The Passover Haggadah traces its roots back roughly 2000 years. While the exact date or authorship isn’t known, the most recent person referenced in the Haggadah is Judah bar Ilai, who lived around 170CE; therefore the Haggadah could not have been written before then. It is Rabbi Judah who summarized the ten plagues via an acronym, דצ"ך עד"ש באח"ב, D’tzach, Adash, B’achav. Perhaps the most famous Haggadah is the Maxwell House Haggadah, first printed in 1932 as a promotional item for the coffee company. Upwards of 50 million copies are in print, and this version was used at the White House seders during the presidency of Barack Obama. Every year new versions of the Haggadah are published, some based on religious perspective, some geared towards particular events in the current news, or some aspect of pop culture. For example, this year a Haggadah was published titled This Haggadah is The Way: A Star Wars Unofficial Passover Parody, for those who want to hold a Darth Seder. A more serious choice is The Heroes Haggadah: Lead the Way to Freedom, which incorporates text about such people as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Rabbi Angela Buchdahl. Which of the following is also a new Haggadah offering for 2024?
We recently wrote a trivia question about a mikveh strike, wherein some women are refusing to go to the mikveh at the end of their monthly period in protest of an Orthodox man who refuses to grant his wife a divorce. Because a man cannot engage in marital relations with his wife until she has participated in this purification ritual, the strikers hope to encourage men to bring pressure on the divorce-refusing husband. The use of the mikveh has been a part of Jewish tradition at least since the first century BCE. The mikveh bath must be filled with “living waters,” such as rainwater or water from a flowing spring. Tap water is not acceptable on its own, but some allow the use of tap water in addition to living water if there is an insufficient quantity of living water. Recently, a Rabbi facing a shortage of living water devised what plan to assure sufficient water for the local mikveh?
A. The mikveh is located in Maine, and the local Rabbi arranged for volunteers to visit a frozen lake, cut out huge blocks of the ice, and then transport them to the mikveh, where they melted and filled the ritual bath.
B. A mikveh located in southern California had depended on rain water until the quantity of rain dropped dramatically, leaving the mikveh with an insufficient amount of living water. The Rabbi contacted neighbors in a square mile perimeter of the mikveh and arranged to install pipes running from dozens of gutter drains to the mikveh, so that they could capture enough water, even during a small rain shower.
C. A Rabbi in Beersheba, located in the Negev desert in Israel, hired a company to seed the clouds in the area of the mikveh, to enhance the amount of rainfall, thus yielding a sufficient amount of living water for the mikveh to operate.
D. A synagogue in Houston found itself without sufficient water for its mikveh, due to the drying up of the local spring which had been their source of water. The Rabbi reached out to donors who paid for water to be trucked in from a river in the Smoky Mountains near Knoxville, thus enabling the mikveh to remain open.
E. A Rabbi in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, arranged for a screening of the movie Love Story. The showing was free, but all attendees had to attach cups to their faces to capture their tears as Ali MacGraw’s character Jenny Cavilleri passed away in the arms of Oliver Barrett IV, played by Ryan O’Neal. Because the tears were flowing, they were considered acceptable for use in a mikveh. The cups were collected and the tears were desalinated utilizing technology from an Israeli engineering company, and participants all received badges for participating which read, “Love means never having to skip the mikveh.”
A rare New Jersey-centered earthquake shook the greater metropolitan New York area and was felt as far away as Philadelphia and Boston. The 4.8 quake and its smaller aftershocks thankfully did no significant damage though many were quite startled by the event. Earthquakes in the Middle East are more common, with references in the books of Amos, Zechariah and Ezekiel to an earthquake believed to have occured around 760 BCE. In fact, the very first line of Amos reads, “The words of Amos, a sheep breeder from Tekoa, who prophesied concerning Israel in the reigns of Kings Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.” Judaism has blessings for almost all occasions. What blessing is specified in the Talmud to be recited upon experiencing an earthquake?
A.Gomel, typically recited after an illness or danger: Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who rewards the undeserving with goodness, and who has rewarded me with goodness.
B.Modeh Ani, typically recited upon awakening, with thanks for living another day: I give thanks before you, King living and eternal, for You have returned within me my soul with compassion; abundant is Your faithfulness.
C.Shekocho Ugevurato, typically recited upon witnessing acts of nature: Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the world, whose power and might fill the world.
D.Shechecheyanu, typically recited upon new or unusual experiences: Blessed are you, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this moment.
E.Asher Yatsar, typically recited upon going to the bathroom, which many did when the earth started shaking!: Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who formed humans with wisdom and created within them many openings and many hollows. It is obvious in the presence of your glorious throne that if one of them were ruptured, or if one of them were blocked, it would be impossible to exist and stand in Your presence. Blessed are you, our God, who heals all flesh and performs wonders.
Former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman died last week at the age of 82. Lieberman was an observant Orthodox Jew and was the first Jew to be part of a major presidential ticket, running for vice president alongside Al Gore on the Democratic ticket in 2000. Lieberman was considered a moderate, and he ultimately became a political independent, while continuing to caucus with the Democratic Party. He was a strong supporter of the Iraq War and advocated for the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. He supported unions and free trade, and pushed for greater rights for the LGBTQ community. He was a staunch supporter of Israel, but also worked on behalf of Muslims as a member of the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council. Lieberman endorsed Republican candidate Senator John McCain for president against Barack Obama in the 2008 election, and he was considered as a possible vice presidential candidate on the McCain ticket. But some of McCain’s advisors argued against the selection of Lieberman, and McCain ultimately chose Sarah Palin. McCain later regretted listening to his advisors, saying “my gut told me to ignore it and I wish I had.” Why did his advisors recommend against the selection of Lieberman?
A. Some of his advisors were concerned about Lieberman’s observance of Sabbath and holidays, worried that he might be unavailable in times of need.
B. They argued that the best way to draw votes from Barack Obama was to name a female as his vice presidential running mate.
C. His advisors recognized that a portion of the far right electorate who would normally vote Republican (especially against the Black Barack Obama) would never vote for a Jewish candidate.
D. While Lieberman was viewed as a moderate to conservative Democrat, he was a supporter of abortion rights, which McCain’s advisors said would prevent many Republicans from voting for a McCain/Lieberman ticket.
E. They felt that McCain’s religious “family values” constituents would not want McCain to have a running mate whose name means “Lover Man.”
Jews around the world just celebrated the holiday of Purim by eating hamantashen, pastries traditionally filled with poppy seed or prune filling. Many other fillings are also baked in hamantashen, including apricot, chocolate, nutella, and even pb&j. The triangular shaped treats are said to represent Haman’s three-cornered hat. In Hebrew, the pastry is called Oznei-Haman, or Haman’s ears. There is another traditional Jewish food that is also served on Purim, but which is not as commonly known. What is that food?
Hamantashen by Mark D. Zimmerman is in the public domain
A. Blintzes are served for breakfast on Purim, as they are symbolic of the rolled up Megillah scroll that is read on the holiday.
B. Kreplach, the stuffed noodle dumpling, is served on Purim. One explanation is that the filling inside the kreplach is hidden, which is symbolic of Esther’s hidden secret of being Jewish.
C. Pomegranates are served in Chassidic households based on gematria, the system of converting words to their numerical value. Both Purim and Pomegranate have a value of 379.
D. Some Sephardic communities serve cholent on Purim because there is a traditional Sephardic cholent known as hamin, which is reminiscent of Haman.
E. Hanger steak is traditionally served as a Purim main course meal, in reference to the fact that Haman was hanged on the gallows.
Purim is celebrated during the month of Adar, but because this is a leap year in the Jewish calendar, Purim is celebrated in Adar II (beginning this coming Saturday night). When that happens, a minor holiday called Purim Katan (Little Purim) is celebrated in the first month of Adar (February 22-23 this year). There are other Little Purim celebrations around the world, commemorating events that could have been tragic for local Jewish communities, but which were averted. Some of these are named after their location (eg, Purim Narbonne and Purim Rhodes), while others are named after the oppressor in the story (eg, Purim Sebastiano and Purim Burghul). These holidays are generally celebrated with the reading of a Megillah which describes the event, along with festive meals and giving to charity. For example, Purim de los Ladrones (Purim of the Bandits) is celebrated in Gumeldjina, a small city in the Ottoman Empire whose Jewish community was blamed for an attack by rebels from the nearby mountains. Ultimately the Jews proved their innocence and the community was spared. Another Purim Katan celebration is Purim Vinz, which is celebrated with the reading of the Vincent Megillah. What does that holiday commemorate?
A. Cardinal Vincenzo Vannutelli praised Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1923, saying that “for his energy and devotion to the country he was chosen to save the nation and restore her fortune.” He was criticized by many for supporting the fascist leader, but his words also prompted some to riot against the Roman Jewish community. Pope Pius XI denounced the Cardinal, however, leading Jewish leaders to declare a Purim Katan at which they thanked the Pope and read the Vincent Megillah.
B. A German-Jewish art collector, Paul Cassirer, presented the first showing of Vincent Van Gogh’s works in Berlin in 1901. The show was vandalized, however, with antisemitic graffiti written on the window of the gallery and paint splashed on some of the artworks. The German leader, Kaiser Wilhelm, was close to the Jews at that time (he later blamed them for his election loss in 1918) and he had the perpetrators arrested. The local Jewish community proclaimed a Purim Katan and wrote a Megillah which they named after the artist.
C. Vincent Ferrer was a Dominican friar in Valencia in the late 1300’s to early 1400’s. During his lifetime, Valencia (and much of Europe) was still recovering from the Black Death, the epidemic of bubonic plague which killed more than 25 million people. An outbreak of violent antisemitism arose in Valencia as those who were still suffering from hunger and economic problems attacked local Jewish residents, destroying businesses and synagogues. Friar Vincent defended the Jewish community, preaching from his church against the hatred and reaching out to King James II of Aragon, who put down the revolt and restored peace and order to the Jewish community. A Purim Katan was declared, with the Vincent Megillah written to thank Friar Vincent for his efforts.
D. In 1614, Vincent Fettmilch, an antisemitic leader of Frankfurt’s bakers guild, led a rebellion against the local city council over financial concerns. The revolt, known as the Fettmilch Uprising, included attacks on the local Jewish community, who the attackers blamed for much of the financial problems. Despite some deaths and the destruction of synagogues and Torah scrolls, Holy Roman Emperor Matthias eventually restored order, leading to the celebration of a Purim Katan with the reading of a Megillah about the event, the Vincent Megillah.
E. A Bensonhurst Jewish community was being oppressed by a local gang called the Sweathogs, under the leadership of a thug named Vincent Barbarino. Because they honored hogs, they did not like the Jews who considered pigs unclean. Barbarino threatened a local Jew, Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein, saying “Up your Nose with a Rubber Hose!” This led the leader of the Jewish community, the Kotter Rebbe, to plead with the local authorities for protection, resulting in Mr. Woodman giving Vincent Barbarino a detention, thus saving the Jewish community. The Jews now celebrate Purim Vinz by reading the Vincent Megillah and drawing lots to decide when to hang Vincent Barbarino in effigy, while singing, “Yeah, we’re drawing some lots/Cause we think we’re gonna plotz/Hamentash. Hamentash, Hamentash, Hamentash.”
The mikveh is the ritual bath that is utilized by Jews to achieve a state of purity. Most typically women go to the mikveh at the end of their monthly period, though mikvehs are also used for other purposes, including as part of the conversion ceremony. A group of Orthodox women are participating in a “mikveh strike” for what reason?
A. Women in Williamsburg are protesting the conditions at a local mikveh. They say that they have been unable to get the owners to sufficiently clean the facility, and as a result they have called for a “mikveh strike” until the men who are in charge of this mikveh commit to providing a clean and hygienic facility.
B. A mikveh on the Upper East Side of New York has begun providing services to patrons who belong to Conservative and Reform communities. Some of their practices are not as strict as those of the Orthodox. For example, converts who want to go to the mikveh have not completed a conversion process according to Orthodox standards. Orthodox patrons of that mikveh have called a “mikveh strike” in protest of this facility allowing uses which they do not approve of.
C. A group of Orthodox women in Brooklyn are protesting against a man who will not give his wife a get, a Jewish divorce. These women have begun a “mikveh strike,” refusing to go to the mikveh at the end of their menstrual cycles, which then means that they cannot have marital relations with their husbands as would traditionally be the case at that time.
D. Men can visit a mikveh for a number of reasons. For example, some men go to the mikveh to regain purity after contact with the dead, while others routinely go before Yom Kippur. A group of Orthodox women in Monsey, New York have started a “mikveh strike” against a local mikveh, because the hours available are skewed towards the men’s needs, and not sufficiently conducive to women’s schedules (especially citing the lack of women’s hours during the day when children are at school).
E. A mikveh was recently built in the basement of a building in Crown Heights in Brooklyn. The first floor of the building happens to be the site of a bowling alley. To promote the new mikveh, the facility is offering a special wherein users who first go bowling upstairs will receive a 10% discount for each “mikveh strike” they roll during the game. Anyone bowling a perfect game earns a free mikveh visit.
Comedian Richard Lewis died last week at the age of 76. Lewis’s comedy grew from his Jewish upbringing and identity, as he noted, “It’s so much funnier being a Jew than anything else. If we don’t find humor then we’re in deep trouble.” He was known for a self-deprecating style of comedy, as seen in many appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and other late night shows, as well as sitcoms and movies, most recently as a recurring character (playing himself) on Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. He and David were born 3 days apart in the same hospital, and later attended the same summer camp, where they hated each other, only becoming best friends early in their professional lives. According to Lewis, what significant event in his life involved his father?
A. Lewis noted that his father “was so well loved as the cantor at our synagogue that the congregation wouldn’t let me sing at my own bar mitzvah.”
B. Lewis noted that his father “was such a successful caterer that he was booked on my bar mitzvah, and I had my party on a Tuesday.”
C. Lewis noted that his father “was so well known as a local mohel that he used to show me off in his ads as a sample of his work.”
D. Lewis noted that his father “was so well recognized as a member of the local Lubavitcher community that he insisted that I always wear black clothes.”
E. Lewis noted that his father “dropped in on Larry’s bris, which was in the hospital right after I was born. He told Larry’s father that the lox they served was ‘Prett-ay, Prett-ay, Prett-ay Good.’ ”
Comedian Richard Lewis died last week at the age of 76. Lewis’s comedy grew from his Jewish upbringing and identity, as he noted, “It’s so much funnier being a Jew than anything else. If we don’t find humor then we’re in deep trouble.” He was known for a self-deprecating style of comedy, as seen in many appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and other late night shows, as well as sitcoms and movies, most recently as a recurring character (playing himself) on Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. He and David were born 3 days apart in the same hospital, and later attended the same summer camp, where they hated each other, only becoming best friends early in their professional lives. According to Lewis, what significant event in his life involved his father?
A. Lewis noted that his father “was so well loved as the cantor at our synagogue that the congregation wouldn’t let me sing at my own bar mitzvah.”
B. Lewis noted that his father “was such a successful caterer that he was booked on my bar mitzvah, and I had my party on a Tuesday.”
C. Lewis noted that his father “was so well known as a local mohel that he used to show me off in his ads as a sample of his work.”
D. Lewis noted that his father “was so well recognized as a member of the local Lubavitcher community that he insisted that I always wear black clothes.”
E. Lewis noted that his father “dropped in on Larry’s bris, which was in the hospital right after I was born. He told Larry’s father that the lox they served was ‘Prett-ay, Prett-ay, Prett-ay Good.’ ”
Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker ruled that frozen embryos are in fact humans, with the same rights as children. Therefore, these embryos cannot be destroyed, for according to the judge, human life “cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God, who views the destruction of His image as an affront to Himself.” While there are some areas of disagreement within the Jewish community, most agree that embryos and fetuses do not have the same rights as individuals once they are born. Therefore there is not an absolute prohibition against abortion as there is in the Catholic Church, for example. Much is written in the Talmud and in later rabbinic writings about embryos, fetuses, artificial insemination, IVF, abortion, and other related issues of pregnancy and childbirth. Which of the following is a true statement with regard to the Jewish perspective on these issues?
Ivf by DrKontogianniIVF is licensed under CC0 1.0 DEED via Wikimedia Commons
A. The fetus is not considered to be a life until the head emerges during the birth process.
B. Most Orthodox religious authorities allow for the discarding of unused fertilized embryos, but not the use of those embryos in research.
C. When a baby is conceived with a donor egg from a non-Jewish woman but carried by a Jewish woman, some rabbis say that since the egg is from a non-Jewish woman, the baby is not halakhically Jewish. Others, however, state that the source of the egg is insignificant compared to the role played by the gestational mother; therefore the child is halakhically Jewish.
D. Until the 40th day after conception, the embryo is considered to be “merely water.”
E. Judaism is opposed to freezing of embryos, based on the wisdom of my Bubby who always told me, “Oy, it’s freezing outside. Bubbele, you’ll catch your death of cold. Here. Put on a sweater.”
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