That's my thought as well.
I never learned Malachi, so over Shabbos I took out the Trei Asar and tried to get an idea.
I learned that the chachamim in the gemara dispute who Malachi really was. One view is that "Malachi" was his name. Another view is that Malachi means "my messenger", and that he was possibly Ezra.
So this fit with the first two lines of the riddle.
And of course, he was the last of the neviim, so that was kind of a giveaway.
OK so I made the changes and filled out almost everything
here are 105 jewish riddles/trivia you can make games out of for chanuka or a family event
in the end there are some questions whcih havent been answered
1. Where does the word "aish" (fire) appear 23 times in a single paragraph of davening?
Answer: In Hoshanos, in the paragraph that begins with the words "Lema'an aisan hanizrak be'lahav" .
2. Which bracha is said without shoes?
birchas kohanim, mikveh
3. Name one person in the Torah whose name is also a color.
lavan
4. Who was the first musician in history?
yuval
5. Which Aleph Bais is not used in bentching?
ף
6.Which bracha is recited 11 or 12 times each year?
The bracha that is said 11 or 12 times is birkas Hachodesh, Hallel is said on other days besides Rosh Chodesh as well.) Given that this bracha is not recited prior to the month of Tishrei, it is said 11 times during a regular year and 12 times during a leap year.
7.is it ever permissible to recite Hallel Hashalem On Rosh Chodesh?
Rosh chodesh teives because it's on Chanukah when we say full hallel
8.Which Brocha is recited once every few years?
The correct answer is " Lehadlik ner shel Shabbos v'shel Yom Hakippurim."
(Birchas Hachama is recited once every 28 years, so that would be less than just "once every few years.")
9.Who in the Torah is called a Kohen besides for Aharon and his sons? (At least 3 answers)
Malki Tzedek
Yisro kohen midyan.
Potifera, the father in law of Yosef, is called Kohen Ohn.
(During what years did the gezeires tach v'tat occur?)
(What is the name of the father of the Bnos Tzelafchad?)
10.Which Rosh Chodesh do we not say Hallel
Rosh chodesh tishrei (rosh hashana).
11.Which 4 brachos are only said once a year? (in chu'l)
1. Lehadlik ner shel Yom hakippurim
Nachem in Mincha on Tisha bav
bracha on the trees
Al biur chametz - leil bedikas chametz
12.When Mashiach comes and everyone gathers together in Yerushalayim, what 6 Brachos will be said.
13.When does it happen that we recite the longest birchas hamazon possible?
On Shabbos Chanuka when it falls out on Rosh Chodesh. We say Al hannisim, retzei and yaaleh veyavo. No skipping!
Plus a brit or wedding
14.who was the first shadchan in the Torah?
Eliezer
15.which mother did a bris mila on her son?
Tzipporah
16.who in the Torah used a silver becher (cup)?
Yosef
17.which tefila is never recited in shul?
kiddush levanah
tashlich?
Tefillas Haderech
18.Can anyone name 6 couples in Tanach who have names beginning with the same letter?
Esther and Achashveirosh
Aharon and Elisheva
Achav and Izevel
Noach and Naama
Osniel Ben Kenaz married Achsa daughter of Kalev. They both start with an ayin.
Esav and ada
19.Two ladies share the same name. One was the mother of a tzaddik, one of the greatest people in our nation, and the other was the mother of one of the greatest enemies of our people. What is that name?
Amatla'I - mother of Avraham Avinu and the other was the mother of Haman
20.Which murderer killed a quarter of the people in the world?
Kayin
21.Which Biblical mitzva can only be performed while sitting?
Mipnei seivah takum
22.Where in davening do we say 4 common names of people in a row?
Sim Shalom Tova Bracha chaim
23. There was a person who did not eat or drink anything for over 60 years. then he continued eating and drinking for a number of years until he died. What was his name?
Choni Hama'agel. He slept for 70 years, woke up, and then lived a number of years before passing away
24.How many nevi'im were there? How many nevi'os were there?
There were thousands. But we only have the written testimony of 48 Neviim and 7 nevios.
25 Where in chumash is a thing described as opening its mouth?
Bilaams donkey. Vatiftach es pi haason.
Earth opened its mouth to swallow Korach vatiftach ha'aretz es pi'ha
26. In Tanach:
Who was blind?
Yitzchok was blind. (Or very vision impaired)
27.Who was deaf?
