Q 01/05

Which Hebrew letter, written ש, inspired the hand shape of Leonard Nimoy's Vulcan salute in Star Trek?

A) Tet

B) Ayin

C) Shin

D) Tsadi

Answer · why

C) Shin

Shin has three upward strokes, the shape Jewish priests make with their hands during a blessing. Nimoy peeked at the gesture in synagogue as a boy and...

Q 02/05

On a Hanukkah dreidel, which Hebrew letter, written ג, lets the spinner take everything in the pot?

A) Gimel

B) Nun

C) Shin

D) Zayin

Answer · why

A) Gimel

Gimel stands for a word meaning 'whole', so the spinner scoops the entire pot. The other three sides mean take half, do nothing, or put a piece in.

Q 03/05

Like Arabic, the Hebrew alphabet is written and read in which direction?

A) Left to right

B) Right to left

C) Top to bottom

D) Bottom to top

Answer · why

B) Right to left

Right to left is how every line of Hebrew runs. The script also has no capital letters, so names and sentence openings look like any other word.

Q 04/05

Which Hebrew letter, written א, did mathematician Georg Cantor borrow to name the sizes of infinite sets?

A) Ayin

B) Tsadi

C) Lamed

D) Aleph

Answer · why

D) Aleph

Aleph numbers rank infinities by size, beginning with aleph-null for the counting numbers. The letter's own name comes from an old Semitic word for 'o...

Q 05/05

The four Hebrew letters on a Hanukkah dreidel are said to stand for which phrase?

A) Next year in Jerusalem

B) The people of Israel live

C) Who can retell the mighty deeds

D) A great miracle happened there

Answer · why

D) A great miracle happened there

A great miracle happened there is the usual reading of the letters, pointing to the Hanukkah oil story. Dreidels made in Israel swap one letter so the...