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Al Jaffee, z”l
Al Jaffee died last week at the age of 102. Jaffee was one of “The Usual Gang of Idiots” who wrote and produced Mad Magazine under the leadership of editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines. Mad Magazine’s humor had a very Jewish slant, including regular use of Yiddish and faux-Yiddish words, such as furshlugginer, bveebleftzer, ganef and farshimmelt, as a result of the fact that so many of their writers were Jewish. Jaffee was best known for creating the fold-in back cover and writing the “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” feature. Besides writing for Mad Magazine, Jaffee was a regular contributor to the Moshiach Times, a children’s magazine published by the Chabad Lubavitch movement, where he wrote The Shpy, about a bumbling secret agent/Torah scholar whose mission was to defeat the YH, the Yetzer Hora (the Evil Inclination). In an homage to the speech pattern of Humphrey Bogart, the Shpy pronounced words beginning with the letter S in a “softened way” with an SH sound. For example, the Shpy once said, “I shtarted Shpy pre-shchool when I was very young and shtudied hard in the hope that I might eventually get into Shecret Shpy Shchool.” And when he invented a repellent to keep the Yetzer Hora away, he marketed the product with the slogan “Let us shpray.” What character did Al Jaffee create who assisted the Shpy on his missions?
Al Jaffee 20101009 New York Comic Con-8 by Marnie Joyce is licensed under CC BY 2.0
A. Sham Shpade.
B. Mendel the Mensch.
C. Captain Klutz.
D. Kalman the Kosher Cowboy.
E. Alfred E. Jewman.
Convention Seder
There is an annual convention in April at the Javits Center in New York which always falls around the Passover holiday. In 2013, a Jewish participant came up with the idea of holding a seder for the Jewish attendees at the convention. He chose New York’s Katz’s Deli as the site for the seder. This seder has been held annually ever since (except for two times during the pandemic), with a few dozen attendees enjoying matzah ball soup, tzimmes, wine, and pastrami on matzah. The afikomen is hidden under one of the chairs in advance, and whoever sits in that chair gets a prize. What is the name of the group which holds this seder at Katz’s every year, and what is the afikomen prize?
Katz's Deli by Tam is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
A. The group JETS, the Jewish Entrepeneurs at the Toy Show, holds the Katz’s Deli seder during the annual Toy Fair New York trade show. The person sitting in the chair with the afikomen gets to write a trivia question to be included in the next year’s edition of Trivial Pursuit: Judaism.
B. The group JAWS, the Jewish Auto Writers Society of America, holds the event during the New York International Auto Show at the Javits Center. The person sitting in the chair with the afikomen gets to drive a fancy car for the duration of the show.
C. The group, JAPS, the Jewish Anime Producers Society, holds their annual anime seder at Katz’s Deli during the ANIME NYC Expo at the Javits Center. The person sitting in the chair with the afikomen gets to draw what will become the cover of the Hagaddah which the group will use at next year’s seder, featuring Moses and the Israelites drawn in anime style.
D. The group FU-Jews, the Jewish Florists Union, holds the annual seder event to coincide with the New York Spring Floral Extravaganza at the Javits Center. The person sitting in the chair with the afikomen receives a floral arrangement featuring a wandering Jew plant.
E. The group, Bible Tribal PriBle, or the Biblical Tribe of the Priestly Blessing, is a group of Kohanim, the priestly descendants of Aaron. Every year they attend the Star Trek Mission New York convention at the Javits Center, where they commune with fans of Mr. Spock, who brought fame to the two handed salute of the Kohanim by adopting it as the Vulcan salute. The person sitting in the chair with the afikomen gets to bless all of the attendees by reciting the Priestly Blessing and the Star Trek introduction, Space, the Final Frontier…
Passover Price Gouging
Jews worldwide are preparing for Passover, with the first seder taking place this coming Wednesday. Traditionally, Jews do a thorough cleaning of their houses, removing all chametz, or forbidden foods, particularly leavened bread. Dishes are changed, shelves are lined, and kosher-for-Passover products replace the year-round foods in the kitchen. Sadly, however, there are unscrupulous businesses which take advantage of those celebrating this holiday. New York Attorney General Letitia James recently issued a consumer alert warning New Yorkers to be “cautious of practices targeting Jewish communities before Passover.” What type of business did she particularly criticize for raising prices dramatically prior to recent Passover holidays?
Photograph by Mark D. Zimmerman
A. James particularly criticized some hardware stores and local shops for raising the price of cleaning supplies including brooms, vacuum cleaners, and garbage bags. She referenced one store in an Orthodox neighborhood in Brooklyn which her investigators found selling paper towels for $4/roll, rather than the normal price of about $1/roll.
