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 Norman Lear died last week at the age of 101. Lear was a writer and producer who created dozens of television sitcoms, including All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time, among others. He received numerous awards for his work, including 6 Emmys, […]
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Henry Kissinger died last week at the age of 100. Born in 1923 in Germany, Kissinger and his family fled the country in 1938 to escape increasing antisemitism, including beatings he suffered by Hitler Youth gang members. He went to college in New York, studying accounting, until he was drafted into
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Javier Milei was just elected president of Argentina. Milei, an economist, author, politician, former tantric sex coach, and self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” is a right-wing libertarian and populist who supports freedom of choice on issues such as drugs, guns, prostitution, and LGBTQ issues, while opposing abortion. He believes that global warming is a
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman President John F. Kennedy was assassinated 60 years ago this week in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was the son of Joseph Kennedy, Sr., a wealthy businessman and philanthropist. Joseph Kennedy was a known antisemite who, while he was serving as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1938, told the
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Dr. Ruth was just named New York State’s Ambassador to Loneliness, with a charge to help New Yorkers cope with the loneliness epidemic. Dr. Ruth, the Holocaust survivor who gained fame as a sex therapist, says that she began focusing on this issue when she was isolated during the COVID lockdown,
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Actor Matthew Perry died tragically at the age of 54. Perry was best known for playing Chandler Bing on the sitcom Friends. Bing was not one of the Jewish characters on the show–among the six friends, Ross, Monica and Rachel were Jewish. Which Friends episode featured Chandler Bing with a Jewish
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Actor Richard Roundtree died last week at the age of 81. He was best known for his portrayal of detective John Shaft in the movie Shaft as well as two sequels, Shaft’s Big Score! and Shaft in Africa, after which he played the same character in seven made-for-TV movies. The Shaft
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman During Jerry Seinfeld’s recent stand-up performance in Boston, he answered an audience member’s question about the final episode of the Seinfeld television show by saying “Something is going to happen that has to do with that ending. It hasn’t happened yet,” implying that he and co-creator Larry David are working on
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Senator Dianne Feinstein died at the age of 90, just hours after casting a vote on the floor of the United States Senate, where she served since 1992 as California’s first female senator. Among the issues that Senator Feinstein promoted were HIV/AIDS funding, women’s reproductive health needs, gun control, and support
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California, Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman In many Orthodox communities, the intermediary days of Sukkot (chol hamoed) are occasions for family activities, community-wide trips, outdoor events, and more, as schools are closed. Synagogue trips to amusement parks and other family activity sites are common. For example, Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, Hersheypark in Pennsylvania, and
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Since 2019, Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square has been the location of public Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur services, sponsored by Rosh Yehudi, a non profit organization. The services have attracted upwards of 2000 attendees, from Haredi Jews wearing kippot and tallitot, to secular Israelis in shorts and with bared heads, to
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman As part of the Rosh Hashanah observance, many Jews participate in the tashlich ceremony, usually held on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, though some celebrated tashlich this year on the second day of Rosh Hashanah because the first day fell on the Sabbath. Others will celebrate tashlich any time through
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett died a couple of weeks ago at the age of 76. Buffett’s music reflected what became known as “island escapism,” most famously as depicted in his hit song Margaritaville. In 1997 Buffett teamed up with Jewish novelist Herman Wouk to write a musical version of Wouk’s novel Don’t
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Bagels are one of the quintessential Jewish foods. There are references to bagels in Kraków, Poland in the early 1600’s, though they may have first appeared in Germany prior to that. Polish immigrants brought bagels to the United States around the turn of the 20th century. The bagel became so popular
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire