The New York Yankees trail the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-0 in the World Series, the 12th time that these two teams have competed in Major League Baseball’s Championship Series. The first seven matches were New York Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning 6 of 7 championships. Since the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, the teams have split 4 World Series matchups. The Yankees currently have one Jewish player, pitcher Scott Effross, while there are no Jewish players on the Dodgers roster. Among the most fabled Jewish players in professional baseball are Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg. Early in the 20th century, many Major League baseball teams made an effort to sign players of certain ethnicities based on the population of their home city. The Yankees, for example, sought out Italian players, signing Tony Lazzeri and Joe DiMaggio among others. The New York Giants wanted some Jewish players, and in 1923, they signed Mose Solomon, son of Orthodox Jewish immigrants, following his 49-home run season with the Minor League Hutchinson Wheat Shockers of Kansas City. Upon his signing with the Giants, the Sporting News ran a headline saying Giants scout “Dick Kinsella Finds That $100,000 Jew”, and some referred to Solomon as “the Jewish Babe Ruth.” What other nickname was also given to Mose Solomon?

‍ Mose Solomon is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A. King Solomon.

B. The Rabbi of Swat.

C. The Base-Ballabusta.

D. Holy Moses.

E. The Say Oy Vey Kid.

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There is a proliferation of Sukkot products available for sale. Of course, that includes the lulav and etrog, as well as easy-to-build Sukkah kits. Also available are sukkah decorations, table cloths, t-shirts, temporary tattoos and more. But not surprisingly, that can lead to problems, especially as manufacturers and retailers look to expand their business, while not necessarily knowing about the holiday, its rules and its customs. What product is for sale this Sukkot that is getting attention because the product is flawed?

‍ Sukkah by Mark D. Zimmerman

A. The online retailer Tarps 'R' Us is selling a foldable plastic sheet designed to go over the top and down the sides of your sukkah to prevent rain from coming in. Their ad says, “Why spend another Sukkot shivering and dripping in the rain, when you can own your own SukkahTop Tarp?”

B. A party store in Lakewood, New Jersey is offering a Sukkot seder plate, which has designated spots to place an etrog, myrtle leaves, willow leaves, palm fronds, and a piece of matzah.

C. For those who want to observe the custom of living in the sukkah, but aren’t quite up to the level of “roughing it” required, the online Glamping Depot website offers a glamping sukkah kit that when put together yields a completely enclosed space with a bed, small refrigerator, a wine rack, and blue tooth speakers playing Matisyahu songs non-stop.

D. A deli in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has a sign in their window which includes a picture of a lemon, and the message “Happy Sukkot to our Jewish neighbors. Why pay for an etrog when you can buy our lemons for half the price?”

E. A number of Amazon sellers are offering cardboard Sukkot gift boxes, decorated with the Hebrew word Sukkot. But the word was printed left to right rather than the Hebrew right to left, thus reading Tuchos (Yiddish for rear end).

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7-Eleven announced last week that it is closing more than 400 stores in North America, where there are currently more than 13,000 locations. The convenience store chain began in 1927 when one of the locations of the Southland Ice Company in Dallas began selling milk, eggs and bread in addition to ice. This successful strategy led to the creation of the Southland Corporation which expanded these convenience stores, renamed as Tote’m Stores. In 1946 they changed the name of the expanding chain to 7-Eleven, reflecting the extended hours that the stores were open, which was very unusual at that time. Southland went on to open more stores and also to purchase competing convenience store chains, achieving a value of more than $5 billion in the mid-1980’s, before taking a huge financial hit during the stock market crash of 1987. Southland eventually filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and ownership was transferred to a Japanese corporation. What is a Jewish connection to 7-Eleven?

‍ 7-Eleven (14454510498) by Mike Mozart  is licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A. 7-Eleven opened their first store in Israel in January of 2023 at Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv. The Israeli franchisee, Electra Consumer Products, announced plans to invest more than 60 million New Israeli Shekels to open dozens of additional stores in the coming years.

B. The Star-K kosher certification organization publishes a list of more than 300 kosher flavors of 7-Eleven Slurpees available in the United States, including Dad’s Hawaiian Shirt, Tiger’s Blood, and Monster Mutant Red Dawn.

C. In April of 2024, Electra Consumer Products, the Israeli franchisee of 7-Eleven stores, announced that it would be closing all ten of their stores after having lost more than 60 million New Israeli Shekels over the last year.

D. The 7-Eleven store in Monsey, New York, sells certified kosher Big Bite hot dogs, chulent and kishke, to accommodate the needs of the huge Orthodox and Chassidic community in that town. The store’s advertising features the slogan Kosher Heaven at 7-Eleven.

E. When franchisee Electra Consumer Products opened their first 7-Eleven store in Israel, they promised that their stores would be kosher, to ensure that the large Orthodox population would patronize the store. However, the Chief Rabbi announced that Jews should not enter 7-Eleven stores because of the quote from Joshua 7:11 which reads “Israel has sinned! They have broken the covenant by which I bound them. They have taken of the proscribed and put it in their vessels; they have stolen; they have broken faith!” As a result, the 7-Eleven stores in Israel have all shut down.

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New York Mayor Eric Adams was recently indicted on federal charges of bribery, fraud, and soliciting foreign campaign donations, going back as far as 2014 when he was Brooklyn Borough President. Some of the charges relate to his acceptance of luxury travel and other benefits from Turkish individuals in exchange for pressuring the New York City Fire Department to improperly approve a permit for the opening of a Turkish consular building.  Adams denies the charges and says he has no plans to resign. Adams is an outspoken opponent of antisemitism and a strong supporter of Israel, having visited the country on three occasions. After the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, Adams spoke at a New York Stands With Israel rally, saying “Your fight is my fight...You marched with us with Dr. King...And I’m saying we’re going to stand with you and stand united together.” What else has Adams said to indicate his love for Israel?

‍ Eric Adams Israel by VINnews  is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A. He said that after his term as New York mayor is up, he plans to move to Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, to take training courses at the Midrasha, the Mossad training facility located there.

B. He said that if he ever gets married, he would definitely hold the ceremony in Jerusalem.

C. He said that when he retires, he is interested in living in Israel, probably in the Golan Heights.

D. He said that after he completes his time as mayor of New York, he plans to move to Jerusalem and work in security at Yad Vashem - The World Holocaust Remembrance Center.

E. He said that he plans to regularly visit Israel, so long as Turkish Airlines continues to offer first class service to Tel Aviv.

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