By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York –Alex Trebek, the longtime host of Jeopardy, recently announced that he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. At the time, he noted that he welcomed the prayers of his viewers, which led Rabbi Geoffrey Mitelman, a former Jeopardy contestant, to organize a digital interfaith prayer service for Trebek. The participants were all former Jeopardy contestants who are members of the clergy. When Rabbi Mitelman was a Jeopardy contestant, what happened when he missed the final Jeopardy question?
A. The category was “The French Revolution,” and the clue read: “The last prisoner moved before the Bastille was stormed, this nobleman left behind the manuscript for his most infamous work.” Mitelman did not get the answer, which was “The Marquis de Sade.” Another contestant said “I’m pretty happy the rabbi didn’t know about sadism!”
B. The category was “Animal Adversaries Speak” and the clue read: “I initiated a hostile takeover because Snowball had no business sense & would have bankrupted the Homestead.” Mitelman did not get the answer, which was “Napoleon the pig speaking.” Another contestant said “I’m pretty happy the rabbi didn’t know about the pigs!”
C. The category was “Pick a Pope,” and the clue read: “Was guilty of excommunicating the heretic Pelagius.” Mitelman did not get the answer, which was “Pope Innocent.” Another contestant said “I’m pretty happy the rabbi didn’t know about the popes!”
D. The category was “Historic Nicknames,” and the clue read: “Learning her craft from Tessie the Tassel-Twirler, this burlesque artist was ‘The Best Undressed Woman in America’.” Mitelman did not get the answer, which was “Gypsy Rose Lee.” Another contestant said “I’m pretty happy the rabbi didn’t know about the strippers!”
E. The category was “Alliterative Commentators” and the clue read: “These commentators cover the gamut of topics from Aggadah to Zohar.” The answer was “Rashi, Rambam, and Rashbam,” but Rabbi Gitelman incorrectly answered “Rashi, Rambam and Ramalamadingdong.” Another contestant said, “I’m pretty happy the rabbi guessed that. I’ve been wanting to ask this question for a long time. So Rabbi, can you tell me, who put the ram in the Ramalamadingdong?”