Mark D. Zimmerman

Mark D. Zimmerman

Humorist  Mark D. Zimmerman writes a weekly Jewish trivia column, offering multiple choice answers to challenge and enlighten the reader. Click on the link to see if you’ve guessed correctly.

Zimmerman is the author of a series of Jewish trivia books, under the title RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun. The quizzes are designed to challenge, educate, entertain, and make you laugh. Are Tzitzit disease-carrying Mediterranean flies? Are Israeli cherries harvested during the Jubilee year? Is Gefilte Phish one of Ben and Jerry’s best-selling Israeli ice cream flavors?

Raised on the Three Stooges, The Addams Family, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and most importantly, the Marx Brothers, Zimmerman combines his comedic sensibilities with his background in Jewish Communal Service and synagogue and day school volunteer work to create Jewish trivia guaranteed to stimulate and amuse.

His books, available on Amazon, include:

* Rashi, Rambam and Presidential-Dingdong: A Quizbook of Presidential Jewish Trivia Facts and Fun
* Rashi, Rambam, and Ramalamadingdong: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts and Fun
* Rashi, Rambam, and Ramalamadingdong: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts and Fun, Volume Aleph
* Rashi, Rambam, and Ramalamadingdong, A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts and Fun, Volume Bet
* Rashi, Rambam, and Ramalamadingdong: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts and Fun, Volume Gimel
* Rashi, Rambam and Ramalamadingdong: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia, Facts, and Fun: Volume Dalet
* Zim’s Guide: A Survey of Family Attractions: 95-96 Long Island

Jewish trivia quiz: Vaping

…A more complicated issue is whether a cigarette smoker could switch to vaping as a step towards cessation of all smoking, and on this authorities are still quite divided. There is rabbinic precedent that allows substitution of a less serious halachic violation for a more serious violation, i.e., that vaping, while harmful and generally forbidden, would be acceptable when replacing cigarette smoking, which is more dangerous. Authorities in this debate point to what other example where rabbis might allow a less serious transgression of Jewish law in lieu of a more serious one?

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Jewish trivia quiz: Woodstock Music Festival

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE,  New York — The Woodstock music festival took place 50 years ago this week. The event, attended by more than 400,000 people, featured performances by Richie Havens, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, The Who, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and dozens of other musicians. Many of the people involved in Woodstock

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Jewish trivia quiz: Hal Prince. z”l

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York –Theater director, producer, and impresario Harold “Hal” Prince died last week at the age of 91. Prince, who came from a German Jewish family, was involved in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Many of his shows had Jewish themes, connections, or stories, most famously Fiddler on the Roof, which

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Jewish trivia quiz: Project Rozana

By Mark D. Zimmerman SAN DIEGO — With little recent progress in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, many Israelis and Palestinians are focusing on people-to-people (P2P) approaches between the two communities, with a goal of promoting understanding and cooperation “on the ground.” One NGO (non-profit) that has taken this approach and has

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Jewish trivia quiz: Jared Kushner 

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Jared Kushner is heading to a two-day conference in Bahrain where he will be attempting to gain support for the Trump administration’s Israel/Palestinian peace plan. However, neither Israel nor the Palestinian Authority will be attending the meeting. Kushner will be presenting only economic proposals of support for Palestinians, which

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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire

Jewish trivia quiz: Mexican customs

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — In an effort to goad Mexico into taking more action against Central American migrants traveling through Mexico to the United States southern border, President Trump has announced that he will begin implementing tariffs on Mexican goods in the coming weeks and months. There is a long history

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Jewish trivia quiz: Herman Wouk, z”l

By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Best selling author Herman Wouk died last week at the age of 103. Wouk, an Orthodox Jew, won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Caine Mutiny, and also wrote many Jewish-themed novels, including The Winds of War, War and Remembrance, and Marjorie Morningstar. Marjorie Morningstar told

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