99 Fun Facts About Judaism

Which book opens the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses?

Genesis is read again each Simchat Torah the moment the final reading of the Pentateuch ends, so the yearly cycle never stops.

On which day of the week does Shabbat begin at sunset?

Friday evening: candles are usually lit 18 minutes before sunset, a custom called 'adding to Shabbat'.

On a Hanukkah menorah, what is the extra candle used to light the other eight called?

Shamash means 'attendant', and the lights grow by one each night because the House of Hillel's order won out over the House of Shammai's.

Which holiday celebrates Queen Esther saving the Jews from the vizier Haman?

Purim takes its name from pur, the lot Haman cast to pick the day of his planned massacre.

What is the common English translation of Yom Kippur?

Day of Atonement: it was the one day the High Priest could enter the Temple's Holy of Holies.

What does the name Rosh Hashanah literally mean?

Head of the year, yet it falls on the first of Tishrei, the seventh month, because the Bible also names a spring month, Nisan, as the first.

What is the Hebrew term for the leavened food forbidden during Passover?

Chametz is banned because the Israelites left Egypt in such haste that their dough had no time to rise.

Tradition matches the prohibitions among the 613 commandments to the days of what?

The solar year's 365 days match the prohibitions, yet no one today can keep all 613, since many could be performed only at the Temple, which no longer stands.

In Orthodox practice, a Jewish girl comes of age at 12 and becomes what?

Bat mitzvah girls in Orthodox synagogues usually don't read from the Torah as boys do, though in Reform synagogues girls read from it just like boys.

Which festival falls fifty days after Passover and was called Pentecost by Greek-speaking Jews?

Shavuot recalls the Ten Commandments at Sinai, so on its first day they are read aloud in synagogue.

A shofar is typically made from the horn of which animal?

Ram's horn recalls the ram Abraham sacrificed in place of Isaac, though Yemenite Jews blow the long horn of a kudu instead.

By biblical rule, the Temple menorah's lamps could burn only which fuel?

Olive oil was the only fuel allowed, which is why the Hanukkah miracle turns on a single sealed jar of pure oil.

Which Roman monument depicts the Temple menorah being carried off as spoils?

Arch of Titus shows the menorah in Rome's victory parade, and that relief became the model for the State of Israel's emblem.

Which city's Jewish community first carried the Star of David on its banner, launching its use as a Jewish emblem?

Prague's lead spread to other communities, and Zionists later adopted the star as a secular emblem, putting it at the centre of Israel's flag.

Geometrically, what shape is the Star of David?

Hexagram: the same six-pointed shape was long called the Seal of Solomon and was used by non-Jews as well as Jews.

A mezuzah is fixed to which part of a Jewish home?

Doorposts of every room except bathrooms get one, and many Jews touch it and kiss their fingertips as they pass.

The Mourner's Kaddish, said for 11 months after a parent's death, may be recited only in the presence of what?

A minyan, a quorum of ten adult Jews, must answer 'Amen' at set points, so a mourner cannot say it alone.

Which medieval scholar wrote the Mishneh Torah and served as a court physician in Saladin's Egypt?

Maimonides was born in Córdoba and died in Egypt, but he is said to have been buried in Tiberias, as he had wished.

Which ruler is believed to have begun the Western Wall's lowest, largest stone courses?

Herod the Great raised it as a retaining wall for his enlarged Temple Mount platform, so it was never part of the Temple itself.

Tisha B'Av mourns both Temples; which king destroyed the first one?

Nebuchadnezzar II razed it and carried the Jews off into exile in Babylon, and tradition says the Second Temple fell on the same date.

Which biblical book is read in synagogue on Tisha B'Av?

Lamentations is read, followed by kinnot, dirges that over the centuries came to mourn later calamities such as the Holocaust.

Jews celebrate Esther's triumph over Haman on the 14th day of which Hebrew month?

Adar hosts it, but cities walled since Joshua's time celebrate a day later, because the fighting in Shushan went on an extra day.

Besides the Babylonian Talmud, what is the other, earlier Talmud called?

Jerusalem is only its name: it was compiled in Galilee, roughly a century before the longer and more authoritative Babylonian Talmud.

Who compiled the Mishnah in its current form in the early third century?

Judah ha-Nasi gathered the oral law into one code because Jewish communities were scattering and the old traditions risked being forgotten.

The Hebrew Bible's 24 books fall into three parts; what acronym names the whole collection?

Tanakh's books were all taken into Christianity's Old Testament in a new order, and Catholic Bibles include several more.

Sephardic Jews are associated with the historic Jewish communities of which region?

Iberian Peninsula: Sepharad, a place named in the Bible, came to mean Iberia, and that is how the Sephardim got their name.

Ashkenazi Jewish communities consolidated in the 10th century in which region?

Rhineland communities grew partly from Jews who moved north from Italy, and its towns Speyer, Worms and Mainz became the cradle of Ashkenazi Judaism.

Yiddish developed as a vernacular based on which language?

High German, written in Hebrew letters; the Holocaust destroyed most of the communities that spoke it every day, and its use collapsed.

Which Yiddish-language writer received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978?

Isaac Bashevis Singer became famous in English through Saul Bellow's 1953 translation of his story 'Gimpel the Fool'.

Who first publicized the Zohar in the 13th century?

Moses de León said he had copied it from an ancient work by Shimon bar Yochai, but modern scholars believe he wrote it himself.

Which 16th-century mystic is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah?

Isaac Luria wrote almost nothing down; his teachings spread only after his disciple Chaim Vital recorded them.

Who wrote the Shulchan Aruch, the 1565 law code whose name means 'Set Table'?

Joseph Karo wrote it in Safed, and Moses Isserles's Ashkenazi glosses, 'the Tablecloth', let both traditions use the Set Table.

Rabbi Abraham Geiger formulated the principles of Reform Judaism in which country?

Germany was where the movement began, but it went on to win its greatest following in the United States.

Which leading thinker of the Jewish Enlightenment inspired the hero of Lessing's play 'Nathan the Wise'?

Moses Mendelssohn met Lessing, reportedly over a game of chess, and became one of his closest friends.

Hasidic Judaism began as an 18th-century revival movement in which region?

Eastern Europe: its rise there drew fierce opposition, and in 1772 the Vilna Gaon signed a ban excommunicating its followers.

Which Jewish group bases its practice on the written Torah alone, rejecting the oral law?

Karaites have been compared with the Sadducees, who also rejected the Pharisees' oral law, though Karaites deny any direct descent.

Which fringed prayer shawl is worn by Jewish men during services?

Tallit wearing is not itself commanded in the Bible: the Torah commands only fringes on the corners of a garment.

Which trained specialist traditionally performs a brit milah on a baby boy's eighth day?

A mohel performs it, and the eighth-day rule is so binding that the brit normally goes ahead even when that day is Shabbat.

What is the name of the bath used for ritual immersion?

Mikveh water must be naturally gathered, such as rain or spring water, so many mikvehs are built to collect rainwater.

To be kosher, a fish must have fins and what else?

Scales, and they must be easy to see and remove, so shellfish and other scaleless water creatures are not kosher.

Which kashrut term describes foods such as eggs that are neither meat nor dairy?

Pareve covers fish, yet fish is not eaten mixed with meat; when both are served at one meal, they go on separate plates.

Tu BiShvat, one of the Mishnah's four New Years, is the new year for what?

Trees: the school of Hillel set the date on the 15th of Shevat, while the school of Shammai wanted the 1st.

Which illuminated medieval Haggadah from Spain is named after the Balkan capital where it is kept?

Sarajevo's museum librarian Derviš Korkut, a Muslim, risked his life to hide it from the Nazis.

According to the Zohar, which forefather is welcomed on the seventh day of Sukkot?

David comes last because the seven guests are welcomed in a set order, each matching one of the seven lower sefirot of Kabbalah.

Which ceremony, with wine, sweet spices and a many-wicked candle, marks the end of Shabbat?

Havdalah ends with the candle being doused in the wine left over from the cup.

In the Arab and Islamic world, the Western Wall is named after what?

The Buraq is the winged steed Muhammad is said to have tethered at the wall during his Night Journey.

Which desert fortress above the Dead Sea was the last stronghold of Jewish rebels in the war against Rome?

Masada fell in 73 or 74 CE, and by Josephus's account nearly 1,000 defenders chose death over capture, a claim historians still debate.

The Shema's first verse, 'Hear, O Israel', comes from which book of the Torah?

Deuteronomy 6:4 holds it, and Jews traditionally say the Shema as their last words, as Rabbi Akiva did while being executed by the Romans.

What is the hidden piece eaten as the last morsel of the Seder called?

Afikoman comes from a Greek word for 'dessert', and children often hide it and bargain for a reward, which keeps them awake.

Leonard Nimoy based which Star Trek gesture on the hand sign of the Jewish priestly blessing?

The Vulcan salute borrows the hand shape of the kohanim, who bless the congregation with both hands spread to form the Hebrew letter shin.

Which Dodgers pitcher sat out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur?

Sandy Koufax gave the opener to Don Drysdale, who was hit hard by the Minnesota Twins, yet Koufax still finished the 1965 Series as its Most Valuable Player.

What do visitors traditionally leave on a Jewish grave instead of flowers, as a lasting sign of remembrance?

Small stones outlast cut flowers, one reason often given for a custom that echoes the biblical practice of marking a grave with stones before headstones came into use.

Which insect does the Torah permit as food, a tradition Yemenite Jews kept alive into modern times?

Locusts are the exception to the ban on eating insects: Leviticus allows four kinds, and the Jews of Yemen passed down which species qualified.

At the end of a Jewish wedding ceremony, what does the groom traditionally crush under his right foot?

A glass is broken, in the best-known explanation, so that even at the happiest moment of their lives the couple remembers the destruction of the Temple.

Which word, sung in churches and synagogues alike, is a Hebrew phrase meaning 'praise Yah'?

Hallelujah joins hallelu, a call for a whole group to praise, with Yah, a shortened form of the four-letter name of God.

Which Hanukkah spinning top carries four Hebrew letters said to stand for 'a great miracle happened there'?

Dreidel letters began as Yiddish rules for a gambling game (nothing, all, half, put in); the miracle phrase came later, and tops made in Israel say 'here' instead.

Which flat bread do Jews eat at Passover because the Israelites fled Egypt too quickly for dough to rise?

Matzah has to be baked fast: dough counts as leavened 18 minutes after the flour gets wet, so bakers work against the clock.

Besides food and drink, what do observant Jews traditionally avoid wearing on the fast of Yom Kippur?

Leather shoes are one of the day's five prohibitions, alongside eating and drinking, washing, perfumes or lotions, and marital relations.

Which Jewish phrase of congratulation is built on a Hebrew word that originally meant 'constellation'?

Mazel tov literally means 'good luck', but as a description of what has just happened rather than a wish, which is why it follows the good news.

Hanukkah marks the rededication of the Temple after which Jewish rebels defeated the Seleucid Empire?

The Maccabees may owe their name to an old word for 'hammer', a tribute to their leader's ferocity in battle.

Which braided bread, eaten at Shabbat meals, is named after a portion of dough set aside as an offering?

Challah, in rabbinic usage, is the piece of dough separated before baking as a tithe for the priests, a step bakers still call taking challah.

Which skullcap, also known by the Yiddish name yarmulke, do many Jewish men wear as a sign of reverence?

Kippah wearing grew from custom rather than biblical law: the Hebrew Bible asks only priests to cover their heads, and the Talmud records it as a habit of the especially devout.

On which desert mountain does the Torah say the Israelites were given the Ten Commandments?

Mount Sinai also goes by the name Horeb in the Bible, and scholars generally treat the two as one place, though nobody has settled which real peak it was.

Under which open-sided canopy, a symbol of the couple's future home, does a Jewish wedding take place?

A chuppah is ideally raised under open sky, so some indoor wedding halls have a special opening in the roof that is uncovered for the ceremony.

Which Jewish mourning period, kept at home after a burial, takes its name from the Hebrew word for seven?

Shiva lasts seven days, during which the mirrors in the house are covered, by one common explanation so that mourners give no thought to their own appearance.

For which prophet is an extra cup of wine poured and the front door opened at the Passover Seder?

Elijah gets the disputed fifth cup: the rabbis could not agree whether it should be drunk, so the matter was left for him to settle when he returns.

At Rosh Hashanah, apple slices are dipped in what to wish for a sweet new year?

Honey with apples is a medieval addition to the festival, and Ashkenazi tables often carry a honey cake called lekach as well.

Which African animal is kosher in principle because it both chews its cud and has split hooves?

The giraffe passes both tests, unlike the pig, which has split hooves but does not chew its cud, or the camel, which chews its cud but lacks the hooves.

In Jewish folklore, which creature is shaped from clay and brought to life by sacred Hebrew words?

A golem, in some tales, is animated by writing emet, the Hebrew word for truth, on its forehead.

What is the Hebrew title of the specialist who hand-letters Torah scrolls, tefillin and mezuzah parchments?

A sofer is also needed for the scrolls of the prophets read in synagogue and for gittin, the documents of a Jewish divorce.

In a synagogue, what is the ornamental cabinet that houses the Torah scrolls called?

The ark takes its Hebrew name, Aron Kodesh, from the Ark of the Covenant, the chest kept in the innermost room of the ancient Temple.

What is the Hebrew name of the eternal light that hangs in every synagogue as a reminder of the Temple menorah?

Ner tamid lamps also recall the perpetual fire that was kept on the Temple's altar of burnt offerings.

Which ritual pointer, often tipped with a tiny hand, lets a reader follow the Torah scroll without touching it?

Yad is simply the Hebrew for 'hand', and besides marking the place it keeps fingers off the parchment during the reading.

Which synagogue official, known in Hebrew as a hazzan, leads the congregation in sung prayer?

The cantor shares a job title with church musicians: the same English word is used in Christianity for the person who leads the singing.

Which ancient language, a close relative of Hebrew, carries most of the debate in the Babylonian Talmud?

Aramaic was once the common tongue of empires from Assyria to Persia, and parts of the biblical books of Daniel and Ezra are written in it.

Which study programme works through the Babylonian Talmud one page a day, finishing in about seven and a half years?

Daf Yomi was proposed by the Polish rabbi Meir Shapiro in 1923, and each run through the 2,711 pages ends with a mass celebration called the Siyum HaShas.

Which symbolic boundary, often a wire strung between poles, lets observant Jews carry things outdoors on Shabbat?

An eruv in a modern city is mostly ordinary utility poles and wires, read in Jewish law as a chain of doorframes that turns the streets into one shared enclosure.

Which Jewish stew simmers overnight so that a hot meal can be served on Shabbat without cooking that day?

Cholent pots were once carried to the town baker, whose ovens stayed hot and slow-cooked every family's stew through the night.

Which Jewish prayer book, used for daily and Shabbat services, takes its name from a Hebrew root meaning 'order'?

The siddur in its earliest surviving form was drawn up in the ninth century by Amram ben Sheshna, head of the Sura academy in Babylonia.

Which Jewish marriage contract, signed by two witnesses, sets out the groom's obligations to his bride?

The ketubah replaced the biblical bride price with a sum owed to the wife if the marriage ended through divorce or the husband's death.

Which Hebrew word for charitable giving literally means 'righteousness', marking it as an obligation?

Tzedakah is an ethical duty meant to help the poor support themselves, where the English word 'charity' suggests a spontaneous act of goodwill.

