By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York — “What?,” you say? “A Chanukah trivia book? I don’t get it. I mean sure, RASHI, RAMBAM and HAGGADAH-LAMADINGDONG, the Passover trivia book, makes sense. It’s a holiday that’s totally based on asking four questions. So why not ask 25 more? But Chanukah? No point in asking questions for this one.”
Okay. You make a good point. But just because Chanukah isn’t based on asking questions doesn’t mean that a Chanukah trivia book isn’t a good idea. First of all, any rabbi worth his ordination will tell you that Chanukah is one of the most trivial of Jewish holidays.
In addition, there are many Chanukah questions that surround the holiday. How did that oil last for 8 nights? How did that ragtag group of Maccabees defeat the powerful army of Antiochus? Why do we give our young children gelt and then let them gamble it away?
So clearly Chanukah lends itself to questions and answers.
“Oh!,” you say. “Maybe I was wrong. But how do I know that RASHI, RAMBAM and CHANUKKAH-MADINGDONG: A Quizbook of Chanukkah Trivia Facts & Fun is the right Chanukah trivia book for me? I mean, it clearly has a very nice cover, but as I think it says in the Talmud, you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
Good question (see, I told you – Chanukah = questions). And there’s a good answer for that one. Go to the iTunes store and search for Chanukah trivia and you want to know what comes up? Check out this screen shot.
That’s it. No other hits on that search. I rest my case.
“But wait,” you say. “That’s very convincing. Yet I have a Kindle, so I went to the Amazon bookstore and your book did not show up in my search for Chanukah trivia. Ha – caught you!”
Well, it’s funny that you mention that. I figured you would come at me with that information and that attitude. Now I can tell you the other reason why you should be buying RASHI, RAMBAM and CHANUKKAH-MADINGDONG: A Quizbook of Chanukkah Trivia Facts & Fun. Because there is no buying involved. Yes, you heard me (well, okay, you read me). There is no buying involved. RASHI, RAMBAM and CHANUKKAH-MADINGDONG is free. No dollars. No cents. No shekels. No gelt. No euros. Not even any bitcoins (which is a good thing, since I think the current price of a bitcoin is about $3.2 million). It’s just plain old FREE. And that, my friend, is why you don’t see it on Amazon. Because unlike the Apple iBookstore, Amazon does not allow listings of free items. Not sure why, though I suspect it’s because they don’t make a lot of money on free items. Apple, on the other hand, makes so much money on your iPhone that they can afford to help out entrepreneurs like me who are giving it away.
“Wow. You did catch me. I apologize. Didn’t mean to go at you like that. But meanwhile, I DO have a Kindle. So what am I supposed to do?”
Not to worry. Regardless of the type of e-reader you have, I can get you a copy of RASHI, RAMBAM and CHANUKKAH-MADINGDONG. Just click on this link and you’ll learn all you need to know. Well, all you need to know about getting a copy of RASHI, RAMBAM and CHANUKKAH-MADINGDONG. But not all you need to know about Chanukah. That, my friend, will come when you actually get the book. And might I add, read the book. And you’ll learn a lot. Like “When did George Washington first become aware of Chanukah? Why doesn’t Alan Dershowitz like latkes? Is there really a special Chanukah beer?” Trust me, my friends, if you don’t know the answer to these and 22 other Chanukah trivia questions, then you have not lived.
One last bit of Chanukah trivia. This year, Chanukah is much earlier than usual. So you better act now. Click here to get your free copy of RASHI, RAMBAM and CHANUKKAH-MADINGDONG: A Quizbook of Chanukkah Trivia Facts & Fun and begin the celebration. And also, you really shouldn’t let your kids gamble. It can be very addicting. Just give your kids latkes (which, of course, can also be very addicting, but in a better way).
Happy Chanukkah from RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG.
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Zimmerman is a freelance writer whose Jewish Trivia Quiz appears weekly (usually on Mondays) on San Diego Jewish World.