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 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
By Mark D. Zimmerman Multi-millionaire biotech engineer and asset manager Vivek Ramaswamy is running for the Republican nomination for President. He is running as an “anti-woke” and anti-abortion candidate who intends to rule by executive fiat, with plans to abolish the Education Department and the FBI, eradicate teachers unions, and launch military action across the
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman The trailer was released for the upcoming biopic Maestro about composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. Controversy has arisen as a result of the choice of the non-Jewish actor Bradley Cooper to play the part of Bernstein, as well as his use of a prosthetic nose, which according to some critics injects
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman The 50th anniversary of hip-hop is being celebrated, commemorating a party hosted by DJ Kool Herc in an apartment building in the Bronx on August 11, 1973 which is recognized as the first hip-hop event. The music and culture of hip-hop comprises four main elements: DJing/turntablism, MCing/rapping, B-boying/breaking, and visual/graffiti art.
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Paul Reubens, better known as Pee-wee Herman, died last week at the age of 70. Reubens’s career began in improv as a member of the Groundlings. In 1981 he created the character of Pee-wee Herman, a “man-boy” who starred in movies, tv shows, Broadway theater, and late night television. His children’s
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Sinéad O’Connor died last week at the age of 56. She was a highly successful performer, as well as an activist in support of women’s rights and opposed to racism and child abuse. During a 1992 appearance on Saturday Night Live she performed a moving version of Bob Marley’s song
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Singer Tony Bennett passed away just two weeks shy of his 97th birthday. In 2014, Bennett performed in Tel Aviv’s Mann Auditorium, one night after a surprise guest appearance at a Lady Gaga performance in Hayarkon Park. As a United States soldier in World War II, Bennett was among the troops
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman The biographical film Oppenheimer opens this week, telling the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, son of a Prussian-Jewish immigrant, who became a theoretical physicist and director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. Oppenheimer is credited as the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role in the Manhattan
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Republican candidate for president, traveled to Israel this past April, having previously visited the country four other times. He is a strong supporter of Israel, and in 2019 he tweeted that he “promised to be the most pro-Israel Governor in America.” He refers to the West Bank
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Kosherpalooza, a food festival featuring kosher dairy and meat items, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings and more, was recently held for the first time at the Meadowlands Expo Center in New Jersey. Thousands of attendees sampled dried pink pineapple, miniature steak tartares served in crispy tapioca shells, CBD peanut butter cups, and
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Sheldon Harnick, lyricist of Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello!, and other Broadway shows, died last week at the age of 99. Harnick and composer Jerry Bock wrote many songs for Fiddler on the Roof which did not end up in the final version of the show, including We’ve Never Missed a
Jewish Trivia Quiz: Sheldon Harnick, z”l Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
By Mark D. Zimmerman Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971, died last week at the age of 92. Ellsberg’s parents were of Russian Jewish descent, but they had embraced Christian Science and raised him in that tradition. However, he noted that “My parents always
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Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire