By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York — In 1954, Mark David Zimmerman, author of RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG, was born in New Orleans to Orthodox Jews–Irvin, from Louisville, Kentucky, and Dena, from Houma, Louisiana in Cajun country. That combination set him on his Jewish path, one that was filled with tradition but also very far from tradition.
Mark went to Sunday School and Hebrew School, celebrated his bar mitzvah on the last day of the Six-Day War (thanks for the perfect set up for a bar mitzvah speech), and was active in the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. He celebrated the Jewish holidays, but Mardi Gras, the pre-Lenten bacchanalia in New Orleans, was also a major part of his growing up and costuming, more so than Purim!
Mark worked part-time at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center from junior high through college, spent a half year on a kibbutz after college graduation, and then served his social work field placement at the JCC, leading to a full-time position as the Children’s Worker and Day Camp Director upon graduation from Tulane’s School of Social Work.
He later worked at the Tulsa Jewish Community Center and also served as Executive Director of a Jewish charitable agency on Long Island, New York, while devoting his volunteer efforts to his synagogue and his children’s Jewish day school.
His writing skills were focused on a number of publishing projects, including a Long Island family activities guidebook, and children’s musical theater productions, including Alphabeddy, about a town that had to deal with the theft of the Letter E from their National Library (try saying even one complete sentence without using the Letter E – I bet you can’t do it).
With that varied Jewish and creative background Zimmerman was well qualified to offer Jewish trivia questions with answer choices that included the most ridiculous made-up answers over the last dozen years. But Zimmerman has decided to hang it up and devote his time to other endeavors, so this will be the final RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG weekly trivia question.
Mark wants to thank all of his readers and followers for their support.
So now, the final Jewish trivia question. And this one focuses on the Jewish life of Mark D. Zimmerman himself. Among the many “Jewish” moments in Mark’s life, at least one Jewish event was a bit off-kilter. Which of the following is a true story from Zimmerman’s Jewish life?
A. The first time Mark ever saw the play Fiddler on the Roof was at the Jewish Community Center, where it was presented by a Catholic boys’ high school, with a priest playing the role of Tevye.
B. Mark’s first experience with snow, which included being pushed down into a snowbank, took place in Israel.
C. Mark was traveling through Europe after college, and he happened to be in Germany on his 22nd birthday. He spent that morning touring the Dachau Concentration Camp, and on the train ride back to Munich, he was befriended by two older couples from Oklahoma. Upon learning it was Mark’s birthday, the Okies invited him to be their guest at a Munich beer garden. The combination of a concentration camp tour and beer steins in Munich made for a most unusual birthday celebration.
D. In early December when Mark was in 2nd grade at a public school, he raised his hand and told the teacher that it was not right that she was planning Christmas activities, as they never do Jewish things, only Christian things. When the teacher asked what Christian things they’ve done, he looked puzzled for a minute, and then said, “Thanksgiving?”.
E. At Mark’s bar mitzvah, he was disappointed when the cute girl only shook his hand in the receiving line rather than kissing him. And then her father gave him a kiss.
*
Link to answer: https://rrrjewishtrivia.com/mark-d-zimmerman-answer.html
*
Speaking for San Diego Jewish World, I’d like to thank Mark for all the fun he’s provided readers (and his editors) with his weekly Jewish trivia column. I want to wish him success in his next venture, which I’m sure he’ll pursue with all the gusto he demonstrated as a weekly columnist! Mazal tov! — Donald H. Harrison, publisher and editor.