Chushim Ben Dan was deaf
28.Who was lame?
a. Pharoah Necho (When he tried to sit on the throne of Shlomo Hamelech, a lion struck him)
b. Noach (after the lion bit him. But I'm not sure if we know where he bit him. Maybe he bit his arm?)
c. Mefiboshes was lame. When his nanny was fleeing with him, she dropped him by mistake and he was lame ever since.
d. Yaakov (after the angel of Aisav injured him in the hip socket.)
29.Who had only one eye?
Bilaam only had 1 eye.
30.who was a lefty?
Ehud ben Gaira
31.Who had a speech impediment?
Moshe
32.Name three places in Tanach where a shoe (or shoes) is mentioned.
That Avrohom wouldn't take even a shoelace from Melech sedom.
The shoe that Tov removed when Boaz redeemed Elimelech's field.
Chalitza
Shal Na'alecha Me'al raglecha
33.In which of the 24 sifrei Tanach is the name of Hashem never mentioned? Two answers!
Shir hashirim, esther
34.Which woman in the gemara was considered very smart?
Bruria
35.Which man in the gemara was very beautiful?
Rabbi yochanan
36.Who had 5 daughters and no sons? (2 people that I could think of)
Tzlafchad
Yehoshua
37.Which names in tanach are plaindromes?
נתן דוד ישי
38.Which person lived the longest and how long did he live?
Metushelach 969
39.Which person died at an age that the first, second and third digit of his age was the same number?
The person who died at an age where all 3 digits of his age were the same was Lemech, father of Noach, at 777.
40.Where do we find mention of dog or dogs in tanach
Dogs didn't bark at yetzias Mitzrayim, Eichah
41. Which bracha is recited only on Wednesdays?
Birchas Hachama it's always on Wed cause that's the day the sun was created.
42.Where do we have 39 in halacha?
Malkos
Melachos
43.How can an 11 day old have his bris on time?
He was born bein hashmashos erev shabbos., at the exact moment when it was not clear if it was Friday or Shabbos. So he couldn't have it on the 8th day, shabbos. The 9th day was sukkos. This was in Chul so he couldn't have it second day YT either. He ended up having it first day chol hamoed sukkos, on the 11th day
Yup. Actually the Gemara talks about this. When Rosh Hashanah is on Thursday/Friday. 2days RH is in the Gemara). So a baby born a week earlier bain hashmashos Wednesday evening has the bris on Sunday at 11 days old and it's called bzmano.
44. How many mitzvos d'rabbanan are there?
7:
Ner shabbos
Ner chanukah
Krias megillah
Netilas yadayim
Hallel
Brachos
Eruvin
45.Who was killed with something sweet?
Lots daughter Lot's daughter was killed by coating her body in honey and being stung to death.
46.Which son never existed?
Ben sorer u more
47.When did monkeys come from people?
in the dor haflaga some people turned into monkeys?
48.what are the 4 names of mashiach?
49.Who turned into an animal?
Nevuchadnetzar also agag
50.According to Rashi these people were able to fly. Who?
So according to Rashi, Bilaam and the kings of Miyan flew up with magic. Pinchas chased after and pointed the Tzis at them and they fell.
Also shemever- rashi in lechlecha
51.Which bracha can a person say only once in his/her life?
becoming a ger
Pidyon haben for some people
52.Who was the first person to have fingers?
noach
53.Who was the first person to age physically?
avraham
54.Who was the first person who got sick before he died?
yaakov
55.Who was the first person who said a tefila ?(al pi pshat- not medresh) and what was the tefila?
Avraham avinu for the people of sdom
56.Who in Tanach was a twin?
Yaakov and Eisav
Peretz and zerach
All the shevatim were born with twin sisters aside from Rochel's children.
rachel and Leah were twins.
Hevel also had a twin. Kayin was born with 2 sisters.
57.Tricky: what’s the connection between the son of Miriam, a dipped vegetable, the color of Tzitzis?
חור כרפס ותכילת- from the Megillah
58.What do these have in common? A lion, a wolf, a deer, and a donkey?
they are all symbolized by shevatim
Yehuda was a lion.
Binyamin was a wolf
Yosef was a donkey.
Naftali was a deer.
59.When was a shofar used as a weapon of war?
conquering Yericho- they blew their shofars and the wall fell
3 separate people from Tanach. (You can be a little creative with these.)