B. Attorney General James expressly warned New York state liquor stores that there will be no tolerance for price-gouging of kosher wine at Passover time. The attorney general noted that last year her office had received over 100 complaints about unusually high prices for kosher-for-Passover wines. She reminded wine and liquor store owners that they were at risk of having their state liquor license pulled if they violated New York State anti-price gouging laws.
C. Attorney General James called out car washes, as Orthodox Jews not only clean their houses, but they apply the same rules to their vehicles. Many religious Jews bring their cars to car washes prior to the holiday, and in recent years there are reports of car washes in Orthodox neighborhoods raising their prices by 50% prior to the Passover holiday.
D. The attorney general specifically warned New York’s Fulton Street Fish Market vendors, whose sales of carp, whitefish, and pike account for 80% of their April sales. Said James, “At a time when our Jewish citizens celebrate around the seder table with matzah, haroseth, bitter herbs, and gefilte fish, we must ensure that they are not taken advantage of by unscrupulous fishmongers and other vendors.”
E. The attorney general’s consumer alert called out sellers of beard brushes for unfairly raising their prices. “The search for chametz is one of the most important pre-Passover traditions,” said the attorney general. “We must be sure that our Orthodox citizens not be taken advantage of as they buy beard brushes so they can thoroughly clean their beards of any hiding bread crumbs.”
Health Issues Among Haredi Men
A recent study at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Academic College confirmed that Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men have a higher rate of what medical problem than the general population?
Ultra-Orthodox (twist & pray) by Max Sat is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0
A. Spinal problems including herniated discs and sciatica, as a result of shuckling, the rapid front to back swaying that Haredi men perform while praying, to increase their concentration and religious intensity.
B. Heat exhaustion, resulting from rapid walking in hot conditions while wearing the traditional Chassidic garb including a tallit katan (prayer shawl) underneath a long sleeved shirt and black suit, as well as a large fur hat.
C. Neck problems (particularly Vagus nerve compression) which result from the wearing of streimels, the very heavy fur hats worn by Chassidic Jewish men, that put strong downward pressure on the neck.
D. Nearsightedness, from leaning in very closely to material (often with very small font size) as they read, compared to the non-ultra-Orthodox population.
E. Sore throats from pronouncing so many Chof (כ) and Chet (ח) sounds.
Elliot Resnick, Jewish Press Editor
Elliot Resnick, editor of the Jewish Press newspaper and online news site at the time of the January 6 Capitol insurrection, was arrested last week and charged with a number of felonies for his participation in the assault on the Capitol building. Among the charges are obstructing law enforcement, assaulting police officers, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct. At the time of the insurrection, the Jewish Press publishers asserted that Resnick was simply covering the riot along with other journalists. However, Resnick was ultimately fired as editor of the newspaper in May 2021. Resnick has always been a controversial figure, having called the gay rights movement “evil” and having made derogatory comments about Black people, including a tweet from 2019 which read, “Can someone give me a coherent reason why blackface is racist?”. In October 2020, Resnick wrote an opinion piece in Newsweek entitled, In Defense of Trump's Character, where he argued that President Trump was “in many ways, an exemplary role model, particularly for our youth.” He went on to note that “Trump sleeps little, disdains vacations, works exhaustively to succeed and seems to possess boundless energy,” and that “He has little patience for the tame life.” What did Resnick offer as proof of that claim?
Jewish Press logo is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A. Resnick wrote that Trump was the first president in 170 years who spent more nights sleeping away from the White House than in it.
B. Resnick wrote that Trump was the first president in 170 years not to own a pet.
C. Resnick wrote that Trump was the first president in 170 years who didn’t share a bedroom in the White House with his wife.
D. Resnick wrote that Trump was the first president in 170 years who ordered take-out fast food practically every time he ate in the White House.
E. Many presidents participated in sports at the White House. For example, Richard Nixon installed a bowling alley in the White House. Gerald Ford had a swimming pool built on the South Lawn where he swam laps. And Barack Obama had the White House tennis court adapted to allow for basketball playing. But according to Resnick, Trump demonstrated that “he has little patience for the tame life” by regularly bungee jumping from the White House balcony overlooking the South Lawn.
Topol, z”l
Israeli actor Chaim Topol died last week at the age of 87. The actor, who professionally used only his last name because too frequently people would mispronounce his first name, Chaim, as “shame,” is most famous for playing the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Topol starred as Tevye in the 1971 Norman Jewison film, and played the role on Broadway, on London’s West End, and on numerous tours around the world. In 2012 The Jerusalem Post called Topol “Israel’s most famous export since the Jaffa orange.” Besides singing and acting, Topol was known for what other skills and accomplishments?
Chaim Topol, 1967 by Ilan Bruner is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A. Topol was an accomplished artist, having illustrated more than two dozen books. He also drew a series of portraits of Israeli presidents which appeared in 2013 on Israeli postage stamps.
