Seder Trivia Game, 2020 / 5780 edition
At our synagogue's congregational seders for the last few years, we have played the following game: I have collected unusual Pesach stories, and shared three such stories with the community: two true stories, and one fictional story. Participants then have to guess which two stories are true and which one is false. (If you listen to Wait, wait, don't tell me, you get the idea, except that only one story is false.)
You can see previous editions of this game here http://rabbischeinberg.blogspot.com/search?q=trivia.
This is what was presented at our congregational seder in 2019. 2 are true; one is fictional. Answers at the bottom!
==============================
At our synagogue's congregational seders for the last few years, we have played the following game: I have collected unusual Pesach stories, and shared three such stories with the community: two true stories, and one fictional story. Participants then have to guess which two stories are true and which one is false. (If you listen to Wait, wait, don't tell me, you get the idea, except that only one story is false.)
You can see previous editions of this game here http://rabbischeinberg.blogspot.com/search?q=trivia.
This is what was presented at our congregational seder in 2019. 2 are true; one is fictional. Answers at the bottom!
==============================
2 stories are true, one is fictional.
STORY #1:
What would you do in order to spend the Passover Seder with your family?
At 7am on the morning before Passover 2018, an Uber driver from the Bronx, who shall remain nameless, came to understand the lengths that some people will go through to get to a seder.
He had just responded to a drive request. The only information that the Uber driver’s app gave him was that the ride was expected to take more than 45 minutes. He figured it was going to be a request for a ride to the airport -- and sure enough, when he pulled up, a family of five proceeded to load luggage into his car.
The app then indicated that in fact, this family was traveling to the airport -- just not the airport he was expecting.
He asked the family: “The Uber app says that you want me to drive you from New York to Logan Airport in Boston. That can’t be right.”
But the family members said, “Actually, that’s correct.”
The driver said: “You know the fare is going to be at least $800?”
They said - “yes.”
The passengers, Jeanne Fisher and her family, had already done the math. Their flight from LaGuardia Airport to Miami had been cancelled the day before Passover, and they found out that the only other flight from the entire northeast into South Florida that would arrive before the Seder, that had available seats, was leaving from Boston. So what choice did they have? They had to get to Boston so that they could get to Miami.
The Uber driver laughed but agreed to drive them, and decided to take the opportunity to visit his relatives in Connecticut on the way back. The ride is not the longest in Uber history, but at more than 4 hours, it ranks among the longest and most expensive Uber rides of 2018.
The Fishers made it to Boston Logan Airport in time for their flight, scheduled for before 1 p.m. But then they ran into another problem — their new flight was delayed. This time, thankfully, it was only for 40 minutes, and they arrived in Miami at 5:10pm, with just enough time to get to their family seder on time. I sure hope they gave a good tip to the driver.
===========================================
2 stories are true, one is fictional.
STORY #2:
Entrepreneur Aaron Levine, of Wilmington, Delaware, is known to his family and friends for having the most extensive collection of crazy socks. He has socks for just about every color, every sports team, and every holiday. But if you are Jewish and you collect crazy socks, you learn that it is hard to find holiday socks for Jewish holidays other than Hanukkah.
This is what inspired Aaron Levine, and his childhood friend who is an organic clothing manufacturer, to start selling SederSox®, Passover-seder-themed socks, including the Matzah sock, the Seder plate sock, and the Plague of Frogs sock, among others. These socks are made out of breatheable organic cotton -- and because of the company’s commitment to environmentalism, the socks also incorporate other biodegradable plant-based fibers, including wheat fibers. They were excited to unveil their product in anticipation of Passover 2018, with the hope that it would be sold in Judaica stores and other retailers, as well as on their website.
But when SederSox® reached the market in February of 2018, Aaron started to get detailed inquiries from some potential retailers and customers, asking about exactly how the wheat fibers are produced.
And Aaron soon learned, to his dismay: because the process of producing the wheat fibers involves mixing wheat with water and letting it stand for more than 18 minutes, it meets the technical definition of Hametz. In other words, SederSox® are made with a leavened product that is not supposed to be seen or even owned during the holiday of Passover.
This is why, for 2019, SederSox® are no longer made with wheat fibers.
The remaining 2018 inventory of SederSox® can still be purchased from their website, but every order now comes with a note: “According to many rabbis, it is a violation of Jewish law to wear SederSox® to your Seder unless the sock is clearly marked ‘Kosher for Passover.’”
===========================================
2 stories are true, one is fictional.
STORY #3:
Who doesn’t love matzah? Well, lots of people don’t love matzah. But you probably have realized that matzah is on the shelves in many supermarkets all year round. And a lot of that matzah on the shelves all year round is not even kosher for Passover. There are clearly plenty of people eating matzah year round who are not doing so because they have to, but because they want to.
And you will never guess the identity of one major non-Jewish matzah consumer.
I will give you some hints.
He is one of the richest and most powerful people in the world.
He is legendary for his physical fitness.
He has a special relationship with the Jewish community in his country. And …
One of his favorite hobbies is using social media to steal elections in other countries.
Yes, you guessed it. In 2018, during the Moscow Limmud festival, Russia’s chief Rabbi Berel Lazar noted that matzah is one of the favorite foods of Russian president Vladimir Putin, throughout the whole year. “Putin said matzah is tasty, easy and healthy to eat,” said Rabbi Lazar. “He likes to eat matzah while drinking tea.”
And whereas Rabbi Lazar’s story has not been independently verified, you can be sure that a powerful person like Putin would not tolerate this story being told about him if it weren’t true. You know how much Putin hates “fake news.”
Answers:
Story #1 is true. (see https://www.jta.org/2018/03/30/united-states/familys-new-york-miami-flight-cancelled-right-passover)
Story #2 is false. (The prohibition on owning or coming in contact with hametz applies only to hametz items that are fit for consumption.)
Story #3 is true. (See https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5238427,00.html)
חג שמח!
STORY #1:
What would you do in order to spend the Passover Seder with your family?
At 7am on the morning before Passover 2018, an Uber driver from the Bronx, who shall remain nameless, came to understand the lengths that some people will go through to get to a seder.
He had just responded to a drive request. The only information that the Uber driver’s app gave him was that the ride was expected to take more than 45 minutes. He figured it was going to be a request for a ride to the airport -- and sure enough, when he pulled up, a family of five proceeded to load luggage into his car.
The app then indicated that in fact, this family was traveling to the airport -- just not the airport he was expecting.
He asked the family: “The Uber app says that you want me to drive you from New York to Logan Airport in Boston. That can’t be right.”
But the family members said, “Actually, that’s correct.”
The driver said: “You know the fare is going to be at least $800?”
They said - “yes.”
The passengers, Jeanne Fisher and her family, had already done the math. Their flight from LaGuardia Airport to Miami had been cancelled the day before Passover, and they found out that the only other flight from the entire northeast into South Florida that would arrive before the Seder, that had available seats, was leaving from Boston. So what choice did they have? They had to get to Boston so that they could get to Miami.
The Uber driver laughed but agreed to drive them, and decided to take the opportunity to visit his relatives in Connecticut on the way back. The ride is not the longest in Uber history, but at more than 4 hours, it ranks among the longest and most expensive Uber rides of 2018.
The Fishers made it to Boston Logan Airport in time for their flight, scheduled for before 1 p.m. But then they ran into another problem — their new flight was delayed. This time, thankfully, it was only for 40 minutes, and they arrived in Miami at 5:10pm, with just enough time to get to their family seder on time. I sure hope they gave a good tip to the driver.
===========================================
2 stories are true, one is fictional.
STORY #2:
Entrepreneur Aaron Levine, of Wilmington, Delaware, is known to his family and friends for having the most extensive collection of crazy socks. He has socks for just about every color, every sports team, and every holiday. But if you are Jewish and you collect crazy socks, you learn that it is hard to find holiday socks for Jewish holidays other than Hanukkah. This is what inspired Aaron Levine, and his childhood friend who is an organic clothing manufacturer, to start selling SederSox®, Passover-seder-themed socks, including the Matzah sock, the Seder plate sock, and the Plague of Frogs sock, among others. These socks are made out of breatheable organic cotton -- and because of the company’s commitment to environmentalism, the socks also incorporate other biodegradable plant-based fibers, including wheat fibers. They were excited to unveil their product in anticipation of Passover 2018, with the hope that it would be sold in Judaica stores and other retailers, as well as on their website.
But when SederSox® reached the market in February of 2018, Aaron started to get detailed inquiries from some potential retailers and customers, asking about exactly how the wheat fibers are produced.
And Aaron soon learned, to his dismay: because the process of producing the wheat fibers involves mixing wheat with water and letting it stand for more than 18 minutes, it meets the technical definition of Hametz. In other words, SederSox® are made with a leavened product that is not supposed to be seen or even owned during the holiday of Passover.
This is why, for 2019, SederSox® are no longer made with wheat fibers.
The remaining 2018 inventory of SederSox® can still be purchased from their website, but every order now comes with a note: “According to many rabbis, it is a violation of Jewish law to wear SederSox® to your Seder unless the sock is clearly marked ‘Kosher for Passover.’”
===========================================
2 stories are true, one is fictional.
STORY #3:
Who doesn’t love matzah? Well, lots of people don’t love matzah. But you probably have realized that matzah is on the shelves in many supermarkets all year round. And a lot of that matzah on the shelves all year round is not even kosher for Passover. There are clearly plenty of people eating matzah year round who are not doing so because they have to, but because they want to.
And you will never guess the identity of one major non-Jewish matzah consumer.
I will give you some hints.
He is one of the richest and most powerful people in the world.
He is legendary for his physical fitness.
He has a special relationship with the Jewish community in his country. And …
One of his favorite hobbies is using social media to steal elections in other countries.
Yes, you guessed it. In 2018, during the Moscow Limmud festival, Russia’s chief Rabbi Berel Lazar noted that matzah is one of the favorite foods of Russian president Vladimir Putin, throughout the whole year. “Putin said matzah is tasty, easy and healthy to eat,” said Rabbi Lazar. “He likes to eat matzah while drinking tea.”
And whereas Rabbi Lazar’s story has not been independently verified, you can be sure that a powerful person like Putin would not tolerate this story being told about him if it weren’t true. You know how much Putin hates “fake news.”
Answers:
Story #1 is true. (see https://www.jta.org/2018/03/30/united-states/familys-new-york-miami-flight-cancelled-right-passover)
Story #2 is false. (The prohibition on owning or coming in contact with hametz applies only to hametz items that are fit for consumption.)
Story #3 is true. (See https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5238427,00.html)
חג שמח!
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