October 4 is the tenth anniversary of the introduction of Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant. Consumers were thrilled when Siri was first presented at an Apple press conference, answering requests for a weather report and other web searches. Siri was later followed by Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa, enabling consumers to accomplish all types of tasks simply by talking to their devices. But these systems are not perfect, as they often present answers that come from flawed websites, or they misunderstand the core of the question. What answer did Siri give that was controversial in the Jewish community, leading to a correction by Apple?

Para el iPhone 8 Apple renovará Siri con mejoras en inteligencia artificial by iphonedigital is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

A. Earlier this year, Siri responded to the question “What is the best kosher ice cream?” by responding, “Ben and Jerry’s, because they are both Jewish.”

B. In 2020, Siri responded to questions about Israel’s then-president Reuven Rivlin by saying “Reuven Rivlin is the president of the Zionist occupation state.”

C. When asked if bowling was allowed on the Sabbath, Siri responded, “According to a leading Jewish authority, ‘I told that kraut a thousand times that I don’t roll on Shabbos!’ ”

D. In response to a question about apartheid, Siri answered, “Apartheid is a policy or system of segregation or discrimination based on racial prejudice, as previously practiced in South Africa, and currently found in the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza.”

E. In 2011, Siri responded to the question “What brand of jeans should I buy?” with “You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levi’s.”

Click here for the answer.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡

The holiday of Sukkot began last Monday night, and continues for the next two days, ending with Shemini Atzeret on Tuesday and Simchat Torah on Wednesday. The holiday commemorates the time the Israelites spent in the desert, living in flimsy portable booths, and is also a harvest festival. What athlete, actor, celebrity or other famous person was in the news this past week because of Sukkot?

A. Mayim Bialik, who is Orthodox, is currently hosting Jeopardy as they continue their search for a permanent host. Five shows are taped in one day, covering an entire week of broadcasts. Taping is usually done on a Tuesday, but because the first day of Sukkot was last Tuesday, taping was switched to Monday instead to accommodate her holiday celebration.

B. An Orthodox Jewish baseball player, pitcher Elie Kligman, was drafted by the Washington Nationals this summer. The team knew that he would not work on Friday night and Saturday afternoon, or on Jewish holidays. The pitching coach used a calendar that listed Sukkot as being last Tuesday, and though the coach knew that Jewish holidays ended at sundown, he did not realize that in Orthodox Judaism, this holiday continued on for another evening and day. Kligman had assumed they correctly knew the schedule and only learned at the last minute that he was slated to pitch on Tuesday evening. The team was able to bring in a different pitcher for that game.

C. Vice President Kamala Harris and her Jewish husband, Doug Emhoff, hosted the first ever dinner in a sukkah held at Blair House, where the Vice President and her family are living. The sukkah, built in the courtyard behind the residence, was erected under the leadership of Chabad Rabbi Levi Shemtov, who also oversaw the building of the first-ever sukkah at the White House in 2019.

D. Following the success of Saturday Night Seder, held last April to raise money to fight the COVID pandemic and co-produced by Beanie Feldstein, the actor/singer just hosted a follow up program, Saturday Night Sukkah. The broadcast, available on YouTube, Facebook, and many other online services, brought together numerous celebrities, Jewish and not, to perform and raise additional funds. Performers included Lin-Manuel Miranda, Eugene and Dan Levy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Mayim Bialik, and Feldstein’s brother Jonah Hill, and the event has already raised more than $2 million.

E. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal noted in a video that was shared on Twitter that Sukkot was his favorite Jewish holiday. Tweeted O’Neal, “You know why? Because we all go out and live in shacks.”

Click here for the answer.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡

Submarines are in the headlines, as Australia canceled a multi-billion dollar submarine contract with France, opting instead to purchase from the United States and Great Britain. This has led to great diplomatic turmoil, including France’s recall of their ambassadors to the United States and Australia. Israel has a fleet of five Dolphin-class submarines, all purchased from Germany. While they have the capacity to fire torpedoes and anti-ship missiles, there is much speculation that Israel also has the capability of launching nuclear weapons from their submarines. What is found on each of Israel’s submarines that is not typically found on other nations’ submarines?

Dolphin-AIP -- Our-IDF-2018-IZE-013 by Zachi Evenor is licensed under CC BY 2.0

A. A Torah scroll.

B. A mikveh.

C. Separate meat and milk dishes and cutlery.

D. A customized navigation system based on Waze.

E. A screened-in porch.

Click here for the answer.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡

A tradition in some ultra-Orthodox communities before Yom Kippur is kaparot, the ceremonial swinging of a chicken over one’s head three times before slaughtering the bird. This act is a symbolic transfer of one’s sins to the animal, which is then donated to the poor. What other ceremony involving an animal is associated with Yom Kippur?

Kaparot by Government Press Office is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

A. In some Sephardic communities, there is a ceremony similar to kaparot. However, the bird that is slaughtered is the stork, which is commonly found in Arab countries of the Middle East. The bird is ritually slaughtered even though it is not a kosher animal, and is then donated to non-Jewish neighbors as the giver recites the command from Leviticus 9:18, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

B. The prophet Jonah was swallowed by a whale sent by God as he had disobeyed God’s command. In the belly of the fish Jonah repented and was saved. The Book of Jonah is now read every year on Yom Kippur afternoon, reflecting Jonah’s teshuva, or repentance, the primary Yom Kippur theme. Jonah is said to have been buried in Mosul, Iraq. Traditionally, Iraqi Jews have included a fish as part of their break-the-fast meal after Yom Kippur. Baked inside the fish is an apple, which both represents Jonah inside the whale as well as the completion of the Days of Awe, which began with apples dipped in honey.

C. It was traditional in some Jewish communities in Spain and Portugal around the 12th century to not only fast for Yom Kippur, but to ceremonially sell all of their food to a non-Jewish neighbor, similar to the Passover selling of chametz. The custom was elucidated by Maimonides in the Mishne Torah, and included a specific requirement that before selling the food, the Jew must ensure that he had fed all of his animals. The message was that caring for animals was the highest priority, even more important than one’s preparation for the Yom Kippur fast.

D. In Leviticus chapter 16, we read of the bringing of two goats to the High Priest in the Temple on Yom Kippur. One goat was sacrificed to God. The Priest then would lay his hands upon the second goat while confessing the sins of the Jewish community. That goat was then thrown to its death off a hill in the Judean desert, taking the sins of the people with it. This goat became known as the scapegoat.

E. Balaam, known for his blessings and curses, was traveling on behalf of Balak, the leader of the Moabites, to curse the Israelites. As Balaam rode on his mule, an angel sent by God appeared in the road, so the mule stopped. The mule saw the angel though Balaam did not, so he hit the mule, attempting to get her to continue. God enabled the mule to speak, and she criticized Balaam for his harsh treatment. Balaam’s eyes were opened to his bad behavior, and he asked God’s forgiveness. God accepted his teshuva, and Balaam continued on his journey, but only to bring God’s blessings to the Israelites, not the curses intended by Balak. On Yom Kippur in 1853, Russian Rabbi Smirnoff ben Stolichnaya created a drink in recognition of Balaam’s repentance, which he dubbed the Moscow Mule, and Russian Jews to this day break their Yom Kippur fast by drinking this concoction in copper cups.

Click here for the answer.

✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡ ✡