Weekly Quiz - Pre 2019
Jerry Lewis, z”l
Comedian Jerry Lewis died last week at the age of 91. Lewis, who was Jewish and was born Jerome Levitch, rarely spoke of his religious beliefs, though he did say in reponse to a question about his high school years that he was “the original graffiti artist—I drew a picture of Hitler kissing a Jewish lady!” He visited Israel in 1981 for a telethon, having had a previous visit canceled as he was scheduled to fly to Israel the night before the Six Day War. Which of the following is true about Jerry Lewis?
63 jerry lewis by 1950sUnlimited is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. He is the only performer to receive a nomination for an Academy Award, an Emmy, a Chevalier de l' Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur award in France, a British Academy Film Award, a Cannes Film Festival award, and a Clown d’Or (Golden Clown) award at the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo.
B. He is the only Jewish comedian nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
C. Albert Einstein saw Jerry Lewis’s debut on a local New Jersey television show, and met him afterward, telling Lewis “You did a good job, young man.”
D. Many years ago Jerry was a guest at a Chabad fund raising event in Los Angeles. As Jerry danced in a circle with arms wrapped around the rabbis on either side, he noticed that there was a young boy in the room who was in a wheelchair. Jerry went over to him and twirled his wheelchair around as the boy clapped and sang. From this experience, Jerry decided to do whatever he could to help other handicapped children, leading to the idea of a telethon for Muscular Dystrophy.
E. Early in his performing career, Lewis was booed off the stage at a club in Nashville when the audience realized that he was not the rock 'n' roll performer Jerry Lee Lewis. And oddly, Jerry Lee Lewis was booed off the stage at a concert in Las Vegas when the audience realized that he was not the comedian Jerry Lewis.
Solar Eclipse
Some rabbinic sages say that solar eclipses are bad for gentiles, while lunar eclipses are bad for Jews (based on the idea that gentiles follow a solar calendar, while Jews follow a lunar calendar). In the Gemara Sukkah 29a, it says “When the sun is eclipsed it is a bad omen for the entire world.” The Gemara goes on to state that there are four circumstances that lead to the occurrence of a solar eclipse. One circumstance is when a head judge dies and is not sufficiently eulogized. Another is homosexual relations. The third circumstance is when a betrothed woman yells for help when she is being raped, and no one responds to help her. What is the fourth event that would lead to the bad omen of a solar eclipse, according to the Gemara?
Solar Eclipse - November 13, 2012 by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. When hackers released this season’s Game of Thrones episodes before they aired on HBO.
B. When twin brothers are killed at the same time.
C. When domesticated animals, such as cows and goats, are mistreated by being beaten or starved.
D. When someone defiles the Temple in Jerusalem by entering during a state of impurity (for example, someone who has touched a dead body and not yet cleansed at the mikveh).
E. When Steve Bannon is angry (which explains today’s solar eclipse).
Netanyahu/Trump
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under multiple investigations that may lead to criminal charges. Echoing Donald Trump, Netanyahu has called the charges “fake news” and the investigations “a witch hunt.” What else has Netanyahu said in the past that seems to echo Donald Trump?
A. “Will we surround all of the State of Israel with fences and barriers? The answer is yes. In the area that we live in, we must defend ourselves against the wild beasts.”
B. [Prior to the passing of the Iran deal]. “Let the Ayatollah and his government understand that regardless of any deal they may make, Israel will never tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. And if there is even a hint that Iran is going to threaten us, I assure you, fire and brimstone will rain down upon them like the world hasn’t seen since Sodom and Gomorrah.”
C. “I always lose the election in the polls, and I always win it on election day.”
D. “My level of intervention in the press, trying to control stories, is zero. Subzero.”
E. “If Miri Regev weren’t my minister of culture, perhaps I’d be dating her.”
Trump & Golf
Donald Trump is beginning a 17-day working vacation at the Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey. When Barack Obama was president, Donald Trump tweeted at least 27 times in criticism of Obama for playing golf too much when he should be dealing with the country’s problems (for example: “Obama’s mind, IsIs, ebola, etc.... and then thinking, boy I wish I was on the golf coarse [sic]. What should I wear on the Links” and “While our wonderful president was out playing golf all day, the TSA is falling apart, just like our government! Airports a total disaster!”). In fact, Obama played golf 11 times in his first 7 months, while Trump has already played golf 21 times since his inauguration. What golf story about Donald Trump has a Jewish connection?
Donald Duffs by Steve Jurvetson is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
A. Donald Trump visited Israel in May of this year, and was given a tour of many historic sites in Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The entourage visited the historic amphitheater at Caesarea before driving past Israel’s Caesarea Golf Club, site of the only 18-hole golf course in Israel that meeets international standards. Trump said to Bibi Netanyahu, “Let me buy that decrepit stadium and I’ll build a first class golf club and resort there. Then the world will respect Israel.” Netanyahu and his staffers laughed at what they thought was a joke, but Trump just gazed seriously at them before changing the subject.
B. Donald Trump originally decided to purchase Mar-a-Lago, the estate of socialite and heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, as a winter home for himself and his family. However, he faced major opposition from local politicians and wealthy residents of the area, and long legal battles ensued. At one point, the claim was made that Trump wanted to turn that property into a private club (which, of course, he eventually did) because he was angry that the nearby super exclusive Bath and Tennis Club would not invite him to join. In response to that claim, Trump stated, “Do you think if I wanted to be a member they would have turned me down? I wouldn’t join that club, because they don’t take blacks and Jews.”
C. In October 2009, Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka married Jared Kushner at the Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster, New Jersey, where large tents were set up in the middle of the golf course for the ceremony and reception. Another tent was set up with an entire kosher kitchen inside, as the management of the catering facility in the clubhouse refused to allow their kitchen to be kashered for the event. Originally, Ivanka wanted to arrange for the kitchen in the clubhouse to be kashered, but the catering manager refused, reportedly saying that “the last time those rabbis came into this kitchen they almost burned the place down.” When Ivanka asked her father to intervene, he replied, “When I bought this club, I made a deal with the caterer. I told him, ‘I won't tell you how to run your kitchen, and you don’t tell me how to play golf.’”
D. The Trump International Golf Club in Dubai opened in February 2017 with an invitation-only ceremony. Donald Trump did not attend, but was represented by his sons Eric and Donald Jr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was also scheduled to attend the event, which was originally supposed to take place in the fall of 2016. Construction delays led to the opening being delayed until Feburary. By then, Trump had become president, and on the advice of Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, Trump instructed Kushner to skip the event out of concern that sending Kushner, who is Jewish, might offend some in the Arab world.
E. In 2009, Donald Trump purchased the Pine Hill Golf Club in New Jersey, turning it into a private and exclusive golf resort, the Trump National Golf Course where he is now vacationing. In 2011, when renovations to the course were completed, Trump allowed a Golf Channel camera crew to accompany him on a round of golf. At one point during the filming, Trump approached a couple who were golfing and said to them (while pointing at the three men with whom Trump was playing), “You got some place here, I’ll tell you [referring to the golf course]. Even these spoiled, rich Jewish guys, they can’t believe how good this is, you know?”