed the basis of a viral YouTube video, which he entitled Servant of the People.
D. Zelensky starred as a synagogue Shabbos goy in the movie Servant of the People. As the High Holidays approached, the congregation’s rabbi was suffering from panic attacks which were making it impossible for him to write his holiday sermons. Afraid to tell any congregants of his problem, the rabbi sat in his office in panic, until the Shabbos goy noticed his dispair and approached him. Though a simple man, the Shabbos goy’s gift was the ability to listen, and after many conversations over the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the Shabbos goy not only served his people by turning on the lights, but ultimately by empowering the rabbi to complete his sermon.
E. The television series Servant of the People is about an American president, Ronald Drumpf, played by Zelensky, who is running for reelection. He reaches out to his Ukrainian counterpart for help in his campaign, promising huge financial support to Ukraine as long as the Ukrainian president provides dirt on Drumpf’s political opponent. The political intrigue was exposed when a U. S. intelligence officer filed a whistleblower complaint against the American president. The president denied the charges before admitting them while claiming that there was nothing improper about what he did. Drumpf’s spokesperson, Judy Ruliani, who was also involved in the nefarious plot, went on a national news show to speak about her role in the sordid affair. “I never ever ever ever ever spoke to the Ukrainians about President Drumpf’s opponent,” said Ruliani. “Really. Never. Not at all. No way. The only thing I did do was speak to the Ukrainians about President Drumpf’s opponent.” The series was canceled after only two episodes as the Ukrainian audience found it to be so absurdly unbelievable, even for a satirical comedy.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Today’s question comes from the just-released RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun Volume Dalet. There’s 99 more where this came from!
Tension between Israel and Iran is rising. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released photographs which he claims are proof that Iran had destroyed its own clandestine nuclear site rather than have it discovered. At the same time, Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei has sent signals that he may be open to allowing a meeting between President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, something that Netanyahu strongly opposes. On what list did Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, rank three spots higher than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?
Ayatollah_Ali_Khamenei_at_27th_anniversary_of_Ruhollah_Khomeini's_death_01 by Tasnim News Agency is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
A. Fortune magazine’s 2015 list of the richest world leaders.
B. Time magazine’s candidates for Person of the Year 2016.
C. Forbes’ 2013 World’s Most Powerful People.
D. Huffington Post’s 2017 list of most hated world leaders.
E. People magazine’s 2018 Sexiest Semites.
Vaping
There have long been questions about the potential health consequences from vaping, or using e-cigarettes. Recent reports of serious lung illness among teens who vape, and in particular reports of at least 5 related deaths, have led to increased debate about the wisdom of vaping. Rabbinic authorities are considering the issue from a halachic point of view. Is vaping an allowed or prohibited behavior according to Jewish law? Much of the discussion has focused on previous decisions regarding cigarette smoking, with most authorities stating that the issues are the same. And most agree that smoking is prohibited as a “safek sakana,” meaning that it is at the very least a possible danger. A more complicated issue is whether a cigarette smoker could switch to vaping as a step towards cessation of all smoking, and on this authorities are still quite divided. There is rabbinic precedent that allows substitution of a less serious halachic violation for a more serious violation, i.e., that vaping, while harmful and generally forbidden, would be acceptable when replacing cigarette smoking, which is more dangerous. Authorities in this debate point to what other example where rabbis might allow a less serious transgression of Jewish law in lieu of a more serious one?
Vaping_1449 by Nicholas King is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Among Conservative rabbis discussing vaping, many reference the Conservative movement’s Law Committee decision in the 1950’s that it is acceptable to drive on Shabbat, but only to and from synagogue, as this minor violation is much preferred to the alternative for many, which would be to skip shul completely (which potentially would lead to other violations such as watching television).
B. The Jewish debate regarding the lesser crime of vaping vs. the greater crime of smoking has been informed by the concept of the Shabbos goy, the non-Jew who was hired to perform tasks for Jews on the Sabbath, such as lighting the fire in the synagogue for heat (before electricity), or more recently, turning on the lights and air-conditioning or heating systems. In fact, it is considered a violation of Jewish law to hire someone else to perform forbidden Sabbath tasks; however, most rabbis agreed that this was a lesser sin than a Jew performing those tasks, which might well happen if those attending synagogue found the conditions simply unbearable.
C. Orthodox rabbis debating the acceptability of vaping in lieu of smoking have referred to a bet din (rabbinical court) under the auspices of the Orthodox Aish HaTorah movement that ruled in the early 1980’s that it is acceptable to use hearing aids on the Sabbath and high holidays. This discussion had begun in regard to the shofar ceremony, where the blessing which is recited states, “Blessed are You… who commanded us to hear the voice of the shofar.” Based on this bracha, the bet din decided that the minor violation of turning battery-operated hearing aids on was the better choice than violating the commandment to hear the shofar, and this decision was extended to allow use of hearing aids on all holidays and the Shabbat.
D. The halachic question regarding substituting vaping for cigarettes has led some rabbis to reference the rules regarding hunting, which was always seen as a violation of Sabbath rules. However, in the 1800’s, rabbis in the Pale of Settlement in Russia ruled during times of great famine that in some cases hunting on the Sabbath was permissible. Specifically, they noted that when Jews were starving, they sometimes found themselves in the position of having to steal food to live and feed their families. The rabbis said that if the person were able to hunt on the Sabbath (an activity that is permissible on other days), this would be a better alternative to stealing food, an activity that is always a violation, as clearly delineated in the 8th commandment.
E. Rabbis discussing vaping noted that in the middle ages, many authorities argued that in order to prevent men from having affairs with a married woman, a major transgression, it would be acceptable to establish brothels staffed by single Jewish women, as sex with a single woman was a lesser sin.
Rockland County
A video entitled “A Storm is Brewing in Rockland” was recently posted on Facebook and has generated a lot of discussion in Rockland County, New York and beyond. What is the video about?
Rockland County Route 17 - New York by Doug Kerr is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
A. It is a video made by the New City Jewish Center, a Reform congregation, warning about the planned creation of an eruv, or religious boundary, around their town, which is the county seat of Rockland County. The eruv has been proposed by members of the Orthodox community, who want to make it easier for religious Jews to live in the area. The eruv, for example, will enable observant women to push baby strollers around the town on the Sabbath. But Reform and other Jews fear that it will lead to a larger Orthodox community, followed by pressure on local businesses to close on Shabbat, as well as the establishment of new synagogues and yeshivas, taking current buildings off the tax rolls.
B. It is a video made by the Rockland County Democratic party, warning about the growth of the Chassidic community, evoking fear of “religious homophobia” and sexism that might lead to gender-segregated hours at the community pools, libraries, and parks as well as job discrimination against gays, and bans on gay bars. The video was taken down after being denounced by many as anti-Semitic, including Governor Mario Cuomo who said, “This type of attack and incitement against the Chassidic community is the very definition of discrimination and anti-Semitism.”
C. It is a film by the Anti-Defamation League’s New York office, detailing the growth of anti-Semitism in Rockland County. According to the ADL, the Proud Boys, an extreme right wing organization, recently established a chapter in Haverstraw in the conservative northern part of the county, at a time when there has been a record number of anti-Semitic acts committed in Rockland County.
D. It is a video made by the Rockland County Republican party, warning about the growth of the Chassidic community, evoking fear of “chaotic development” and redistricting that would be a threat to “our homes, our families, our schools, our communities, our water, our way of life.” The video was taken down after being denounced by many as anti-Semitic, including Governor Mario Cuomo who said, “There is no excuse for anti-Semitism masquerading as concerns over zoning or development.”
E. It is a video produced by the Vaad Hakashrus of Rockland County. The film focuses on the opening of a local Starbucks that has been advertising itself as a kosher establishment. Said Rabbi Gevalia Bar-Ista of the Vaad HaKashrus, “What’s brewing at this Starbucks is anything but kosher. They would not tell us who gave them kosher certification. When we asked their manager what makes the store kosher, he replied, ‘We have chai latte. Ain’t that enough?’ ”
Gun Control
Following recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, President Trump indicated a willingness to consider a number of laws to reduce gun violence, including improved background checks and red-flag laws, although he has since backed away from that support. Many rabbis and other Jewish scholars have cited Jewish laws and traditions as arguments for or against gun ownership or use. Which of the following is one of those arguments?
Choose Your Gun by Michał is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
A. The Talmud states that “one may not raise a vicious dog in his house, and that one may not set up an unstable ladder in his house,” both of which would be dangerous. Some Jewish scholars maintain that the same restriction would apply to gun ownership, as that would be similarly dangerous.
B. The 13th-century Spanish commentator Nachmanides says that when Lemach (Adam’s great-great grandson) taught his son to smelt metal, his wives protested that this would enable the making of swords, which would be destructive. Some commentators cite this as a reason to forbid the making and owning of guns.
C. The 13th-century Spanish commentator Nachmanides says that when Lemach (Adam’s great-great grandson) taught his son to smelt metal, his wives protested that this would enable the making of swords, which would be destructive. However, Nachmanides went on to say that Lemach’s great grandfather Cain killed Abel without a sword. Some commentators cite this as a reason not to forbid the making and owning of guns—in other words, swords (and guns) don’t kill people, people do.
D. Many gun advocates point to the Talmudic dictum from Abba ben Joseph bar Hama, known as Rava, that if someone comes to kill you, you should kill him first. They argue that this is a clear justification for owning and when necessary, using guns in self-defense.
E. Most Jews considered the use of guns to be acceptable within Judaism, until the infamous Gunfight at the OK Corral. The OK Corral was the kosher slaughterhouse operated by the OK Kosher Certification Organization. One day a dispute began as one group of rabbis claimed that an animal which was about to be slaughtered was a horse, while an opposing group of rabbis claimed that the animal was a mule. The argument quickly turned into a shouting match. “Horse.” “Mule.” “HORSE.” “MULE.” “HORSE.” “MULE.” Suddenly, guns were drawn and rabbis began dancing in circles and firing indiscriminately into the air, until the head shochet, Rabbi Uzi ben Kalashnikov, intervened and restored calm to the OK Corral by saying “We must live in simple peace and harmony. Otherwise our lives would be as shaky as... as a firearm on the roof!”
Greenland
Donald Trump has recently expressed interest in the possibility of the United States purchasing Greenland from Denmark (Note: It is NOT for sale). While it is not exactly clear why Trump is interested, it may be related to the natural resources on the island (iron, oil, gold, uranium and more), which are becoming more accessible as global warming has led to huge ice melts on Greenland. What is a Jewish connection to Greenland?
A. The idea of the United States purchasing Greenland was first proposed by Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting with Jared Kushner. Bibi suggested that the United States peace proposal could then include a land swap with the Palestinians, wherein Israel would get permanent possession of the entire West Bank, and the Palestinians would move to Greenland. Said Netanyahu to Kushner, “Instead of having Palestinians across the Green Line, I propose having Palestinians across the Greenland.” Kushner expressed interest in the idea, even as his real estate company was coincidentally in the process of purchasing multiple apartment buildings in Greenland as an investment. President Trump was not available for comment as he was meeting with advisors helping him finalize plans for Trump Greenland, a golf resort that will offer colored balls that are easier to find in the snow.
B. Peter Freuchen, a Danish Jew, was a medical school dropout who became a whaler and explorer (surely to the chagrin of his Jewish parents). During his travels, Freuchen lived with various Eskimo communities, where he learned more about hunting, fishing, and surviving in the difficult weather and terrain of Greenland. He also became fluent in various Eskimo languages, and as a result of his knowledge of the Eskimo peoples, he was appointed by the Danish government to be the resident governor of the Thule Colony on Greenland in 1913.
C. Jews had a long history of living in Denmark, having fled there after the Spanish Inquisition. In the early 1900’s, Theodor Herzl traveled to Denmark and met with representatives of the Jewish community and the Danish government, exploring the possibility of setting up a Jewish homeland in Greenland, a Danish territory. While the Danish government was open to the possibility of providing some land for the Jews, the plan was ultimately abandoned, as it was felt that the conditions were simply not hospitable and would not attract Jewish immigrants.
D. German forces invaded Denmark in 1940, at which point the Danish government negotiated with the Nazis, leading to more leniency from the Nazis than occurred in other European countries. But in 1943, the Nazis established martial law, and the risk of pogroms and/or deportations of Jews became real. Many efforts were made by non-Jewish Danes to protect their Jewish neighbors, including the establishment of a clandestine plan to send Jews on fishing vessels to Greenland to hide. This was one of many ways in which a high percentage of Danish Jews survived the war.
E. Erik the Red, the Norse explorer, founded the first settlement on Greenland. Erik, who was Jewish (real name Arik Ha-Adom), raised his son Leif Erikson there (real name Lev ben Arik), and Leif went on to found and serve as first president of Greenland’s only synagogue, Congregation B’nai Norvay Oy Vey.
Woodstock
The Woodstock music festival took place 50 years ago this week. The event, attended by more than 400,000 people, featured performances by Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, The Who, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and dozens of other musicians. Many of the people involved in Woodstock were Jewish, including the producers (Michael Lang and Artie Kornfeld); the primary financial backers (Joel Rosenman and John P. Roberts); Max Yasgur, who rented his farm for the event; and many of the performers, including Jorma Kaukonen and Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane; Arlo Guthrie; Country Joe and the Fish (Joe McDonald and Barry Melton); and Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. Members of the Monticello Jewish Community Center also played a role at Woodstock. What did they do?
woodstock-1969 by Ray MacLean is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. When the producers realized early on that hundreds of thousands of people were descending on Yasgur’s Farm, far beyond the 80,000 who were expected, they decided to make Woodstock a free event, and they took down the fences around the site. They put out a call for food, as they were not prepared to feed such a large crowd, and members of the Monticello Jewish Community Center, a nearby synagogue, made thousands of cold cuts sandwiches for the attendees.
B. There was a bar mitzvah scheduled to take place on the morning of August 16, right in the middle of the music festival. When members of the congregation learned of the upcoming event at nearby Yasgur’s farm, they realized that the onslaught of thousands of people would create chaos on Route 17, the primary road to their town. They sued to try and prevent the festival from taking place, fearing that bar mitzvah guests would not be able to reach the synagogue; however, a judge dismissed their suit saying that the festival permit had been legally obtained and that it was too late for them to object.
C. Because of the massive crowds attending Woodstock, festival producers had to be very creative in finding ways to feed, house, and transport the performing musicians. Some acts were brought in by helicopter because, as Arlo Guthrie famously announced, “The New York State Thruway is closed, man.” Other acts managed to get to the site but could not leave. Sha Na Na, the 1950’s doo-wop style group, performed their set, but then found themselves unable to get back to New York City. Many of the members of the band were actually Jewish, and one member, Rich Joffe, had a cousin who was a member of the Monticello Jewish Community Center. He called his cousin, and as a result, the synagogue agreed to house the band overnight, with members coming into the building to prepare meals and set up cots for the band members to sleep on. As a way of thanking the congregation, Sha Na Na returned a year later and performed a concert at the synagogue as a fundraiser.
D. Realizing that many of the attendees at Woodstock were Jewish, members of the Monticello Jewish Community Center set up a tent on the grounds of the festival site and provided kosher meals. They also hosted Shabbat services on Friday night and Saturday morning.
E. The Monticello Jewish Community Center heard about the upcoming Woodstock music festival and decided to put on their own Jewish music festival for visitors to the Catskills. The event was marketed under the name WoodShlock using the slogan, “Three days of food, music, food, peace, food, and did we mention, food?” Entertainers included Rabbi Shankar; Melanie Zoftig; Country Joe and the Gefilte Fish; Joe Alta Cocker; Sly & The Mishpacha Stone; Sha Na Nach Nachma Nachman; Blood, Sweat & Tsuris; and Kreplach, Shtups, Nosh, and Yid.
Hal Prince, z”l
Theater director, producer, and impresario Harold “Hal” Prince died last week at the age of 91. Prince, who came from a German Jewish family, was involved in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Many of his shows had Jewish themes, connections, or stories, most famously Fiddler on the Roof, which Prince produced in 1964. Prince also directed and produced Cabaret, about a seedy nightclub in late 1930’s Nazi Germany, which included a sub-plot about the relationship between a German boarding house owner and her suitor, a Jewish fruit vendor. What show that Hal Prince was involved in originally had a Jewish-themed plot that was changed before the show was ultimately produced?
Harold Prince receives the Golden Plate award from Toni Morrison is in the public domain.
A. In 1955, Prince was a co-producer of the show Damn Yankees, about a long-suffering Washington Senators fan who couldn’t stand seeing the New York Yankees constantly beat his beloved team. The man, Joe Boyd, made a deal with the devil to become Joe Hardy, a young power hitter who led the Senators to victory. This show originated as Damn Yekkes, a story about a poor Litvak immigrant from Vilnius who hated the rich German Jews who he worked for at a shmatte factory on the Lower East Side of New York. He made a deal with the devil that enabled him to become a wealthy Yekke, whereupon he opened a shmatte factory across the street from his employer and drove that “damn Yekke” out of business.
B. The musical Company was produced and directed by Prince in 1970. The show, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, focuses on a young man named Robert, who is surrounded by his married friends and his three girl friends. The issue of being single vs. being married is explored as Robert’s friends throw a party to celebrate his 35th birthday. In its earlier incarnation, the plot of Company was about the single life of Robert, but originally, he was surrounded not by his friends, but by his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even his rabbi, all of whom constantly “hocked” him to get married and produce grandchildren. The song Another Hundred People with the opening lyric line “Another hundred people just got off of the train” was originally written for Robert’s mother, who sang “Another hundred friends of mine are bubbies again.”
C. One of Hal Prince’s many collaborations with Stephen Sondheim was on the show A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which Prince produced in 1962, with Sondheim writing the lyrics and music. Forum is about a slave named Pseudolus who attempts to win his freedom by helping his master woo a pretty young woman. The show originated as A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Temple, about a young Jew named Shikkerlus who attempts to convince the High Priest at the Temple to hire him to guard the stash of sacrificial wine. The show featured an earlier version of the opening number, A Comedy Tonight, as follows: Something farblondjet/Something for gornisht/Something farshtinkener/Meshuggenehs tonight./Something farchadat/Something farpotshket/Something farbissiner/Big mishegoss tonight!
D. One of Prince’s biggest successes was West Side Story, which he co-produced in 1957. The play is a musical about the rivalry between Puerto Rican and white street gangs in New York, and the tragic love story of Maria and Tony, based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Before Prince became involved in this project, the show was originally called East Side Story, and it took place during the Easter/Passover season. The plot revolved around rival Catholic and Jewish gangs, and the tragic love story of a Lower East Side Holocaust survivor, Tante, and an Italian gang member from Greenwich Village.
E. In 1979, Prince directed the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, about an evil barber who kills his clients by slitting their throats with his shaving razor, after which Sweeney Todd’s friend Mrs. Lovett bakes the bodies into meat pies. The show was originally written as Shloime Cohen: The Demon Mohel of Kraków, about a rogue mohel who performed circumcisions on unsuspecting customers. Without being more specific about what happened next, suffice it to say that the show closed quickly after failing to receive Kashrut certification.
Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson has just replaced Theresa May as prime minister of Great Britain. Johnson has been a strong supporter of Israel and an advocate for a two-state solution with the Palestinians. What was Johnson’s connection to Israel before he became a politician?
Prime Minister of Israel by Foreign and Commonwealth Office is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Johnson attended high school at the elite British boarding school Eton, where he stood out as a rugby player. When Johnson was 16, he traveled to Israel as a member of the British National Youth Rugby squad to compete in an international tournament. The British team won the tournament, and Johnson later spoke of the trip, saying, “It was exciting to be in the Holy Land, but the best part was meeting so many people from so many different countries.” In particular, Johnson became friendly with Natan Shavit, the captain of the Israeli team, and the two men have stayed in touch ever since. Johnson stayed with Shavit on his most recent trip to Israel in 2017 as the British foreign minister.
B. Before entering politics, Johnson was a journalist, working for the Times and later for the Daily Telegraph. Reflecting his right-leaning political views, in 1992 Johnson wrote an award-winning series of articles about world leaders who had led their countries during a political shift from liberal to conservative government, including President Ronald Reagan, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. For the article about Begin, Johnson traveled to Israel and interviewed many of the people who had worked with Begin, and he became close friends with Begin’s son (and former Knesset member) Benny.
C. In 1993, the European Young Conservatives was founded in Great Britain, uniting organizations from across Europe who shared a conservative political philosophy. Over time the EYC expanded to include members from non-European countries, including Canada, New Zealand, and Israel. In 1998, Boris Johnson served as an advisor and traveled with a British teen delegation to the international conference of the EYC, which was held in Tel Aviv. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the keynote speaker at the conference, and he and Johnson met and became close friends.
D. In the summer of 1984, Boris Johnson and his sister Rachel traveled to Israel to be volunteers on Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi, in the Galilee. According to Rachel, “for me, it was summer vacation, mostly spent gazing at the good looking young Israeli soldiers.” But Boris, she said, “already showed his leadership skills by becoming the head of the volunteers group within a month of our arrival.” In this position, Boris worked with the kibbutz leadership in scheduling the workload for the volunteers, and also arranged for the volunteers to take trips to other parts of the country.
E. In the summer of 1984, Boris Johnson and his sister Rachel traveled to Israel to be volunteers on Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi, in the Galilee. Rachel worked cleaning the men’s toilets until she complained and was moved to apple picking. Boris cleaned pots and pans in the kitchen, and according to Rachel, was hardly noticed, other than sticking out like a sore goy thumb because of his pale skin and blonde hair.
Project Rozana
With little recent progress in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, many Israelis and Palestinians are focusing on people-to-people (P2P) approaches between the two communities, with a goal of promoting understanding and cooperation “on the ground.” One NGO (non-profit) that has taken this approach and begun to have a substantial impact in recent years is Project Rozana. What does Project Rozana do?
Project Rozana logo used with permission of Project Rozana.
A. Project Rozana’s mission is to create “pathways to peace” between Israelis and Palestinians by providing funding and other support of health-care initiatives. Named after a Palestinian girl, Rozana, who received life-saving emergency medical treatment at Hadassah Hospital, Project Rozana’s focus is on health-care as a bridge between Israeli and Palestinian communities. The organization supports volunteer Israeli drivers who bring seriously ill Palestinian children from the security crossings to Israeli hospitals for treatment, funds the training of Palestinian doctors in Israeli hospitals, and pays for medical care for Palestinian children when Palestinian Authority funding is not available.
B. Project Rozana operates day camps which are open to both Jewish and Palestinian children in Israel. Even in cities with mixed populations, such as Haifa, Akko, and Jaffa, this is one of the few opportunities in which children from both communities can play together and get to know each other on a one-to-one basis. Project Rozana was started by the family of an Israeli girl named Rozana who had attended a similar camp in Maine under the auspices of the Seeds of Peace organization. Rozana’s family felt that bringing the concept into Israel was the next step forward in promoting peaceful interaction between the communities.
C. Project Rozana is a cooking school established in Haifa by Israeli chef Michael Solomonov of Philadelphia and named after his mother Rozana, who inspired him as a chef. The school is open to Israelis and Palestinians, and provides chef training as well as courses in restaurant management and related hospitality skills. Tuition is free, as Solomonov raises funding from Israeli and Palestinian chefs and restauranteurs around the world, including Alon Shaya of New Orleans, and Israeli Yotam Ottolenghi and Palestinian Sami Tamimi, co-authors of Jerusalem: A Cookbook.
D. In 2018, a group of Israeli settlers on the West Bank set fire to an olive tree orchard owned by a local Palestinian. Hearing this story on the news, a 7-year-old Israeli girl named Rozana told her parents that she wanted to send the orchard owner some olive tree seeds. The girl’s father explained that the trees did not actually grow from seeds, but he used this moment as an inspiration to collect olive tree cuttings which he and Rozana brought to the Palestinian to help him replant his orchard. Following this initial effort, the man established Project Rozana to provide tree cuttings, seeds, and saplings to Palestinian and Israeli families who could not afford them.
E. Project Rozana was established by the wife of a prominent Jerusalem rabbi. The woman, the Rebbetzanna Rozanne Rozeannadanna established Project Rozana in response to a letter she received from a congregant. She tells the story thusly: A Mr. Richard Feder, formerly of Fort Lee, New Jersey and now of Ramat Trump, Israel, wrote in and said, Rebbetzanna Rozanne Rozeannadanna there’s another election coming up and I don’t know who to vote for. Do I vote for Blue and White, or Black and Blue, or Jerusalem of Gold? Do I vote for Bibi or Barak or Benny or Baba Ghanoush? Should I be Progressive or Secular or Sephardi or Haredi or Jewish or Arabish or just pro-marijuanish? Am I for a one-state solution or a two-state solution or a deep-state solution or a deranged mental state solution? Am I pro-Israel or pro-Palestine or pro-Philistine or pro-Phyllis Diller? Or should I just return to Fort Lee and vote in the American election, which isn’t so complicated? So I told him, Mr. Feder, you sure ask a lot of questions. But I’m gonna help you, because it’s like my abba used to say–Rebbetzanna Rozanne Rozeannadanna, if it isn’t one thing it’s another. If it isn’t Bibi, it’s Bubbie. If it isn’t Haredi, it’s Havruta, and if it isn’t Havruta, it’s Havarti. And speaking of Havarti, did you ever eat that labeneh cheese? You know, the one that isn’t yogurt, and it isn’t cottage cheese, and it isn’t cream cheese. I don’t know what kind’a cheese it is. But I do know that when you try to eat it, you don’t know if you should swallow it or spit it out or swish it or just hold it in the side of your mouth until it mixes with your saliva and just kinda melts away. Which just thinking about it makes me wanna puke. So that, my friends, is why I created Project Rozana. To help you decide which cheese to choose, which political party to patronize, and whether to vote for King Bibi, BB King, the BBC, or Bebe Rebozo.
Jeffrey Epstein
American financier Jeffrey Epstein was arrested earlier this month on child sex trafficking charges. After an early career as a teacher, Epstein became an options trader at Bear Stearns, eventually becoming a partner before going out on his own and building a highly successful financial consulting firm. Among Epstein’s business and personal associates are Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Woody Allen, Katie Couric, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. As a result of Epstein’s arrest, Barak, who is currently running for election against Bibi Netanyahu, is in the process of dissolving his business relationship with Epstein, who largely funded a security company which Barak set up in 2015. Epstein had previously pled guilty to a prostitution charge in a case where he apparently got a “sweetheart” deal from then-prosecutor (and now-resigned Labor Secretary) Alex Acosta. That deal required Epstein to register as a Level 3 sex offender. How did Epstein describe that situation?
Epstein_2013_mugshot is in the public domain.
A. “I’m not a sexual predator, I’m an ‘offender’,” Epstein said. “It’s the difference between running someone down in your car and jaywalking.”
B. “I’m not a sexual predator, I’m an ‘offender’,” Epstein said. “It’s the difference between a murderer and a person who steals a bagel.”
C. “I’m not a sexual predator, I’m an ‘offender’,” Epstein said. “It’s the difference between eating ham on Yom Kippur and driving to Shabbat services.”
D. “I’m not a sexual predator, I’m an ‘offender’,” Epstein said. “It’s the difference between assaulting someone and watching a dirty movie.”
E. “I’m not a sexual predator, I’m an ‘offender’,” Epstein said. “It’s the difference between moo shu pork and corn beef on white bread with mayonnaise.”
Jared Kushner
Jared Kushner is heading to a two-day conference in Bahrain where he will be attempting to gain support for the Trump administration’s Israel/Palestinian peace plan. However, neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority will be attending the meeting. Kushner will be presenting only economic proposals of support for Palestinians, which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said “is unacceptable before the political situation is discussed.” Kushner recently gave a wide-ranging interview to Axios. In answer to one question, Kushner replied, “All human beings have the right to live in a way that gives them the opportunity to live in peace and to live harmoniously with each other.” What was the question he gave that response to?
Jared_Kushner_2017 is in the public domain.
A. How do you feel about the placing of Mexican and Central American children in cages in the United States border detention centers?
B. You are about to unveil a proposed $50 million economic support plan for Palestinians. But what do you believe in regard to the Palestinian desire for an independent state?
C. Do you believe the Jewish people have a God-given right to what the Israeli government calls Judea and Samaria and what others call the West Bank?
D. One of your responsibilities is as the Trump administration liaison to China. What is your response to the demonstrations in Hong Kong, where the people are protesting against China’s proposed law allowing for the extradition of Hong Kong residents to mainland China?
E. You have been criticized for getting security clearance from your father-in-law even though the intelligence services objected. It’s been reported that you have huge financial dealings with wealthy foreigners that call into question your objectivity in many negotiations. You undermined Governor Chris Christie in his efforts to work with President Trump as revenge for his prosecution of your father. There are multiple reports of conflicts-of-interest based on your family’s real estate business, including questionable loans, problematic investors, and controversial business practices. You attended the meeting at Trump Tower that Donald Trump Jr. set up to obtain dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russians. You met with the Russian ambassador and a Russian banker during the transition but did not disclose these meetings for months. You are closely linked to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, and some say that this is the reason that we have not held Saudi Arabia accountable for the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And John Oliver has referred to you as “Diminutive Nothing Boy 1” in the Mueller report. How do you respond to these criticisms?
Target
Target was in the news this past weekend, as a major computer glitch caused the checkout registers in almost all of their stores around the world to stop working. Target has found themselves in the middle of some controversies within the Jewish community in the past. In 2017, they apologized for selling Cards Against Humanity, a party card game that was intentionally offensive, when it was discovered that there was a Jewish-themed card set that contained anti-Semitic images and messages that were derogatory or hurtful to Jews. What other event in Target’s past led to an apology?
Target by Mike Mozart is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. In 2010, it was discovered that Target was selling world globes that misidentified Israel as Palestine. Target blamed the supplier of the globes and removed the globes from sale. The company stated that while the globe said Palestine where it should have said Israel, there was also a separate label key that did have Israel’s name. But the spokeswoman added that “the important issue is that we are no longer selling this product in our stores and we are sorry for offending our guests.”
B. In 2011, Target made the corporate decision to expand its food section and include fresh produce and other food products to compete with grocery stores. The following year, Target included a large Passover food section in a number of its stores in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other areas with large Jewish populations. The advertising and store displays showed a photo of the many products available under the words “Targeted For Our Jewish Guests on Passover," showing matzah, gefilte fish, and canned Manischevitz chicken soup, but also a picture of Lender’s Bagels. Target apologized while blaming an outside advertising company for the error.
C. Target is the name sponsor of Target Field, the home of the Minneapolis Twins. When the Twins sponsored a Jewish Heritage promotional night in 2017, Target arranged to advertise the event by including a picture of a baseball player in a Twins uniform, wearing a yarmulke. The yarmulke featured the Target logo, which immediately drew criticism from the Jewish community for its insensitivity to growing anti-Semitism, as it looked like they were suggesting that Jews be targeted.
D. In 2013, Target suffered a major security breach, notifying more than 40 million customers that their credit card information may have been hacked. A Target spokesperson told an interviewer on CNBC that “the fault lies with an Israeli contractor, CyberSafe Security, whose failure has compromised the safety of our customer’s finances.” Far right organizations immediately launched an attack on “Jewish companies controlling American corporate finances,” leading Target to apologize for unnecesarily specifying that the contractor was an Israeli company, while clarifying that Target was ultimately responsible for the protection of their customers’ data.
E. In 2015, Target opened their first store in Israel. The store included a kosher deli, and all of the food products being sold were kosher. Target’s advertising department created a variation of their standard logo to mark the occasion, by adding a Letter U to the inside of the Target circle, with the words “Target–Certified Kosher for Israel” above the logo, believing that the U in a circle was a generic kosher symbol. After being sued by the Orthodox Union, holder of the O-U trademark, Target apologized and redid the logo, replacing the U with a K, until they were sued by the Organized Kashrus Laboratories, the holder of that trademark. They tried one more time, replacing the K with the Hebrew letter Kaf, but when Kaf-K Kosher Supervision sued them, Target gave up and began selling non-kosher food.
Shavuot
Shavuot (the Sephardic and Israeli pronunciation), or Shavuos (the Ashkenazic pronunciation) just ended. The holiday commemorates God’s giving of the Torah to Moses and the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. Shavuot traditions include eating dairy food, participating in all-night study sessions, and reading the Ten Commandments and the Book of Ruth. Which of the following is also true about Shavuot?
Moses holding The Ten Commandments by in pastel is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Shavuot is the only holiday mentioned in the Torah that does not have a specific calendar date indicated.
B. An Israeli custom is to celebrate Shavuot with water fights in the streets, using water guns, water balloons, and buckets.
C. On Shavuot, Italian Jews break mandelbrot cookies (which are a variation of Italian biscotti) into pieces, symbolizing the breaking of the Ten Commandment tablets by Moses when he saw the Israelites dancing around the golden calf. The cookie pieces are then given to the children, symbolizing the sweetness when the Israelites ultimately accepted the Ten Commandments.
D. Rabbi Shira Stutman of Washington, D.C.’s Sixth and I Synagogue, says that Shavuot is the Rodney Dangerfield of Jewish holidays, because it gets no respect.
E. The holiday received mention in a popular song of the 1990’s which included the lyrics, “I spent Shavuos in East St. Louis. A charming spot, But clearly not the spot for me.”
Mexico
In an effort to goad Mexico into taking more action against Central American migrants traveling through Mexico to the United States southern border, President Trump has announced that he will begin implementing tariffs on Mexican goods in the coming weeks and months. There is a long history of Jews in Mexico, dating back to the early 16th century, when Jews fled the Inquisition in Spain. It is believed that many Conversos (Spanish Jews who had been forced to convert to Catholicism) accompanied Hernando Cortés on his voyage to Mexico in 1519. Some Conversos in Mexico remained Catholic while maintaining some Jewish customs, while others eventually returned to Judaism. What Mexican tradition is said to have its roots in the practices of these early Jewish immigrants?
Pint Sized Sombreros by Russ is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. The idea of eating food wrapped in a tortilla, though now a very common Mexican eating tradition, was not native to Mexico. Mexicans typically ate yeast breads which were originally of Spanish origin, such as pan basico and pan rustico. Because the Inquisition was eventually established in Mexico, many Jews lived lives as Crypto-Jews–ostensibly as Catholics, while secretly maintaining their Jewish practices. In order to hide the fact that they would not eat leavened bread during Passover, they created corn tortillas, which were an unleavened product, to use instead of bread. Because these Jews had Sephardic roots, they had no restriction against eating corn during Passover.
B. Buñuelos (also called bimuelos) are a popular snack in Mexico and throughout Latin America. The treat is a deep-fried dough drenched in syrup, which in Mexico typically consists of brown sugar, cinnamon, and guava. It is believed that buñuelos were brought to Mexico by Jews fleeing the Inquisition, as this was basically a variation of a Sephardic fried doughnut which was part of the Chanukkah tradition.
C. Piñatas are a popular decorative and party item in Mexico, consisting of a very colorful papier-mâché figure, usually an animal, which is filled with candy and hung from a tree. Blindfolded children swing a bat at the piñata, hoping to break it and release the candy for all to enjoy. The roots of the piñata are from Syrian Jews who had settled in Spain, but were later expelled during the Inquisition, ultimately settling in Mexico in the New World. The piñata was based on a Syrian tradition at Purim, where papier-mâché Haman heads were hung in the synagogue. When Haman’s name was mentioned during the Megillah reading, children would strike the Haman figure with sticks.
D. The tamale is a traditional Mexican food, consisting of dough which is filled with either meats, cheeses, chiles, vegetables, or other items, and then steamed and placed inside a corn husk as a wrapping. The idea of using a corn husk, rather than using a tortilla as was very common in Mexican food, came from Conversos. These former Jews would not eat tortillas, as they were made with lard, which the Conversos would not eat.
E. Many of the first Jews to come to Mexico following the Inquisition maintained their Sephardic customs, including the wearing of head coverings by men. A Mexican hatmaker once admired the hat of his Jewish neighbor, a man of Bukharan ancestry who was wearing the large, brightly colored kippah traditionally worn by Bukharan men. The hatmaker learned from his friend where he could buy one of those hats, which he then adapted by adding a wide brim. He sold that hat, and eventually built a business around selling these beautiful multi-colored head coverings, which provided great protection against the blazing Mexican sun. The hatmaker thanked his friend for helping launch his successful business, but added, “I have one question. Why do you always wear your hat, even when you are inside?” Replied the Bukharan Jew, “God requires us to always cover our heads. As my rabbi says, we have ‘shum b’reira,’ no choice.” Hearing this, the hatmaker adapted the Hebrew phrase into Spanish and called his wide-brimmed colorful hat the sombrero.
Will Smith
Will Smith is currently starring as the Genie in a live-action remake of Disney’s Aladdin. What is a Jewish connection in Will Smith’s life?
Will Smith by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
A. Smith grew up in West Philadelphia’s Wynnefield neighborhood, an area with a large Jewish population. When Smith first began rapping under the name The Fresh Prince, he often performed at the bar mitzvahs of his Jewish school friends.
B. Smith is a winner of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Humanitarian award for his commitment to education, cultural diversity, and social responsibility. The award was presented to him by actress Charlize Theron, who was Smith’s co-star in the movie Hancock.
C. While filming Aladdin in Jordan in 2017, Smith and his wife took a side trip to Jerusalem, where he was filmed saying, “I’m chilling by the Western Wall” before crashing the Torah reading of a boy making his bar mitzvah there.
D. Will Smith was born and raised in Philadelphia. When Smith was a child, his father was employed as a janitor at Congregation B’nai Abraham, one of the oldest synagogues in Philadelphia. Smith credits his father’s relationship with the synagogue and its rabbi and members as the reason why he has always felt a closeness to the Jewish people and Israel.
E. One of Smith’s first film appearances was in Men in Black, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. When Sonnenfeld’s son Sam had his bar mitzvah at Temple Beth Am in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, Smith attended and feted the teen with a rap which included the following lines: I pulled up to the shul about nine, kine-ahora/And I yelled to the rabbi 'Yo homes let’s do some torah/I chanted my parsha/It was totally the bomb/Then I sat on my throne as the Mitz of Beth Am.
Herman Wouk z”l
Best selling author Herman Wouk died last week at the age of 103. Wouk, an Orthodox Jew, won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Caine Mutiny, and also wrote many Jewish-themed novels, including The Winds of War, War and Remembrance, and Marjorie Morningstar. Marjorie Morningstar told the story of a young Jewish woman who pursued a life in the theatre, where she became involved with another actor, Noel Airman, who attempted to lead her into a non-traditional life and an affair. When Marjorie tried to get him to settle down to a suburban middle class Jewish life, what pejorative nickname did Noel assign to her?
Herman Wouk 2014 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
A. He referred to her as Ginny, derived from virgin. He used this nickname in a demeaning way, as he was critical of her for feigning interest in him but ultimately not proceeding with a physical relationship.
B. He called her a JAP, the term he coined for a Jewish American Princess, a now-offensive name that in the late 1950’s became part of the cultural lexicon when referring to some upwardly mobile but vapid Jewish women.
C. He called her Mother, to indicate that despite her claim to be a modern young woman, she in fact clung to the old-world values of her mother.
D. He called her Shirley, his term for a stereotypical privileged Jewish woman who only wanted the conventional suburban middle class life.
E. Marjorie refused to have premarital sex with Noel, saying, “We are not married. I will not have sex with you.” Surprised, he said, “Surely you can’t be serious,” to which she replied, “I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.”
Billy Joel
Billy Joel just celebrated his 70th birthday with a concert at Madison Square Garden, featuring video birthday wishes from Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Don Henley, Pink and others, plus a guest performance by Peter Frampton. Though Billy Joel’s parents were both Jewish, he was not raised Jewish, and was actually baptized in a Protestant church. Which of the following is a true story regarding Joel’s Jewish background?
Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden by slgckgc is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Joel began taking piano lessons when he was 8 years old. The first time he performed in public was at the bar mitzvah party of his best friend David Sheinberg, which took place at a popular Long Island party venue, Leonard’s of Great Neck. For the event, Joel learned to play Hava Nagilah, which he then performed as the guests danced the hora and David was lifted on a chair. It was after this event that Joel’s parents finally told him that they were actually Jewish.
B. Joel learned he was Jewish when he was young, and he mentioned it to a neighborhood boy who immediately punched him, knocking him to the ground. Joel later said that this incident was one of the influences on his lyrics in the song Prelude/Angry Young Man, including the lines “He’s always at home with his back to the wall/And he’s proud of his scars and the battles he’s lost/And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on the cross/And he likes to be known as the angry young man.”
C. Joel learned he was Jewish when he was young, and he mentioned it to a girl who lived across the street. She responded that he would grow horns. For many months after, Joel checked his head to see if horns were starting to grow.
D. In 1988, Joel decided to celebrate a bar mitzvah, as it was his 39th birthday (3 times 13). As part of the ceremony he delivered a bar mitzvah speech about how his Jewish heritage influenced his life. He later incorporated that speech into his song Two Thousand Years from the River of Dreams album, including the lyrics: “In the beginning/There was the cold and the night/Prophets and angels gave us the fire and the light/Man was triumphant/Armed with the faith and the will/That even the darkest ages couldn’t kill.”
E. As a young adult, Joel reconnected with his Jewish roots and decided to have a bar mitzvah. At the party afterward, Joel played piano and entertained, singing a song he wrote for the occasion entitled, Scenes From a Kosher Restaurant, with lyrics including the following: “A bottle of red/Manischevitz/It tastes so good after you’ve had a shvitz/You can shove matzah balls down your belly/while dining at our kosher deli.” He later rewrote the song as Scenes from an Italian Restaurant and it became a huge hit.
Joe Biden
Joe Biden officially announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president. Biden has a long history of support for Israel. He often talks about his first trip to Israel shortly after he was elected to the Senate in 1972. On that trip he met with Prime Minister Golda Meir and discussed Israel’s conflict with the Arabs. When Biden looked concerned and sad about Israel’s existential threat from her enemies, Meir said, “Senator, don’t look so sad … Don’t worry. We Jews have a secret weapon.” Biden then asked her what the secret weapon was. What was Golda Meir’s response?
Joe Biden by Andy Witchger is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. “We have nuclear weapons. We have absolutely no plan to use them, but we have absolutely no plan to get rid of them either.”
B. “You see, we have no place else to go.”
C. “We have you, and all of our friends in the United States. That gives us faith in our future.”
D. “We have God. And Senator, though I am not a religious woman, I do have absolute faith that we will survive and thrive.”
E. “I just told you–it’s a secret. And stop smelling my hair.”
Maxwell House Haggadah
The most popular haggadah in American history is the Maxwell House Haggadah, which the company has been distributing for free (with purchases of Maxwell House coffee) since 1932. More than 50 million copies have been given away worldwide since then, and they even had a place at the table of the White House seder hosted by President Barack Obama. What is the background story of Maxwell House’s decision to market their coffee by producing a Passover haggadah?
Maxwell_House_1933_Haggadah_cover is in the public domain.
A. The most popular coffee among Jews of New York in the early twentieth century was Nescafé, made by a Jewish-owned company. In fact, the name Nescafé was created by combining the Hebrew word Nes, meaning Miracle with café, for coffee. In 1919, Maxwell House Coffee was the upstart competitor created by a Russian immigrant, Max Schilkofsky of Brooklyn. He was constantly trying to find a way to overcome Nescafé’s prominence in the marketplace, when, during the early spring of 1931, his wife told him to stop at the Jewish bookseller and purchase some haggadahs, as Passover was approaching and they needed additional copies for their expected large crowd. As he perused the haggadahs and made his purchase, he had the brainstorm that giving away free haggadahs could be the marketing ploy that would work. He connected with a publishing company and produced the first Maxwell House haggadah the following year.
B. While Maxwell House was a well-known brand of coffee within the Jewish community, as it was certified kosher, it was not typically served at seder meals because many people drank their coffee with milk, which could not be done at a meal which was almost always a meat meal (brisket being the most popular main course). In 1928, Rich Products came out with a new product, non-dairy creamer. With this invention, the people at Maxwell House finally saw an opening for their product at Passover. They initially placed ads in the Forverts newspaper showing pictures of their coffee can alongside a picture of the Rich non-dairy creamer product and a notation that Rabbi Shmuel Krinsky of Congregation Anshe Chesed on the Lower East Side had certified both products to be kosher for Passover. As a further effort to increase sales of Maxwell House coffee, the company began distributing free haggadahs with purchases of their coffee. Rich’s originally distributed the Maxwell House haggadah with sales of their non-dairy creamer as well, but discontinued this practice after a couple of years because of pressure from other coffee companies.
C. The idea for a haggadah to be distributed for free was first envisioned by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, working with Eastern European immigrants who were settling in New York. The aid organization would typically give haggadahs to new immigrants (among many items of support they would provide), but as the number of immigrants dramatically increased, they needed a way to fund this project. Someone from HIAS approached the people at Maxwell House and asked them to sponsor the printing of a haggadah. The first haggadah was printed and given out by HIAS in 1931, noting on the cover that it was paid for by Maxwell House Coffee. The following year, Maxwell House asked if they could print extra copies beyond what HIAS needed, which they would then distribute for free to those who purchased their coffee, and HIAS agreed to this marketing plan.
D. The Jewish population of America at the turn of the century was overwhelmingly Ashkenazic, and one of their dietary rules at Passover time was the prohibition against eating kitniyot, or legumes. Included in this category were beans, and it was wrongly believed that coffee beans were (as the name says) beans! In fact they are actually fruit, and are not included in the kitniyot restriction, but most Jews simply did not know this. The promotion of Maxwell House coffee as actually being kosher for Passover began in 1923 with ads run in the Forverts newspaper noting the kosher certification by an obscure Lower East Side rabbi. A few years later they made the decision to publish a haggadah as a giveaway with Maxwell House coffee purchases to further promote their product.
E. Aron Streit first started making matzah on the Lower East Side of New York in 1916. As the company grew, their need for more flour led them to reach out to King Arthur Flour company, the oldest flour producer in the United States. King Arthur received kosher certification and began selling flour to Streits. Seeing how much flour Streits would purchase every year at Passover time, someone at King Arthur decided that they should begin marketing their products to the Jewish community. Having learned about the haggadah from the people at Streits, King Arthur’s advertising department came up with what they thought was a brilliant marketing plan–a free giveaway haggadah, with a front cover that read, “The Melech Aharon Haggadah, with wishes for a Zissen Pesach from your friends at King Arthur Flour.” However, the promotion was a failure as the cover of the haggadah included pictures of products which could be made from King Arthur Flour, including bread, rolls, and other baked goods. Aron Streit explained the problem to the clueless head of King Arthur Flour, saying, “You correctly used the Yiddish phrase ‘A Zissen Pesach,’ which I taught you. Now you are learning a new Yiddish phrase–‘What a goyishe kop.’ ” The company was stuck with thousands of unwanted haggadahs, until someone from Maxwell House Coffee learned of this marketing disaster, printed new covers to paste over the original, and went on to distribute the first Maxwell House haggadahs.
Passover and Pets
As Jews worldwide prepare for Passover, which begins this Friday night, many people are wondering what they are allowed to feed their pets during the holiday. Which of the following are real rules?
Clementine Dresses for the Seder by Meryl Zimmerman Music is used with permission of the owner.
A. According to the Aish.com website’s Ask the Rabbi feature, pets should not be fed food with chametz in it, because it is forbidden to derive any benefit from chametz during Passover, and if your pet eats chametz, you are indirectly receiving a benefit. However, the Aish rabbi says that pets can eat kitniyot, or legumes, regardless of whether or not the pet owner eats kitniyot (traditionally only Sephardic Jews eat kitniyot during Passover).
B. According to Rabbi Yehuda Epshtein of the Orthodox Union, it is acceptable to include your pet on the list of items which you sell as chametz to a non-Jew, directly or through your rabbi or other religious authority. In that way, the pet is not considered to be yours, and you can then feed the pet chametz during Passover, as you are no longer benefiting from the non-Passover food.
C. According to Rabbi Zvi Goldberg of Star-K, the kosher food certification organization, it is okay to feed non-kosher food to animals during Passover because one is allowed to derive benefit from non-kosher food. However, Rabbi Goldberg says that pets cannot be fed food which mixes meat and milk products.
D. According to Rabbi Avi Weissman of Yeshivat Magen Torah in Brooklyn, it is only acceptable to feed your pets kosher for Passover food. However, Rabbi Weissman says that you cannot feed matzah to your pets. This is because matzah is viewed as the bread of freedom–the bread which the Israelites ate when they escaped from Egyptian slavery and crossed the desert. Because pets are not free, but are subservient to their owners, Rabbi Weissman says that it is not acceptable to feed matzah to your pets.
E. Rabbi Zakkai Zalmon Veisfisch of Temple Betta Al-Bakor in Pikesville, Maryland says that it is not acceptable to feed food flakes to aquarium fish during Passover, as these items are chametz. When asked what one should do with their aquarium fish since it would be wrong to not feed them for a week, Rabbi Veisfisch stated that he is happy to share his recipe for guppy-filte fish.
Israeli Elections
Israel is holding parliamentary elections this Tuesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu running neck and neck with Benny Gantz, of the Blue and White Party. Whoever wins will have the challenge of putting together a coalition government in a country whose electoral system makes it very easy for small parties to gain representation in the Knesset. More than 40 political parties are competing in this week’s election, and in fact, more than 100 different political parties have been represented in the Knesset at some point in Israel’s history. This system has led to the establishment of many unusual political parties over the years. Which of the following was a real Israeli political party?
19172-Jerusalem by xiquinhosilva is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. HaMiflaga LeMilhama BeBankim, (The Party for the War Against Banks), which in 2006 advocated for laws making it easier for citizens to sue banks.
B. Nitzole HaSo’a’a Im Bogre Ale Yarok, (Holocaust Survivors with Green Leaf Veterans), a combined 2009 list of marijuana advocates and Holocaust survivors who want larger pensions. Their 2300 votes fell far short of the number needed to enter the Knesset.
C. The Lehem, or Bread, party (Lohame Hevra Me’uhadim), submitted a list in the 2006 elections, campaigning to represent the needy and homeless. They received fewer than 1500 votes.
D. Yibane, (Build It), a 2009 combined list of ultra-Orthodox Jews who advocated for the building of a third Temple in Jerusalem and a Sheldon Adelson-backed group who pushed for the building of a floating casino in the Dead Sea that would be accessible by boat both from Israel and Jordan.
E. Zehuyot HaGever BaMishpaha - Ra’ash, (Man Rights in the Family), advocated for equality for men in divorce proceedings in 2006. They did not attain any seats in the Knesset.
Cory Booker
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey is running for president. At a CNN Town Hall meeting last week, he spoke of the importance of his Christian upbringing, but he then went on to say, “Can I quote some Hebrew to you? I studied the Torah, too. There’s a song sung during the High Holidays: ‘Ki veiti beit t’fila yikareh l’chol ha’amim’ — ‘May my house be a house of prayer for many nations’.” Booker has long had connections to the Jewish community. In the early 1990’s, while he was studying at Oxford, he went to a Chabad Purim celebration where he danced around the room with the other participants. What did Booker carry on his back during that dance?
190204-Z-AL508-1207 by New Jersey National Guard is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
A. A Megillah scroll.
B. He carried a large map of the Jersey Turnpike, and on his head he wore an EZ Pass device.
C. The rabbi’s daughter, dressed as Queen Esther.
D. A Four Seasons record album, as he was dressed as a Jersey Boy.
E. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.
Jeopardy
Alex Trebek, the longtime host of Jeopardy, recently announced that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. At the time, he noted that he welcomed the prayers of his viewers, which led Rabbi Geoffrey Mitelman, a former Jeopardy contestant, to organize a digital interfaith prayer service for Trebek. The participants were all former Jeopardy contestants who are members of the clergy. When Rabbi Mitelman was a Jeopardy contestant, what happened when he missed the final Jeopardy question?
Alex Trebek by Peabody Awards/Anders Krusberg is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. The category was “The French Revolution,” and the clue read: “The last prisoner moved before the Bastille was stormed, this nobleman left behind the manuscript for his most infamous work.” Mitelman did not get the answer, which was “The Marquis de Sade.” Another contestant said “I’m pretty happy the rabbi didn’t know about sadism!”
B. The category was “Animal Adversaries Speak” and the clue read: “I initiated a hostile takeover because Snowball had no business sense & would have bankrupted the Homestead.” Mitelman did not get the answer, which was “Napoleon the pig speaking.” Another contestant said “I’m pretty happy the rabbi didn’t know about the pigs!”
C. The category was “Pick a Pope,” and the clue read: “Was guilty of excommunicating the heretic Pelagius.” Mitelman did not get the answer, which was “Pope Innocent.” Another contestant said “I’m pretty happy the rabbi didn’t know about the popes!”
D. The category was “Historic Nicknames,” and the clue read: “Learning her craft from Tessie the Tassel-Twirler, this burlesque artist was ‘The Best Undressed Woman in America’.” Mitelman did not get the answer, which was “Gypsy Rose Lee.” Another contestant said “I’m pretty happy the rabbi didn’t know about the strippers!”
E. The category was “Alliterative Commentators” and the clue read: “These commentators cover the gamut of topics from Aggadah to Zohar.” The answer was “Rashi, Rambam, and Rashbam,” but Rabbi Gitelman incorrectly answered “Rashi, Rambam and Ramalamadingdong.” Another contestant said, “I’m pretty happy the rabbi guessed that. I’ve been wanting to ask this question for a long time. So Rabbi, can you tell me, who put the ram in the Ramalamadingdong?”
College Admissions Scandal
Last week saw the indictment of celebrities, financiers, coaching and admissions personnel, entrance exam administrators, and others, all of whom participated in a college admissions cheating and bribery scandal led by William “Rick” Singer. This is by no means the first time that college admissions has been shown to have a dark side, including a long history of quotas and other procedures meant to limit admission of Jews and other minorities. In fact, the addition of interviews, letters of recommendation, and a focus on qualities other than high school academic performance (including extra-curricular activities, particularly participation in sports) goes back 100 years, as part of an effort to limit the number of Jews admitted to Harvard and other prestigious institutions. In 1922, Harvard University added a question to be asked of applicants which was clearly intended to help identify Jewish students: “What change, if any, has been made since birth in your own name or that of your father? (Explain fully).” Which of the following are also real examples of stories from a century ago regarding efforts to limit Jewish acceptance to Ivy League schools?
Yale 1 by SubtlePanda is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Francis Parsons, who was a fellow of the Yale Corporation, noticed a large number of Jewish names listed among the Yale freshman class of 1929, leading him to write the following to the chair of admissions at the university: “This list reads like some of the ‘Begat’ portions of the Old Testament.”
B. In 1927, a Yale alumnus wrote a letter complaining that his donations to the school were being used to educate “Yids.” The school’s associate treasurer responded saying, “It will interest you to know that we are making every effort to remedy the condition.’’
C. In 1922, Harvard’s president, A. Lawrence Lowell, proposed a quota to lower the number of Jews gaining admission to the university. Lowell argued that this would benefit the Jews at Harvard because “The anti-Semitic feeling among the students is increasing, and it grows in proportion to the increase in the number of Jews.”
D. There is a folder from the early 1920’s in Yale University’s archive labeled “Jewish Problem.” Among the documents in the folder is a memo from the university’s admissions chairman urging a limit on the acceptance of “the alien and unwashed element.’’
E. In 1922, the Yale Board of Trustees voted in secret to enact a quota on Jewish students, and then discussed ways to ensure that this would not become public information. As part of their coverup, they decided to take actions which would imply that Yale was friendly to Jews despite the reality. These included adding the Hebrew words “Urim v’Thummim,” meaning “Light and Truth” to the official Yale logo, as well as giving their students the nickname “Elis,” claiming that this was a way to give honor to the people of Elijah the Prophet. In a further effort to create a positive association between Yale and the Jewish community, the university purchased the Yale Lock Company and renamed it Yale Lox.
Green Book
The Academy Award for Best Movie went to Green Book, a film about black musician Don Shirley, who toured through the Jim Crow South in the 1940’s, and his relationship with his bodyguard/driver, a white Italian from New York named Tony Vallelonga. The movie title refers to an annual series of guidebooks called The Negro Motorist Green-Book, published from 1936-1966, providing information to black travelers as to where they could safely find meals, lodging, and other support during an era when there was much legal and de facto segregation and discrimination. What is the Jewish connection to the actual Green Book?
The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book Wikipedia article on The Negro Motorist Green-Book, 1936-1966 by jalexartis Photography is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. While the Green Book was eventually supported by ad sales from many of the businesses listed in the book, initially the Green Book was funded largely by the Julius Rosenwald Fund, a philanthropy established by Julius Rosenwald, one of the owners of Sears-Roebuck, and a supporter of many black causes, including thousands of Rosenwald schools which he created to provide education to poor and rural black children.
B. The Green Book was created by Pastor Victor Hugo Green from the Upper Harlem AME Zion Church. He was inspired by his reading of the Old Testament. “I learned that as the Israelites fled Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they found themselves wandering through the desert for 40 years. They were surrounded by enemies–Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Jebusites, and so many others. And how did they know which way to turn to avoid destruction and find the Promised Land? Because God told them where they could travel safely across the desert. In effect, he gave them The Jewish Desert Wanderers Blue and White Book, and that inspired me to create The Negro Motorist Green Book to help keep my people safe in their travels.”
C. The Green Book was created by a New York mailman named Victor Hugo Green, who contacted other black mailmen around the country for input. He was inspired to create the guidebook after learning from a Jewish friend about guidebooks geared to Jews travelling in the Catskills. These books helped Jewish travelers locate kosher meals or find other businesses that were friendly to Jews at a time when there was much anti-Semitic discrimination.
D. The Green Book was started by Victor Hugo Green, a black man in Harlem who worked at a local Orthodox synagogue as the Shabbos goy, turning on lights and the heating system on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. He mentioned his idea to the rabbi, who connected him to other synagogues where he corresponded with their Shabbos Goys, sharing information about “black-friendly” businesses in their area that would be included in the guide.
E. The Green Book was written by Victor Hugo Green, a black man who worked as a dish washer at Ratner’s, the famous kosher dairy restaurant on New York’s Lower East Side. Green learned from Jewish waiters of a book called the Levine Book, written by a local matchmaker named Yente Levine. The Levine Book was described as a guide for Jewish parents who were looking to find nice Jewish boys for their daughters. The book guaranteed to help Jewish parents know where to go in New York City to find a Chasan (a groom), without fear of coming upon goyim who might not be welcoming. Said Green in an interview years later, “Our people didn’t need help finding spouses, but we did need helping knowing where to shop, dine and travel, without fear of being unwelcomed. That’s how I got the idea for my Green Book.”
