Life

QUIZ: How Well Do You Remember The News From This Jewish Year?

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Apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah Image by iStock

By Ari Feldman and Jenny SingerSeptember 27, 2019

The Jewish year is coming to a close and we’re about to party like it’s 5780.

But first — lets find out if you remember the biggest, wildest, and weirdest headlines of this Jewish year.

If you’re a little rusty and want to remind yourself just how things got so whack, take a look through this year’s stories. You can read the Forward’s analysis of Jewish donations to 2020 Dem hopefuls, our investigation of the funding behind the shadowy organization Canary Mission, and our reporting on Jeffrey Epstein’s charitable habits. Remind yourself what it is that Lena Dunham did that was so unforgivable — this year’s Yom Kippur services are going to be very high-stakes for her.

For lighter fare, fall in love with the stars of “Shtisel,” recall the mystery of the giant safe that was unearthed from underneath a Chicago synagogue, and practice citing biblical verses like Gal Gadot and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did. Get inspired by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s favorite feminist role models, and the mammoth donations made by Muslim communities after the Pittsburgh massacre.

And if you have the nerve, stay for the weird stuff — Steven Spielberg’s family’s kosher restaurant, Michael Cohen’s extremely Jewish prison, and Sacha Baron Cohen’s extreme antics on “Who Is America.”

But first, the quiz. Good luck!

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

Jenny Singer is the deputy life/features editor for the Forward. You can reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @jeanvaljenny

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.

Jenny Singer is a freelance writer with pieces in Vox, the Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, and more. She was previously a staff writer at Glamour and the Forward, and she’s currently getting an MFA in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa.