Weekly Quiz - Pre 2019
The Grammys
What two 2014 Grammy award winners have Jewish fathers?
A. Bruno Mars (father Peter Hernandez was a percussionist) and Thomas Bangalter, one of the Daft Punk robots (father Daniel Vangarde was a songwriter).
B. Edie Brickell (father Eddie Brickell was a professional bowler) and Jay Z (father David Zeplowitz is an accountant).
C. Dave Grohl (father Stephen Grohl is a teacher and also fought Foo when he was younger) and Ringo Starr (father Ray Starkey was an alcoholic who abandoned the family when Ringo was young).
D. Herb Alpert (father Louis Alpert was a tailor and a mandolin player) and Alicia Keys (father Craig Cook is a flight attendant).
E. Black Sabbath (father is the Jewish Sabbath) and Lorde (father is The Lord Our G-d).
MLK
When speaking about his participation in a Passover seder in Atlanta, what did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. say to Rabbi Israel Dresner?
A. Our destinies are tied together. For some strange reason, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be.
B. I solemnly pledge to do my utmost to uphold the fair name of the Jews -- because bigotry in any form is an affront to us all.
C. It would be impossible to record the contribution that the Jewish people have made toward the Negro’s struggle for freedom–it has been so great.
D. I was enormously impressed that 3,000 years later, these people remember their ancestors were slaves, and they’re not ashamed.
E. I have a dream that one day you will give me your matzah ball recipe.
Arik, z”l
Ariel Sharon's name at birth was Ariel Scheinermann. Why did he change his name to Sharon?
A. He took the name from the reference in the Song of Solomon to the rose of Sharon (Chapter 2, verse 1: "I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys”).
B. He changed his name to honor his mother, whose name was Sharon.
C. The name was given to him by David ben-Gurion, in reference to the Sharon plain, the area where Ariel Sharon was born.
D. He changed his name as an homage to Sharon Stone, as she was a symbol of powerful, beautiful, intelligent Jews.
E. Sharon is Hebrew for "plain." He changed his name to make the point that he saw himself as a simple man, despite his power and success.
Alexa
Who or what named Alexa recently caused nearly $300 million in damages in Jerusalem?
A. Alexa is the name of a pig who escaped from the Jerusalem Zoo and infiltrated the Osem Manufacturing Plant, necessitating a complete cleaning and re-kashering of the facility.
B. The Alexa virus is malware that infected the Jerusalem municipality computers, causing a shutdown of essential governmental services for three days.
C. The Alexa Martyrs Brigade (an Anglicized spelling of al-Aqsa) is a terrorist group that detonated a bomb, destroying a new government office building which was under construction.
D. Alexa is the name of the powerful storm whose snow, blizzard condition winds, and heavy rain wreaked havoc on the city in mid-December, 2013.
E. Alexa Ray Joel, Billy's daughter, belatedly celebrated her bat mitzvah at the Kotel, followed by a wild party at the King David Hotel in which she trashed the ballroom, overturning tables, destroying chandeliers, and breaking dishes.