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:
By Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Because the turkey is native to America, it is not mentioned in the Torah. Therefore, a name was devised for this bird in modern Hebrew. What is that name? A. The turkey is called tarnegol hodu. Tarnegol means chicken. Hodu means thanks (the same root as todah.). By the time President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving as a […]
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — To what did Ronald Reagan attribute his strong negative feelings about anti-Semitism? A. He credited his father, John Reagan, a traveling salesman, who told of checking into a hotel while on a sales trip. The clerk said to Mr. Reagan, “I’m sure you’ll enjoy it here; we don’t allow any
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Bill Clinton was the first president to hold a candle lighting ceremony for Chanukkah at the White House, in 1993. What did a 6-year-old girl do at the event? A. She wandered off in the White House, eventually coming upon Chelsea Clinton in her bedroom. Chelsea and the girl played games
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireSAN DIEGO (SDJW) – San Diego Jewish World acknowledges and thanks those writers whose works appeared on our daily news website during the month of October. They were: Yael Aires Laurie Baron Dan Bloom Shoshana Bryen Morris Casuto Ben Cohen Richard L. Cravatts Toby Klein Greenwald Donald H. Harrison Natasha Josefowitz Rabbi Ben Kamin Steve
SDJW thanks its October 2015 writers Read More »
Barry Shaw, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eva Trieger, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Melanie Rubin, Michael Ordman, San Diego County, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — President Abraham Lincoln sent a Jewish man, Issachar Zacharie, as an emissary to New Orleans to promote loyalty to the Union and to spy on Confederate troop movements. How did Lincoln know Zacharie? A. Zacharie was an attorney who gave Lincoln his first job in Springfield in 1836 after Lincoln
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York –When Ben Carson visited Israel for the first time in December 2014, he quizzed his guide about the Israeli system of government, asking “In the United States, we have Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. What do you have?” When the guide explained Israel’s parliamentary system in the Knesset, he asked “And what
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Jews worldwide are celebrating Shemini Atzeret by chanting the Tefilat Geshem, the prayer for rain. A group of Jewish witches in Northern California will gather in a sukkah built around a hot tub, while invoking Native American ancestors and the Canaanite storm and rain god Ba’al Hadad. What is this community
Jewish Trivia: Shemini Atzeret Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
SAN DIEGO (SDJW) – During the month of August, San Diego Jewish World was privileged to publish works by the following writers and photographers. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and to publicly express our appreciation. To access works by these contributors on San Diego Jewish World, type or copy their name into the
SDJW salutes its September 2015 writers Read More »
Barry Shaw, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eric George Tauber, Fred Reiss, EdD, Lawrence Baron, Lloyd Levy, Mark D. Zimmerman, Melanie Rubin, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Michael Ordman, Mimi Pollack, Natasha Josefowitz, Sheryl Rowling, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — What did the late Yogi Berra say when he was told that a Jew was elected mayor of Dublin? A. Dublin? Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.B. It’s like déjà Jew all over again.C. Only in America.D. Why shouldn’t he? Jimmy Walker’s Irish, and he was elected mayor of New
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — A body of rabbis in Israel calling themselves the Sanhedrin recently tried Pope Francis in absentia, for “crimes leading to the mortal endangerment of Israel and the Jewish nation.” What specifically did they claim was his crime, leading them to write that “these actions, to our great dismay, are consistent
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International, Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle EastBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — A lawsuit has been filed in California against a number of synagogues, including Young Israel of Beverly Hills, alleging a violation related to the High Holidays. What is the lawsuit about? A. On the High Holidays, these synagogues do not open their parking lots as it is a violation of
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Jewish Religion, Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — Kim Davis is the Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses because of her religious objection to same-sex marriage. What Jewish reference did her attorney, Mathew Staver, make when speaking about this case? A. “Would the Supreme Court tell a rabbi to marry a
Jewish Trivia: County Clerk Kim Davis Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & SatireSAN DIEGO (SDJW) – During the month of August, San Diego Jewish World was privileged to publish works by the following writers and photographers. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and to publicly express our appreciation. To access works by these contributors on San Diego Jewish World, type or copy their name into the
A hearty thank you to SDJW’s August contributors Read More »
Barry Shaw, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Edwin Black, Eileen Wingard, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Michael Ordman, Mimi Pollack, Natasha Josefowitz, Sheryl Rowling, Shor M. Masori, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Mark D. Zimmerman MELVILLE, New York — In 2011, NBA Superstar Darryl Dawkins, known as Chocolate Thunder, visited Crane Lake Camp, a sleepaway camp in western Massachutsetts run by the Union for Reform Judaism. What type of class did Dawkins, who passed away this week, run for the campers? A. He taught them how to
Jewish Trivia: Darryl Dawkins, R.I.P. Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Sports & Competitions, Trivia, Humor & Satire