Weekly Quiz - Pre 2019
Tekiah Gedolah
We end Yom Kippur with Tekiah Gedolah, the final long blast of the shofar. Which of the following animal horns can be used to make a kosher shofar?
A. The branched horn of the pronghorn, and the straight partially ridged horn of the gemsbok.
B. The hollow horn of a cow, and the three-twisted horn of the kudu.
C. The antler of a deer, and the straight horn of the eland.
D. The pointy horn of the unicorn and the short stubby horn of the jackalope.
E. The horn of a giraffe, called an ossicone, and the sharp-tipped horn of the rhinocerous.
Shana Tova
Besides Rosh Hashanah (the 1st of Tishrei), Jewish tradition notes three other New Years. You're probably familiar with the 15th of Shvat (Tu B'Shvat), the New Year of the trees. What are the other two?
A. The 15th of Nisan, which is the first night of Chanukkah, the New Year of miracles, and the 1st of Elul, which is the New Year for animal tithes.
B. The 1st of Nisan, which is the New Year for counting the reign of the kings of ancient Israel, and the 1st of Elul, which is the New Year for animal tithes.
C. The 1st of Nisan, which marks the New Year for counting Pilgrimage holidays, and the 14th of Adar, which is Purim, recognized as the New Year of freedom.
D. The 23rd of Tishrei, which is Simchat Torah, the New Year of the Torah, and the 29th of Tevet, which corresponds with the secular New Year, January 1.
E. The 12th of Nevuh, celebrating the New Year of life after your son finally gets a job and moves out of the basement, and the 16th of Nissan, marking the release of the New Year models.
iPhone 6, Apple Pay, & Apple Watch
The Israeli company On-Track Solutions saw its stock jump by as much as 75% last Wednesday after Apple announced the iPhone 6, Apple Pay, and Apple Watch. What does On-Track Solutions make that led to the rise in its stock price?
A. The company makes products for the Orthodox community. One product is ShabbatGuard, that will automatically turn off the Apple Watch a half hour before Shabbat, disabling it until one hour after sunset on Saturday.
B. In 2010, they created a security camera that is placed in apple orchards in Israel to detect thieves, as the theft of apples is common in advance of Rosh Hashanah, when there is great demand. The camera is called "Apple Watch," and Apple announced that they will be buying On-Track Solutions in order to obtain rights to use that name for their new watch.
C. The company makes software called ShekelPay, which will enable iPhones to pay for items in Israeli shekels, which is not a currency that is supported directly by the Apple Pay software.
D. Apple Pay is only designed to work with the new iPhone 6. On-Track Solutions makes a product call WAVE, which is a device that plugs into older models of the iPhone, enabling them to use the Apple Pay system to purchase goods.
E. On-Track makes software called ReverseTrack, which will replace the Roman numerals on the Apple Watch with Hebrew letters, and it will cause the hands to rotate in reverse, as Hebrew is read from right to left.
Joan Rivers, z”l
Early in Joan Rivers's career, she performed with Barbra Streisand. What did Joan comment about working with Barbra?
A. They performed together in a high school production of Fiddler On The Roof. Barbra played Tzeitel and Joan played Hodel. In her book, Diary of a Mad Diva, Joan wrote, "I knew right away that she had a stage career ahead of her. And I knew right away that the only way I would ever become famous is by making fun of people like her.”
B. They worked together in New York in a stage play, Driftwood, as sisters, and Joan said Barbra "was all nose.”
C. They worked together in New York in a stage play, Driftwood, as lesbian lovers, and Joan said Barbra "was all tongue.”
D. They competed against each other in a talent show at Erasmus High School in Brooklyn. In her memoir, I Hate Everyone...Starting With Me, Joan wrote, "I went on first, but when Barbra performed after me, I went to Mr. Greenbaum, the teacher in charge of the contest and said, 'I quit. I'm going to put my head in an oven.' And I never appeared on the same stage with her again.”
E. They both performed regularly in New York clubs including the Blue Angel and Bon Soir, but seldom on the same evening. Joan said that "every time I went to an audition, the management told me that they only have room for one loud Jewish girl with an irritating accent. And they didn't mean me!”
Labor Day
Jewish immigrants made up a large part of the early American labor movement, and Jewish women, in particular, were a significant part of the membership of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU). The union, driven in part by the insight of women, recognized the importance of addressing not only labor issues such as wages and safety, but also broader human issues, such as education, community, and dignity. What phrase captured this concept?
A. Avodah v’Chaim (Work and Life).
B. Bread and Roses.
C. Guns and Roses.
D. Parnosseh iz a refueh tsu alleh krenk (A good livelihood is a cure for all ills).
E. All work and no play make Jews very dull boys and girls.