The Passover Haggadah traces its roots back roughly 2000 years. While the exact date or authorship isn’t known, the most recent person referenced in the Haggadah is Judah bar Ilai, who lived around 170CE; therefore the Haggadah could not have been written before then. It is Rabbi Judah who summarized the ten plagues via an acronym, דצ"ך עד"ש באח"ב, D’tzach, Adash, B’achav. Perhaps the most famous Haggadah is the Maxwell House Haggadah, first printed in 1932 as a promotional item for the coffee company. Upwards of 50 million copies are in print, and this version was used at the White House seders during the presidency of Barack Obama. Every year new versions of the Haggadah are published, some based on religious perspective, some geared towards particular events in the current news, or some aspect of pop culture. For example, this year a Haggadah was published titled This Haggadah is The Way: A Star Wars Unofficial Passover Parody, for those who want to hold a Darth Seder.  A more serious choice is The Heroes Haggadah: Lead the Way to Freedom, which incorporates text about such people as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Volodymyr Zelensky, and Rabbi Angela Buchdahl. Which of the following is also a new Haggadah offering for 2024?

Maxwell House 1933 Haggadah cover by General Foods Corporation  is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons

A. The Beyoncé-der Haggadah.

B. The Spoof Seder Haggadah: A Passover Parody of Mel Brooks Parodies!

C. Sarah and Rabbi Susan Silverman’s Seriously Silly Spectacularly Sacrilegious Spiritually Soul-Stirring Haggadah.

D. The Unofficial Taylor Swift Haggadah.

E. Colin Jost and Michael Che’s Most Goyishe Haggadah Ever!

Click here for the answer.

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We recently wrote a trivia question about a mikveh strike, wherein some women are refusing to go to the mikveh at the end of their monthly period in protest of an Orthodox man who refuses to grant his wife a divorce. Because a man cannot engage in marital relations with his wife until she has participated in this purification ritual, the strikers hope to encourage men to bring pressure on the divorce-refusing husband. The use of the mikveh has been a part of Jewish tradition at least since the first century BCE. The mikveh bath must be filled with “living waters,” such as rainwater or water from a flowing spring. Tap water is not acceptable on its own, but some allow the use of tap water in addition to living water if there is an insufficient quantity of living water. Recently, a Rabbi facing a shortage of living water devised what plan to assure sufficient water for the local mikveh?

Mikveh from Milk Street, London by Ethan Doyle White  is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED via Wikimedia Commons

A. The mikveh is located in Maine, and the local Rabbi arranged for volunteers to visit a frozen lake, cut out huge blocks of the ice, and then transport them to the mikveh, where they melted and filled the ritual bath.

B. A mikveh located in southern California had depended on rain water until the quantity of rain dropped dramatically, leaving the mikveh with an insufficient amount of living water. The Rabbi contacted neighbors in a square mile perimeter of the mikveh and arranged to install pipes running from dozens of gutter drains to the mikveh, so that they could capture enough water, even during a small rain shower.

C. A Rabbi in Beersheba, located in the Negev desert in Israel, hired a company to seed the clouds in the area of the mikveh, to enhance the amount of rainfall, thus yielding a sufficient amount of living water for the mikveh to operate.

D. A synagogue in Houston found itself without sufficient water for its mikveh, due to the drying up of the local spring which had been their source of water. The Rabbi reached out to donors who paid for water to be trucked in from a river in the Smoky Mountains near Knoxville, thus enabling the mikveh to remain open.

E. A Rabbi in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, arranged for a screening of the movie Love Story. The showing was free, but all attendees had to attach cups to their faces to capture their tears as Ali MacGraw’s character Jenny Cavilleri passed away in the arms of Oliver Barrett IV, played by Ryan O’Neal. Because the tears were flowing, they were considered acceptable for use in a mikveh. The cups were collected and the tears were desalinated utilizing technology from an Israeli engineering company, and participants all received badges for participating which read, “Love means never having to skip the mikveh.”

Click here for the answer.

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A rare New Jersey-centered earthquake shook the greater metropolitan New York area and was felt as far away as Philadelphia and Boston. The 4.8 quake and its smaller aftershocks thankfully did no significant damage though many were quite startled by the event. Earthquakes in the Middle East are more common, with references in the books of Amos, Zechariah and Ezekiel to an earthquake believed to have occured around 760 BCE. In fact, the very first line of Amos reads, “The words of Amos, a sheep breeder from Tekoa, who prophesied concerning Israel in the reigns of Kings Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.” Judaism has blessings for almost all occasions. What blessing is specified in the Talmud to be recited upon experiencing an earthquake?

USGS Earthquake Alert at 20240405 by USGS  is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons

A. Gomel, typically recited after an illness or danger: Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who rewards the undeserving with goodness, and who has rewarded me with goodness.

B. Modeh Ani, typically recited upon awakening, with thanks for living another day: I give thanks before you, King living and eternal, for You have returned within me my soul with compassion; abundant is Your faithfulness.

C. Shekocho Ugevurato, typically recited upon witnessing acts of nature: Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the world, whose power and might fill the world.

D. Shechecheyanu, typically recited upon new or unusual experiences: Blessed are you, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this moment.

E. Asher Yatsar, typically recited upon going to the bathroom, which many did when the earth started shaking!:  Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the world, who formed humans with wisdom and created within them many openings and many hollows. It is obvious in the presence of your glorious throne that if one of them were ruptured, or if one of them were blocked, it would be impossible to exist and stand in Your presence. Blessed are you, our God, who heals all flesh and performs wonders.

Click here for the answer.

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Former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman died last week at the age of 82. Lieberman was an observant Orthodox Jew and was the first Jew to be part of a major presidential ticket, running for vice president alongside Al Gore on the Democratic ticket in 2000. Lieberman was considered a moderate, and he ultimately became a political independent, while continuing to caucus with the Democratic Party. He was a strong supporter of the Iraq War and advocated for the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. He supported unions and free trade, and pushed for greater rights for the LGBTQ community. He was a staunch supporter of Israel, but also worked on behalf of Muslims as a member of the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council. Lieberman endorsed Republican candidate Senator John McCain for president against Barack Obama in the 2008 election, and he was considered as a possible vice presidential candidate on the McCain ticket. But some of McCain’s advisors argued against the selection of Lieberman, and McCain ultimately chose Sarah Palin. McCain later regretted listening to his advisors, saying “my gut told me to ignore it and I wish I had.” Why did his advisors recommend against the selection of Lieberman?

MSC 2014 Lieberman-McCain Kleinschmidt MSC2014 by Tobias Kleinschmidt  is licensed under CC BY 3.0 DE DEED via Wikimedia Commons

A. Some of his advisors were concerned about Lieberman’s observance of Sabbath and holidays, worried that he might be unavailable in times of need.

B. They argued that the best way to draw votes from Barack Obama was to name a female as his vice presidential running mate.

C. His advisors recognized that a portion of the far right electorate who would normally vote Republican (especially against the Black Barack Obama) would never vote for a Jewish candidate.

D. While Lieberman was viewed as a moderate to conservative Democrat, he was a supporter of abortion rights, which McCain’s advisors said would prevent many Republicans from voting for a McCain/Lieberman ticket.

E. They felt that McCain’s religious “family values” constituents would not want McCain to have a running mate whose name means “Lover Man.”

Click here for the answer.

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