Actor and comedian Jerry Stiller died last week at the age of 92. Stiller was most famous for playing the quintessentially Jewish, but technically non-Jewish Italian Frank Costanza, father of George Costanza on the Seinfeld sitcom. Born to Polish immigrant parents, Stiller grew up in Brooklyn and the Lower East Side, and studied drama after serving in the army during World War II. He married comedian and actor Anne Meara, and the two created a hugely successful comedy duo, focusing on their lives as an intermarried couple. Among their bits was an “I hate you” routine, in which Meara called Stiller a “matza head” and he called her a “shillelagh shiksa.” What was one of Jerry Stiller’s first acting roles?

Rest in Peace, Jerry Stiller by Kzoo Cowboy is in the public domain

A. He played the part of the sailor, Ralph Rackstraw, in a high school production of H.M.S. Pinafore.

B. He had a small ensemble part in a Second Avenue Theatre production of the Yiddish play Yankele, which starred Molly Picon.

C. He played Franklin Roosevelt in a high school production of Roosevelt Goes to Heaven.

D. He played Adolf Hitler in a high school production of Hitler Goes to Heaven.

E. He played Charlie B. Barkin in a high school production of All Dogs Go to Heaven.

Click here for the answer.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡

Rock and roll pioneer Little Richard died last week at the age of 87. Richard (whose real name was Richard Penniman) had his first hit, Tutti Frutti, in 1955, followed by other hits including Long Tall Sally, Good Golly Miss Molly, Jenny Jenny, and Slippin' and Slidin'. He was a major influence on so many musicians who followed, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Joan Jett, Brian Wilson, Bette Midler, and Elton John. Which of the following is true about Little Richard?

IMG_8246 by xrayspx is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

A. Little Richard was a presenter at the 1988 Grammy Awards, announcing the winner of the Best New Artist category. Richard, who had never won a Grammy, held up the envelope and said, “the best new artist is -- me!” After a standing ovation from the audience, he again held up the envelope and said, “and the winner is…still me! Being a brown Jew from Georgia, I had to tell the truth.”

B. Little Richard was one of the first musical heroes of Bob Dylan, who wrote in his high school senior yearbook that his life’s ambition was “to join ‘Little Richard’.” They met many times, and Little Richard was one of the main influences on Dylan’s decision to convert to Christianity in the late 1970’s. And oddly, it was Dylan who influenced Little Richard when Richard embraced Judaism in the mid-1980’s.

C. Shlomo Carlebach, the rabbi, composer, singer, and spiritual leader, began his singing career in Greenwich Village, where he met and worked together with Bob Dylan and Pete Seeger, among others. Dylan told “Reb Shlomo” about Richard and lent him some of his Little Richard albums. Carlebach later said, “I learned a lot about the importance of lyrics in music from Dylan, but I learned everything about the soul of music from Little Richard.”

D. At one point in his life, Little Richard converted to Judaism. One Friday in the 1980’s, Little Richard was recording with Paul Shaffer and Richard said he had to be done by 5pm because “It’s Shabbos and I’m an Orthodox Jew, have been for years. After sundown, I do no work.” The session ran a bit long, but Shaffer was able to show Little Richard that Shabbat didn’t actually start until 5:21pm that day. Little Richard told Shaffer, “Baby, you’re a better Jew than me.”

E. Little Richard was born and raised in Macon, Georgia. His family, like many black families in the south, had contact with the local Jewish community because many of the local businesses that served the black community were owned by Jewish immigrant families. As a child, Richard had already begun applying his musical and comedic talents when talking about his life, including referring to the local Jews as Heebie Jeebies. He eventually used that phrase in one of his first songs, Heeby-Jeebies, though the song had nothing to do with Jews.