B. When he was in the Israeli army, Topol was trained in communications technology. After leaving the military, his first job was in a recording studio, and he continued to use these skills when he began acting, helping the small theaters where he worked with their amplification systems and sound effects.
C. Topol often served as a shaliach tzibbur, a prayer leader, in his synagogue in Tel Aviv where he grew up. Even after he gained fame as an actor, whenever he was in Israel he would return to that synagogue on Saturday morning to lead services with his beautiful baritone voice.
D. Topol was raised in a poor section of Tel Aviv, but after high school he moved to Kibbutz Geva, where he worked in the kitchen as a chef. Later, whenever Topol played Tevye (on Broadway, in London, and on tour) he would always cook dinner for the cast and crew following the Sunday matinee performance.
E. Before becoming an actor Topol had trained as an architect. He was particularly well known for designing houses in Israel that included one long staircase just going up and one even longer coming down. And one more leading nowhere, just for show.
Purim on TV
Purim will be celebrated this week, with costumes, hamantaschen, Megillah reading, and Purim shpiels. Purim has occasionally made an appearance in popular culture, including the 1960 movie Esther and the King starring Joan Collins as Esther, and The Bible Collection: Esther, a 1999 made-for-TV movie starring F. Murray Abraham as Mordecai. The most notable Purim story in a movie was For Your Consideration, the film written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy, which tells of three actors who are generating Oscar buzz for their performances in a “movie within the movie” called Home For Purim. But the studio decides the film is “too Jewish” and renames it Home For Thanksgiving. Purim has also been featured in what television series?
Purim by Arthur Szyk is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A. South Park presented a Purim episode entitled Cartmantaschen featuring Kyle, the Jewish character, as Mordecai, with Cartman (who is regularly portrayed in the series as antisemitic) playing the evil Haman. When Cartman/Haman kills Kenny (a character who was killed in almost every South Park episode) for refusing to bow down to him, Kyle/Mordecai decides that enough is enough, and that Cartman should be punished. He goes to Liane Cartman, Cartman’s mother, who plays the queen in this episode, and convinces her that Cartman should be hung on the gallows. She orders that this be done, but Cartman, like Kenny, comes back to life and returns to South Park for the next episode.
B. Sesame Street included a sketch about Purim, where Big Bird played Mordecai, Abby Cadabby played Esther, Oscar the Grouch played Haman, and Kermit the Frog played King Achashverosh. Oscar, as Haman, tried to convince King Achashverosh to throw a parade in his honor, but Esther, under urging from Mordecai, explained to Achashverosh that Haman yelled at all of the children when they asked him to share his hamantaschen. As a result, Achashverosh threw a parade honoring Mordecai and Esther instead and everyone on Sesame Street ate hamantaschen.
C. On the successor show to All in the Family, Archie has taken over Kelcy’s Bar and renamed it Archie Bunker’s Place. He is also raising his niece Stephanie, the Jewish daughter of Edith’s step-cousin. In one episode Stephanie complains to Archie that she doesn’t have any Jewish friends. Archie’s partner in the bar, Murray Klein (played by Martin Balsam) tells Archie that since it’s March, they should throw a Purim party at the bar. Archie doesn’t know what that is, but Murray starts calling his Jewish friends and relatives, and the following week, on Purim, the bar fills with Jewish people in costume. They put on a Purim skit, with Stephanie as Queen Esther, Murray as Mordecai, bar regular Barney Hefner as King Achashverosh and Archie as Haman. The play ends with everyone throwing popcorn from the bar at Archie while shaking greggars.
D. VeggieTales presented an episode titled Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen. VeggieTales was an animated video series retelling Christian Bible stories, with characters played by fruits and vegetables. In this Purim episode, Esther, a leek, and Mordecai, a grape with a Yiddish accent, overcome Haman, who is a gourd, leading to Haman’s banishment to the Island of Perpetual Tickling (the shows creators didn’t think it would be appropriate to hang Haman the gourd from a gallows as in the real Purim story).
E. In an episode of The Apprentice that never aired, host Donald Trump gave contestants the assignment of building a gallows. Trump explained to the contestants that the gallows were needed to be used against Mexicans who are “bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime.” When show producers stopped the taping and told Trump that this was not an acceptable program, he replied, “I’m just kidding. It’s not for the Mexicans. It’s for the Jews. I’m having a Purim party with my Jewish grandchildren, and I’m going to be Haman. I’ll tell my Jewish grandchildren that they will be hanged on the gallows, but don’t worry. Ivanka won’t let that happen. She’ll play Queen Esther and put me on the gallows. Even though I really think it should be Jared.”
