Sixty years ago (February 9, 1964), Ed Sullivan looked at his audience and the camera and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles!” The moment was the unofficial launch of Beatlemania, and cemented Sullivan’s place as the arbiter of the best in entertainment at that time. Sullivan had started as a reporter and writer, known in particular for his syndicated column for the New York Daily News. He went on in 1948 to become host of the variety show Toast of the Town, which was later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show, remaining on the air until 1971. Besides presenting innumerable Jewish entertainers on his show (Joel Grey, Barbra Streisand, Irving Berlin, and Henny Youngman, to name just a few), Sullivan was a supporter of Jewish causes. He received the annual Brotherhood Award from Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in 1961, and he appeared at a UJA event at Madison Square Garden on June 11, 1967, the day after the Six-Day War ended. In 1930, Sullivan, a Catholic, married Sylvia Weinstein, a Jewish woman, against the wishes of both families. What did Sylvia Weinstein do to mollify her family when she and Ed Sullivan started dating?

Beatles with Ed Sullivan by CBS Television is in the public domain via Wikimedia Commons

A. She promised her family that he would convert before they got married.

B. She told her family that they should not object, as “You’ll see. Someday he’ll get you tickets to see the Beatles!”

C. She told her family she was dating someone named Ed Solomon.

D. She actually did not tell them she was dating a Catholic, knowing that nothing would mollify them. (Of course, they did find out once she got engaged).

E. She told her family that if they made her break up with Sullivan, she would start dating that Italian fellow, Topo Gigio.

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The 66th annual Grammy Awards were given out last night, highlighted by Taylor Swift winning Album of the Year for a record 4th time. Among the Jewish nominees were Doja Cat, Jack Antonoff, Gracie Abrams, and Noah Kahan. Kahan, the singer-songwriter nominated for Best New Artist (the winner was Victoria Monét), was born in New Hampshire to a Jewish father (who taught him to play guitar) and a Christian mother (who taught him writing), and he considers himself Jewish. His first hit song, Hurt Somebody, achieved gold status in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries in 2017. His successful single and album–both titled Stick Season, an appearance on Saturday Night Live, and sold out concerts at Madison Square Garden have elevated his status in the music world, leading to the Grammy nomination. Kahan has referred to himself as the Jewish Capaldi (a reference to Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi) and also as the Jewish Ed Sheeran. What has Kahan tweeted with a Jewish context?

Noah Kahan in 2019 is licensed under CC BY 3.0 LEGAL CODE, via Wikimedia Commons

A. Thanks Clearasil for fixing this pimply Jewish face.

B. Thanks Dad for putting the Jew and the music in me.

C. Thanks dry shampoo for helping me look less like a Jewish scarecrow.

D. Thanks bagels for bringing an end to my Yom Kippur fast.

E. Thanks Noah of Ark fame for passing on your cool name (and my two doggies).

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Levi Strauss & Co. announced that it would be eliminating up to 15% of their corporate jobs in an attempt to save money at a time of greatly declining sales. At the same time, the company, which has 10 years left on its naming rights deal for Levi’s Stadium (site of the San Francisco 49ers victory over the Detroit Lions yesterday, placing them in the Super Bowl), announced that they have extended that contract to maintain the stadium name until 2043. Levi Strauss immigrated to New York from Buttenheim in Bavaria in 1847. He worked in his family’s dry goods business, and in 1854 he moved to San Francisco, where he opened the west coast division of the company. In the 1870s, Levi Strauss & Co. began manufacturing the denim jeans that went on to become their primary product, first for workers such as lumberjacks and railroad employees, and eventually as fashion items, with Levi’s jeans now being sold in 110 countries, with annual revenue of more than 4 billion dollars. Which of the following is true about Levi Strauss and Levi’s jeans?

Levi Strauss 1 is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A. Strauss came up with the idea for denim pants with rivets based on the apron his uncle, a butcher, used in their hometown in Bavaria. The apron included rivets which attached the waist and neck ties to the main denim material of the apron.

B. The company’s iconic product is Levi’s 501 jeans, first sold 150 years ago. Strauss gave them that name based on the gematria, or numerical value, of the Hebrew word אֹשֶׁר, osher, which means happiness.

C. Strauss did not actually create Levi’s jeans. He just paid for the patent that was granted for the design of the pants.

D. Levi Strauss died in 1902 and was buried in a Jewish cemetery in Colma, just south of San Francisco. His coffin was custom made, covered in denim and sealed with Levi Strauss & Co. rivets.

E. The company has produced denim yarmulkes with their iconic rivet at the top.

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The New Hampshire Republican primary is being held this week. While Donald Trump is the clear front runner, Nikki Haley has narrowed the gap significantly in recent weeks. New Hampshire is home to about 10,000 Jewish residents, with a history going back to the late 1600’s. Among the many historic homes under the auspices of the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth is the Shapiro House, built in 1795 by Abraham and Sarah Shapiro, immigrants from the Ukraine. The state has about 10 Reform and Conservative synagogues, plus two Chabad Centers. Among the notable Jews from New Hampshire are comedian Sarah Silverman and Senator Warren Rudman, who served from 1980-1993. Though the Jewish population is small, what is the situation where the Jewish population temporarily grows significantly in New Hampshire?

Strawbery Banke  Shapiro House by benito roveran is licensed under CC BY 2.0 DEED

A. YJP Boston, a social and networking group of young Jewish professionals, holds an annual Chanukkah Ski Weekend at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire that attracts hundreds of participants every year.

B. In election years, many Jews who live in Massachusetts move temporarily to New Hampshire to vote in the presidential primary (New Hampshire law allows part-time residents to register to vote).

C. In October, Chabad of Manchester sponsors a “Changing Leaves Sukkos” celebration that attracts Jews from across New England, featuring a giant sukkah located in the foothills of the White Mountains, with views through the sukkah roof of the beautiful Fall leaves.

D. In the summer, Satmar Chassidic Jews flee from polluted Brooklyn and head to Bethlehem, New Hampshire for allergin-free fresh air.

E. In December, Messianic Jews from across America flee from their heathen communities and head to Bethlehem, New Hampshire to celebrate Christmas.

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