Click here for the answer.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡

For the first time, Asian giant hornets have been identified in America, having been found in the state of Washington, as well as in British Columbia. The hornets, which can grow up to two inches in length, can kill human beings, and can devastate bee colonies. With  honey bee populations already threatened by pesticides and climate change, the hornets could lead to a further decline, negatively impacting all plants that depend on bee pollination. Honey holds a significant place in Jewish tradition, most prominently at Rosh Hashanah when we dip apples in honey for a sweet new year. There was a question as to whether honey is actually kosher. The Mishna says in Tractate Bechorot, “That which comes from something which is Tameh [non-Kosher] is Tameh, and that which comes of that which is Tahor [Kosher] is Tahor.” Therefore, for example, camel’s milk and stork eggs are not kosher as camels and storks are not kosher animals. Why is honey kosher, when the bees which produce it are not kosher?

Honeycomb and bees by Robert Schmidt is in the public domain

A. Numerous times in the Torah the land of Israel is referred to by God as a land flowing with milk and honey, first in Exodus, Chapter 3 Verse 8, “I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” Therefore, the rabbis ruled that God would not have used this phrase if honey were a non-kosher product.

B. The rabbis ruled that honey is kosher because they believed that bees did not produce honey, but only stored and transported it. The fact is that the rabbis are wrong, and bees do produce honey. But that knowledge has not changed the ruling that honey is kosher.

C. The Hebrew word for honey is d’vash. Using the system of gematria, wherein the numerical value of words is calculated and interpreted, the rabbis noted that the value of d’vash is 306. The word isha, meaning woman, also has the value of 306. Referencing the line from Genesis, Chapter 2, Verse 22, “And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man,” the rabbis noted that just as God brought woman to man, so too did He bring honey to man; therefore it must be a kosher product.

D. A quote in Tractate Bechorot says, “It is a land of wheat, barley, grapes, figs and pomegranates–a land of olives and honey.” From this, the rabbis defined honey as the sweet syrup of such fruits, rather than the product from bees. Over time, the designation of “fruit honeys” as kosher was extended to all forms of honey.

E. Honey was considered to be non-kosher until a famous rabbi, Reb Winnie, known as the Pooh-Bear Rebbe, noted that “The only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey....and the only reason for making honey is so I can eat it.”

Click here for the answer.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡

While it is still not clear if there will be an NFL football season this fall, the league is moving forward, having just held their annual draft of college players. The ceremony took place via teleconference, without much of the pomp that normally accompanies the announcements by teams of their selected players. One college player got the attention of the Jewish world in February when he was interviewed during the NFL Combine, the event where prospective players are showcased prior to the draft. The athlete appeared for an interview wearing a Star of David around his neck, and a reporter asked him the significance of the star. Who was the player and what was his explanation?

Football in the Superdome by Mark Zimmerman is in the public domain

A. The player was Yetur Gross-Matos, the Penn State defensive end who was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the 2nd round. Gross-Matos said, “I was raised Christian by my mom. My folks were divorced, but I still saw my Dad a lot. He’s Jewish so I wear the Star of David for him.”

B. The player was Shaquille Quarterman, the University of Miami linebacker who was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 4th round. Quarterman explained that at Miami he was a member of the historically Jewish Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. Said Quarterman, “Many of my friends in ΑΕΠ were Jewish, and a bunch of us bought the same Star of David to wear. It means a lot to my brothers and me.”

C. The player was Justin Herbert, the University of Oregon quarterback who was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 1st round. When asked by a reporter from the Los Angeles Times why he was wearing a Star of David, Herbert looked surprised, and answered, “Umm, a Star of David? I don’t really know what that is. This is a sheriff’s badge. My grandpa was a sheriff in Eugene, where I grew up. When he died he left me his badge, and I’ve worn it ever since.”

D. The player was Josh Uche, the University of Michigan linebacker who was selected by the New England Patriots in the 2nd round. Uche explained that while he was at Michigan, there were rising tensions between black and Jewish students over issues including the Israeli/Palestinian problem and Black Lives Matter protests on campus. Uche joined a group of black and Jewish students who came together to attempt to find common ground and defuse the conflicts. Said Uche, “I became very good friends with a Jewish student who gave me this Star of David as a present on my birthday. That was real cool. It has a lot of meaning to me.”

E. The player was Jerry Jeudy, the Alabama wide receiver who was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first round. Jeudy explained, “My last name’s Jeudy. People sometimes call me Jeu...so I just got a Jewish star. I’m not Jewish though.”

Click here for the answer.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