Which Hebrew phrase, widely used for the pursuit of social justice, literally means 'repairing the world'?

Tikkun olam began in classical rabbinic writing as a reason for legal rulings that kept the social order, long before it became a call to activism.

Which declaration, named for opening words meaning 'all vows', begins the synagogue service on the eve of Yom Kippur?

Kol Nidre cancels vows made to God that a person cannot keep, and its name has stretched to cover the whole evening service.

Which biblical book, about a prophet who flees his mission to Nineveh, is read on the afternoon of Yom Kippur?

Jonah is chosen to prompt reflection on God's willingness to forgive those who repent, which is the theme of the whole fast.

In which Rosh Hashanah ritual do worshippers gather beside flowing water to symbolically cast away their sins?

Tashlich takes its name from a biblical verse about casting sins into the depths of the sea; some people toss in bread crumbs, a habit many rabbis oppose.

Which fragrant yellow citrus fruit is held together with a palm branch, myrtle and willow during Sukkot?

Etrog is the Hebrew word for the citron, one of the four species waved at the festival, and worshippers take special care to choose a fine one.

At the Passover Seder, the sweet fruit-and-nut paste charoset recalls which material used by enslaved Israelites?

Mortar is what its colour and texture are meant to suggest, and many recipes draw on fruits and spices named in the Song of Songs.

At the Passover Seder, who traditionally sings the Four Questions about why the night is different?

The youngest child able to manage it sings Ma Nishtana near the start of the Haggadah, and the rest of the evening's telling serves as the answer.

Which Yiddish word names the anniversary of a death, marked by lighting a candle that burns for 24 hours?

Yahrzeit literally means 'year-time', and the day is also kept by reciting the Mourner's Kaddish at synagogue services.

Which Israelite king, famed for his wisdom, built the First Temple in the Hebrew Bible's account?

Solomon had outside help: Hiram, king of Tyre, agreed to supply the cedar and cypress wood for the building.

Which Persian king, called God's anointed in the Book of Isaiah, let exiled Jews return home from Babylon?

Cyrus the Great is the only non-Jewish figure the Hebrew Bible honours with the title of messiah, a word that means anointed one.

By what name is the ancient Jewish community of Ethiopia known, most of whose members have emigrated since 1979?

Beta Israel means 'house of Israel' in Ge'ez; an older outside label, Falasha, meaning landless or wanderers, is now considered offensive.

Which biblical patriarch was renamed Israel after wrestling with an angel, giving the Israelites their name?

Jacob had twelve sons who became the forefathers of the Twelve Tribes, and every tribe except Levi was allotted land of its own.

Which sage, asked to teach the whole Torah while standing on one foot, replied with a form of the Golden Rule?

Hillel told the man not to do to others what he found hateful himself, then added that the rest was explanation and he should go and learn it.

Which medieval French rabbi's commentary has appeared in every printed edition of the Talmud since the 1520s?

Rashi is an acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki of Troyes, whose notes on the Torah have themselves inspired more than 300 further commentaries.

Which council of 71 judges served as ancient Judaism's supreme court, hearing appeals from the lesser courts?

The Sanhedrin borrowed its name from the Greek synedrion, a 'sitting together', and in the Second Temple period it met inside the Temple complex.

Which Amsterdam philosopher was expelled by his Jewish community in 1656 and later made a living grinding lenses?

Baruch Spinoza was 23 when the writ of herem was issued, and afterwards he kept his distance from every religious affiliation.

Which ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures is named after the seventy scholars said to have made it?

The Septuagint legend says Ptolemy II of Egypt asked for the work and seventy-two translators did it, six from each of the twelve tribes.

A synagogue storeroom in which city preserved some 400,000 Jewish manuscript fragments, a trove known as its Geniza?

Cairo's Ben Ezra Synagogue kept the papers in a room with no door or window, reached only by climbing a ladder to an opening high in the wall.