Netanyahu and Trump
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received much negative press in the last few weeks. First, he made a deal with the Otzma Yehudit party, the successor to Rabbi Meir Kahane’s racist Kach party, leading to criticism from many in Israel, as well as American organizations including AIPAC and the American Jewish Committee. Then, Israeli Attorney General Avihai Mandelblit announced that Netanyahu will be indicted for fraud, bribery and breach of trust. This comes at the same time that President Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified before Congress, calling Trump a racist, a conman, and a cheat, and noting that the Southern District of New York is investigating Trump for unnamed illegal acts. It is also expected that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report will be issued soon, possibly presenting other charges against Trump. Last year, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke of President Trump and his support of Israel, referencing what famous king?
A. When President Trump announced that he would be moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, he said, “Today we finally acknowledge the obvious–that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality.” In response, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “The President is a wise man, a modern-day King Solomon. You know, King Solomon is famous for suggesting that a baby be split in half, so that each of the two women claiming to be the mother could receive half of what they claimed belonged to them. President Trump understands as King Solomon did, that just like that baby, Jerusalem must not be divided, and can only really belong to one people, and that is the Jewish people.”
B. After Trump declared that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, and announced his plans to scrap the Iranian nuclear deal, Netanyahu spoke of Trump’s deeds, noting, “I want to tell you that the Jewish people have a long memory, so we remember the proclamation of the great king, Cyrus the Great, the Persian king 2,500 years ago. He proclaimed that the Jewish exiles in Babylon could come back and rebuild our Temple in Jerusalem.” He then said that similarly, “we remember how a few weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Mr. President, this will be remembered by our people through the ages.”
C. On May 14, 2018, the United States Embassy in Jerusalem was opened. As part of his remarks at the ceremony, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “President Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem places him with other great leaders in history who demonstrated that they stood side by side with the Jewish people. Great leaders who understood that history and justice are with us. People like King Christian, of Denmark, who wore a Jewish star to stand with our people during the dark days of the Holocaust.”
D. While President Trump did not attend the opening of the United States embassy in Jerusalem last May, he did address the event via a videotaped message where he said, “Today, Jerusalem is the seat of the Israeli government, the home of the Israeli legislature and the Israeli Supreme Court and Israel’s prime minister and president. For many years, we failed to acknowledge the obvious ... the plain reality that Israel’s capital is Jerusalem.” Following those remarks, Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked the President, and addressed Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who was in attendance. “Your father is a great man,” he said. “Around 3000 years ago, David became King of Israel, and he named Jerusalem the capital. Now your father echoes the great deed of David Melech Yisrael, by again recognizing that Jerusalem is our capital, for now and forever.”
E. Speaking at the opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said, “I particularly want to thank President Donald Trump. He and I are so much alike. We both love Israel. We both have Jewish grandchildren. And we both have similar futures ahead of us. In fact, the great King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley, could have been speaking about Donald and me when he sang ‘Let’s rock, everybody, let’s rock. Everybody in the whole cell block. We’ll be dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock’.”
Israeli Moon Flight
Israel just became the fourth country to send a spacecraft toward a moon landing, a feat previously accomplished only by the United States, Russia and China. In addition to scientific equipment, the craft, named Beresheet, also contains a digital time capsule that includes drawings of the moon and space by Israeli children, a photo of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon (who tragically died in the Columbia space shuttle disaster), a copy of the Tefilat HaDerech prayer which is traditionally said before a journey, and the Wikipedia encyclopedia. Normally, a journey to the moon takes 3-4 days, but Beresheet’s journey will take weeks. Why?
SPACEIL model as was presented in the 66th IAC in Jerusalem is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
A. The launch of the spacecraft from Cape Canaveral took place on Thursday. Rabbi David Lau, the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, ruled that the flight could not continue over Shabbat, and as a result, the Israeli engineers had to program a pause in the flight at the beginning of sundown on Friday. However, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, ruled that because the rocket ship was beyond earth’s atmosphere, its flight was covered by the calendar on the moon. A lunar day lasts over 29 earth days, so therefore the craft cannot reengage its engines and complete its mission until the end of March.
B. The length of the journey is connected to the size and weight of the craft. Basically the larger the craft, the faster it will travel through space. Most of the spacecrafts previously sent to the moon were quite large. The Apollo lunar modules, for example, were approximately 23 feet in height and weighed in the range of 10,000 pounds, whereas the Beresheet craft is barely the size of a washing machine and weighs just over 1000 pounds. As a result, it travels slower and will not achieve touchdown on the lunar surface until around April 3.
C. The Beresheet was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, along with an Indonesian communications satellite and an experimental satellite built by the United States Air Force. Because of this, the Israeli craft must take an indirect route in order that the two other payloads can be placed in their proper orbits. Therefore, instead of a straight path to the moon, Beresheet will circle the earth for weeks in ever-widening paths, until the proper time for it to change directions and head to the moon with a scheduled April 11 landing.
D. The length of a trip to the moon is dependent upon the time when the craft is launched, in relation to the position of the moon. Normally, the optimal launch date is chosen so that the craft will reach the proper rendezvous point with the moon, a difficult confluence to achieve. However, because Israel only built the landing craft, not the launching rocket, they were prevented from launching on the ideal date, which would have been April 3. Therefore, the craft has been programmed to circle the moon for about 6 weeks until the moon and craft are in proper alignment, at which point the Beresheet will launch its rockets and descend to the moon’s surface around April 7.
E. In order for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get approval from the Knesset for the funding of the Beresheet project, he had to convince all of the coalition partners to go along with this significant outlay of shekels. The head of the government’s Finance Committee is Moshe Gafni, of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party. To get Gafni to sign on to this funding, Netanyahu had to give in to his demand that the journey take 40 days and 40 nights, mimicking the Exodus from Egypt.
Vaccinations
There are more than 150 confirmed cases of measles within New York’s Orthodox communities. It is believed that these outbreaks began with an unvaccinated child who traveled to Israel and caught the measles there. Most Jewish religious authorities have urged their followers to get vaccinations. The Orthodox Union (OU) and the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) issued a statement urging “all parents to vaccinate their healthy children on the timetable recommended by their pediatrician.” The Chabad website states “Guarding your own health doesn’t only make sense, it’s actually a mitzvah.” Yet there are some ultra-Orthodox rabbis who disagree. Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky, dean of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, has stated, “I see vaccinations as the problem. It’s a hoax. Even the Salk [polio] vaccine is a hoax. It’s just big business.” He also made another argument against vaccinations. What else did he say?
FluShot by NIAID is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Rabbi Kamenetzky said that vaccines are not necessary because it is God who decides “who shall live and who shall die.”
B. “I am not against preventing diseases among our beloved children,” said Rabbi Kamenetzky. “But the vaccines were all created from gelatin which is derived from pigs. Pigs are treif, so the vaccines are treif. Even if the vaccines would work, it would be a chillul Hashem (a desecration of God’s name) to expose our children to this unkosher medicine.”
C. Rabbi Kamenetzky said that even if vaccinations can prevent measles, they are more likely to cause autism.
D. Said Rabbi Kamenetzky, “I am not saying that no one should get vaccinated. But I am saying that the government should not be telling us what we must do. The government is already telling us we cannot perform a bris by metzitzah b’peh (a practice where oral suction is part of the circumcision procedure). In some countries in Europe they are telling us we cannot wear a yarmulke, and that kosher shechita (ritual slaughtering) is forbidden. We cannot, and must not, allow the government to interfere with our religious beliefs and our Jewish lives.”
E. Rabbi Kamenetzky said that if the diseases that vaccines purport to prevent were really a problem, children would already be sick because of their exposure to school janitors, who “are mostly Mexican and are unvaccinated.”
Jeff Bezos and Amazon
Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, has charged that the National Enquirer attempted to blackmail him by threatening to release lurid photographs of Bezos. In 2017, Amazon removed a controversial book from their website. The book, A History of the Palestinian People: From Ancient Times to the Modern Era, was written by Israeli author Assaf A. Voll and was available in Hebrew and English. What was the issue that led Amazon to remove the book from their website?
A_History_of_the_Palestinian_People_Hebrew_Cover is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
A. It was discovered that the book was actually written by a Palestinian historian, Tarif Sharabi. Knowing that he could not get his book published by an Israeli publishing company, Sharabi partnered with his friend, Israeli writer Assaf Voll, who submitted the book under his name to Geffen Publishing House, where in fact it was accepted for publication.
B. There was an outcry from some Israeli and American Jewish organizations, claiming that the book gave undue legitimacy to the Palestinian argument for statehood, and in particular, the idea of a single Palestinian majority state within the entire region of Israel and the Palestinian territories. They noted that there was not a single mention of the name Israel, only negative references to “the Zionist entity.”
C. Charges were made that sections of the book had been plagiarized from the book Palestine and the Palestinians: A Social and Political History by Palestinian writers Samih K. Farsoun and Naseer Aruri, pubished in 2006. While Voll denied the claim, a comparison of numerous entries in the two books led many scholars to conclude that Voll had improperly used material from the earlier work.
D. There was an outcry from within the Palestinian and greater Arab communities that the book was an illegitimate appropriation of Palestinian history by an Israeli writer.
E. The book consisted only of more than 100 blank pages, plus a quote from the Seinfeld television show character George Costanza, “Just remember, it’s not a lie if you believe it.”