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky Auction
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a Haredi authority in Israel on legal and ethical practice, died in March 2022 at the age of 94 in Bnei Brak. Among his rabbinic rulings was that it was forbidden to own a smartphone without first receving permission from a halahkic authority, and that the owner could not sell the phone, but must burn it. He also declared that Israeli paramedics should treat terrorist victims before treating the terrorist, even if the terrorist was more gravely injured. And in 2016 he ruled that medical marijuana was kosher for Passover. Approximately 750,000 mourners attended the funeral of Rabbi Kanievsky. Many of Rabbi Kanievsky’s personal items have gone to auction, including a letter of recommendaiton signed by him and other rabbis, which sold for $450, and Rabbi Kanievsky’s tena’im, or engagement agreement, written when he became betrothed to Batsheva Elyashiv, which sold for $11,250. What other item owned by Rabbi Kanievsky is now up for auction, with a starting bid of $3200?
Rabi chaim kanyevsky by Chaim1982 is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0
A. The yad (Torah pointer) which Rabbi Kanievsky used whenever he read from the Torah scroll.
B. The kiddush cup that he always used when reciting the kiddush on Friday night.
C. A challah cover which had originally belonged to his parents in Pinsk, which they brought with them when they moved to Palestine in 1934.
D. The tallit (prayer shawl) which Rabbi Kanievsky wore at his bar mitzvah in 1941.
E. A pair of pants which Rabbi Kanievsky often wore when he was studying Torah.
Jimmy Carter
The Carter Center issued a statement that following recent hospital stays by President Jimmy Carter, the 98-year-old former president “decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention.” Among President Carter’s greatest accomplishments was the 1978 Camp David Accords, agreements signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat under Carter’s initiative and guidance. The agreements then led to the awarding of the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize to Begin and Sadat and the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. In September of 1978, following the Camp David Accords agreement, Jimmy Carter addressed a joint session of Congress as Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat sat in the balcony. What did Jimmy Carter say at the end of his speech?
Jimmy Carter 2013 by Commonwealth Club from San Francisco, San Jose, United States is licensed under CC BY 2.0
A. Said President Carter, “President Sadat, Prime Minister Begin, I would like to leave you with this final message. As it says in Isaiah, Chapter 57, Verse 19, ‘Peace, peace to the far and to the near, says the Lord.’ May God bless you all, the people of Israel, the people of Egypt, and the people of the United States of America.”
B. Carter looked up at Sadat and Begin and said, “As God says in the Koran in Chapter 5, Verse 8, ‘O you who believe, stand up as witnesses for God in all fairness and do not let the hatred of a people deviate you from justice. Be just: This is closest to piety, and beware of God. Surely God is aware of all you do.’ I know that the people of Israel and the people of Egypt will no longer let hatred deviate them from the path of justice.”
C. President Carter concluded his remarks by saying, “And I would like to say, as a Christian, to these two friends of mine, the words of Jesus, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be the children of God.’ ”
D. President Carter closed his remarks to Congress, saying, “I’d like to conclude with the words of our Lord, as stated in Ezekiel, Chapter 37, Verse 26: ‘I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting peace.’ ”
E. Jimmy Carter concluded his remarks, saying, “God bless Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin. And oh yeah, I’ve looked on Golda Meir with lust. I’ve committed adultery with Golda Meir in my heart many times.”
Israeli Spy Satellites
The United States recently shot down a Chinese spy balloon which had sailed across the American continent. Since that time, there have been reports of previous Chinese spy balloons. And the United States military has now shot down three additional unidentified objects, over Alaska, Canada’s Yukon Territory, and Michigan. Of course, many countries have utilized spy balloons, satellites, and other forms of reconnaissance, including Israel. In July 2020 Israel launched the Ofek 16 reconnaissance satellite into space, the latest in a series of military satellite launches going back to 1988. Israel has also deployed a series of commercial spy satellites under the EROS name (Earth Resources Observation Satellite), with the EROS C-3 satellite having been sent into space last December. How was the EROS C-3 satellite delivered into orbit?
EROS-B Satellite is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
A. As part of the Israel-Germany Strategic Alliance program established in 2021 when German Prime Minister Angela Merkel visited Israel, the two countries greatly expanded their military intelligence sharing. As part of this effort, Germany agreed to launch three Israeli spy satellites into space, including the EROS C-3 satellite which was deployed last December.
B. The Israeli satellite was launched into space on a Falcon 9 rocket sent up by Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX. The rocket was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
C. The Israel Space Agency, known in Hebrew as Sokhnut heKhalal haYisraelit, launched the satellite from the Palmachim Airbase located on the Mediterranean coast near the city of Rishon LeZion.
D. The EROS C-3 satellite was sent into space by the United States Air Force, utilizing a rocket launched by Virgin Galactic, the space flight company founded by Richard Branson. The launch took place from Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America base north of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
E. In an arrangement between the Israeli Defense Forces Air and Space Division and Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, the satellite was raised into the heavens via Jacob’s ladder. In exchange for access to the ladder, the IDF promised the Religious Zionist Party that it would not take spy pictures on the Sabbath.