Super Bowl LIII
The New England Patriots were the victors against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII, which sports writer Jeff Pearlman (and many others) called “the worst Super Bowl ever.” Wide receiver Julian Edelman, the first Jewish player to win the MVP honor in a Super Bowl, led the Patriots to victory over the Rams, also known as “the wrong team,” following the infamous “non calls” of pass interference and helmet-to-helmet contact in the NFC Championship game, where the New Orleans Saints had the game stolen from them by the incompetence of the officiating crew. Michael Hurley of CBS Boston Sports said, “This was a missed call that literally took a Super Bowl trip away from the Saints.” Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN called it the “worst no-call in NFL history.” Former NFL quarterback and 4-time Pro Bowler Boomer Esiason tweeted, “The @Saints got royally SCREWED!” New Orleans is a city which is totally devoted to their football team, and that includes the local Jewish community, about 11,000 strong. What is the name of a Saints fan group within the New Orleans Jewish community?
A. Drew’s Jews.
B. Blue and White for Black and Gold.
C. Drew’s Hebrews.
D. Jew Dat Nation.
E. Jews for Breesus.
Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter, the conservative political commentator who is considered a strong influence on President Trump, appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher. She criticized Trump for giving in on the government shut down without getting funding for a wall on the Mexican border, saying “He promised something for 18 months, and he lied about it.” She argued that the wall Israel built to stop suicide bombers is proof that a wall works. In the past, Coulter has made remarks which offended many Jews. What did she say?
Ann Coulter by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
A. Coulter recently tweeted about the confrontation between Catholic high school students, a Native American veteran, and Black Hebrew Israelite protesters, saying, “Too bad the Catholic school didn’t defend these innocent kids with the same gusto they defend pedophile priests. And too bad the ‘media’ were too busy chastising the kids instead of calling out their Black Hebrew brethren.”
B. In response to Senator Bernie Sanders’ call on the campaign trail in 2015 for universal health coverage, Coulter responded, “Hey, Bernie. Isn’t food important? Why not universal food coverage? Then you could not only have free medical care, but all the corned beef and matzah balls you can eat.”
C. In 2015, Coulter tweeted, “A word to those of you out there who have yet to be offended by something I have said: Please be patient. I am working as fast as I can. Even you liberal Jews. You’re lower on my list than the Muslims (oy gevalt) and the gays (oy vey), but I'll get to you soon enough.”
D. In response to a Huffington Post article that said that the use of the word “globalist” by many in the Trump administration was a veiled anti-Semitic reference, Coulter belittled the issue, tweeting, “Come on, libs. Especially you Jewish libs. Stop this. Look at Jared. Look at Ivanka. Look at the grandchildren. And look at Trump’s relationship with Bibi. So just stop this anti-Semitism smear.”
E. In response to a Huffington Post article that said that the use of the word “globalist” by many in the Trump administration was a veiled anti-Semitic reference, Coulter belittled the issue, tweeting that “Paul Newman is only half Globalist” and “Baseball Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax is also a Globalist.”
Carol Channing, z”l
Actress Carol Channing, best known for playing the role of Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly more than 4500 times in her career, died last week at the age of 97. Channing was raised as a Christian Scientist, though she later discovered that her mother was Jewish. She learned Yiddish fluently from her first husband’s grandfather, Sam Cohen. Which of the following details another time she interacted with the Jewish community?
Carol Channing by John Mathew Smith is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
A. In 1964, Channing sang a version of Hello Dolly rewritten as Hello Lyndon, which President Lyndon Johnson used on the campaign trail. In fact, this was her second recreation of that song for a politician, as she sang Shalom David for Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion earlier in 1964, at a celebration in his honor hosted by the United Israel Appeal organization in New York, following Ben-Gurion’s retirement from government at the end of 1963.
B. Channing was known for her voice, her big eyes, and platinum blonde hair. Though she performed in her real hair early in her career, over time the constant dying and teasing damaged her hair, and she eventually began wearing a wig. A hair and makeup artist who worked with Channing during Hello Dolly directed her to Claire Grunwald of Claire Accuhair in Midwood, Brooklyn. Almost all of Claire’s client base was Orthodox women who must wear wigs in public to maintain modesty. Grunwald and Channing became very good friends, with Channing attending Passover seders and other holiday celebrations at Claire’s apartment.
C. Carol Channing had one son, with her second husband Alex Carson. That son, named Channing, was not raised Jewish. However, he learned that his mother was in fact Jewish (by virtue of the fact that her mother, Adelaide Glaser was Jewish), and that therefore he too was Jewish. He had many Jewish friends in school, and eventually decided he wanted to have a bar mitzvah. Channing respected his wishes, and her son had a bar mitzvah at Central Synagogue in New York, followed by a party at Sardi’s Restaurant.
D. At Temple Israel in Hollywood, the tradition was to announce, just before the start of Yom Kippur services, that the reserved seats up front which were not occupied would now be available for anyone to sit in. One year, Carol Channing attended services there, and the rabbi had her make that announcement from the bima. One congregant complained out loud, “The nerve of them! Bringing in a Carol Channing impersonator — and for the High Holidays!”
E. Channing’s first lead role on Broadway was in the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, where she sang the song Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend. To promote the show, the producers set up a stage on 47th Street in the heart of New York’s Diamond District, and Channing would appear daily and sing that song. Chassidim who worked in many of the diamond businesses there began disrupting the events saying that it was improper for religious men to hear a woman sing. Not wanting to end the show promotion, the producers convinced the Chassidim that this was actually a Carol Channing impersonator in drag, so the prohibition against hearing a woman sing did not apply. Satisfied, the Chassidim instead joined in, dancing the hora as “she” sang.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the playwright and composer who wrote the mega-hit Broadway show Hamilton, and who is currently starring in the movie, Mary Poppins Returns, just returned to the role of Alexander Hamilton in a production of the show in Puerto Rico. Miranda staged the show there to raise funds and bring attention to the island from which his family came, as they still struggle to recover from the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017. When Miranda married Vanessa Nadal in 2010, he surprised her and the wedding guests at the reception with a performance of L'Chaim, from Fiddler on the Roof. What previous musical Jewish connection does Miranda have?
Lin-Manuel Miranda Walk of Fame ceremony by Luke Harold.
A. Miranda participated in the chorus during elementary school at Hunter College Elementary School. One of the songs the chorus sang at Chanukkah time was Sivivon. According to Miranda, “My part in Sivivon was to sing ‘Sov’ about 6,000 times in a row.”
B. In 2002, shortly after graduating from college, Miranda participated in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, the premier training program for musical theater composers. He partnered with another participant who had begun writing a musical version of the Biblical story of Moses set in modern times. Among Miranda’s contributions was the song Ten Cool Commandments, which Miranda later used as the basis for the song Ten Duel Commandments in Hamilton.
C. Growing up in New York City, Miranda attended Hunter College High School from 7th through 12th grade, where many of his friends were Jewish. In 1993, when he was thirteen years old, he wrote and performed a song at a friend’s bar mitzvah party called Today You’re A Man/Today You’re My Man.
D. At Wesleyan College, Miranda was a member of the Jewish a capella group The Mazeltones. Their repertoire included the song Hinei Ba Hashalom, where Miranda sang the lead, even pronouncing the guttural Hebrew “CH” sound perfectly.
E. Growing up in New York City, Hamilton had many Jewish friends, including his best friend, Davey Goldblum. Miranda would sometimes go with Goldblum to services at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in their neighborhood on the upper East Side of Manhattan. Miranda later spoke of his vivid memory of the old Jewish men at the kiddush after services, all rushing to grab a small glass of Slivovitz. Said Miranda, “The old men used to jostle at the table for this little glass of schnapps, and they would start singing. Davey said it’s some kind of bracha, a blessing. It went something like this: ‘And I am not throwing away my shot/I am not throwing away my schnapps/Oy vey, I’m just like my misphoches/I’m young, scrappy and falling on my toches/And I’m not throwing away my shot’.”
Nancy Pelosi
Following the election of a Democratic-majority House of Representatives, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi has just been elected as Speaker of the House. Pelosi, a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community, is the only woman to have ever held that post, and the first person in sixty years to regain that position after her party had lost their majority status. What did Pelosi do once when speaking to a Jewish audience which impressed those who were listening to her?
A. Shortly after the neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville in 2017, Pelosi was addressing an audience at Temple Emanu-El, the large Reform synagogue on Fifth Avenue in New York, when a protestor in the back of the room stood and shouted, “Jews will not replace us.” As the audience reacted with trepidation while security guards removed the protestor, Pelosi began singing the Star Spangled Banner. The entire audience stood and joined in, after which Pelosi received a huge round of applause.
B. In October of 2018, Pelosi was addressing an audience at the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly convention, which met in Tel Aviv for the first time. An alarm went off in the room, and attendees were advised to shelter in place while officials determined whether there was a serious threat. One security official approached Pelosi on the speaker’s platform to lead her through a secure back exit, but Pelosi insisted on remaining in the room with attendees, saying that she deserved no better treatment than any of the convention delegates.
C. Pelosi was addressing an AIPAC meeting in San Franciso a few weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, when an alarm went off in the building, causing much consternation in the room. As people reacted, in some cases, heading for the exits, Pelosi began reciting the words of the Israeli national anthem, Hatikva, which brought much calm and comfort to those assembled.
D. Pelosi spoke this past Sunday at a meeting of the National Jewish Democratic Council, a lobbying organization that promotes Jewish values within the Democratic Party. In response to a question about freshman congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who used a vulgarity about Donald Trump when calling for his impeachment, Pelosi said, “I probably have a generational reaction to it, but in any event I’m not in the censorship business. As the Israeli writer Amos Oz, may his memory be for a blessing, wrote recently, ‘Listen, you don’t necessarily have to agree to what you listen to, but listen very carefully. Listen even to voices which you regard as dangerous, abhorrent, terrible, monstrous.’ Oz is right. We all need to listen to every voice, even when they speak with words that do not reflect our personal values.”
E. Pelosi was the guest speaker at a meeting of Magen Tzedek, an organization within the Conservative Jewish movement which seeks to bring social justice and ethics into the kosher food production industry, ensuring fair treatment of workers and humane treatment of animals. Addressing a room full of shochets, ritual slaughterers, Pelosi said, “Let me show you how to do this right. Put me in a room filled with cattle, and I will cut their heads off and they won’t even know they’re bleeding.”