64. What are Moshe Rabeinu's 10 names?
(There are actually 11, because Moshe is not included in the list. But Moshe is the only one the Torah ever uses.)
Yered
Avigdor
Chaiver
Avi Socho
Yekusiel
Avi Zanuach
Tovia
Sh'maya
Ben Nesanel
Levi
65. who was referred to as vinegar?
king chizkiyahu Ben achaz was referred to as "yayin Ben chometz" wine the son of vinegar so his father achaz is vinegar
66.Father and son of an inanimate object
אבנר בן נר! His name is literally father of candle son of candle
67. Who is described as beautiful yet you would never want to be her?
Eshes yifas toar
68. Who in tanach celebrated his birthday?
pharo
69. Who in tanach was morbidly obese?
Eglon melech Moav
70. Who didn't do laundry for decades yet didn't smell?
The yiden in the midbar
71. Name a passuk that has three words and then those same three words in opposite order
שופך דם האדם באדם דמו ישפך
72.
73. What word in Tanach has 4 kamatzes in a row?
And which word has 4 pasachs?
74. Which mitzvah can one only do accidentally?
Shikcha
75.
בתורה הוא מופיע עם כנפיים
בגמרא הוא מופיע עם קרניים
ובמגילה הוא מופיעה פעמיים
Tor - תר
In the Torah it's a dove.
In the gemara it's an ox.
In the megilla it appears twice:
וּבְהַגִּ֡יעַ תֹּר֩ נַעֲרָ֨ה וְנַעֲרָ֜ה
וּבְהַגִּ֣יעַ תֹּר־אֶסְתֵּ֣ר בַּת־אֲבִיחַ֣יִל
76 in which 24 hour period can you fulfill the most mitzvas d'rabanan?
Shabbos rosh chodesh Chanukah
I assume that you mean "of the list of 7 mitzvos d'rabanan"? (Though I'm not sure what Rosh Chodesh adds here above any Shabbos Chanukah that gives us ner Shabbos, ner Chanukah, Hallel, eiruv, plus brachos and netilas yadaim .)
If you're counting anything that's d'rabanan b'zman hazeh, then the first night of Pesach that falls out on Shabbos probably wins with marror, arba kosos, possibly Hallel at the Seder depending on whose shittos you follow. Plus hadlakas neiros and kiddush of Yom Tov. (The only thing lost would be ner Chanukah.)
Second night Pesach in chul would give us even more, since all of the mitzvos are d'rabanan (plus sefiras ha'omer according to the shittos that it's d'rabanan today), but it can't fall out on Shabbos, so it probably would require some precise counting of exactly what counts a as a mitzvah d'rabanan.
77 Who had a donkey
Avraham Avinu
Bilam
Isha Hasunamis (Ason not Chamor)
Kish the father of Shaul.
And Moshe- he traveled back to Mitzrayim with Tziporah on a donkey.
78. Who sat under a tree
3 Malachim
Yishmael
Women in Mitzrayim
Yona
Devorah Haneviah
Jews in the days of Shlomo Hamelech, who were described as "Ish tachas Gafno v'tachas te'ainaso"
79. Who did an aveira leshem shomayim (I can think of 3)
Penina
Aishes potiphar
Reuvein
Aharon with the eigel
lots daughters
The mekoshesh eitzim
80. How many people in the Torah can you come up with who have 2-letter names?
ער
שת
נח
שם
חם
דן
גד
נר
81. What is גוח אדזט?
This is the numbers of the leap years in a 19-year cycle. 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19.
82. Who never sinned their whole life?
The Gemara says that there were 4 people who only died because of Adam Harishon. Amram, Binyomin, Yishai, and Kilav
83. Which Sefer in Tanach is written in the order of the Aleph Bais?
Eichah
84. Identify these people:
1.Tzlilfonis
2. Tzurishadai
3. Reichav and Baana
4. Arpachshad
1. shimshons mother
2. the nasi of shevet Shimon is listed in the beginning of Bamidbar as Shelumiel ben Tzurishadai.
3. Reichav and Baana are found in Shmuel beis. They were brothers who killed Ishboshes by stabbing him while he slept. They cut off his head and brought it to Dovid Hamelech, thinking Dovid would be pleased. He was not- he had them killed.
4. shem's son
85. The bracha of this food item will change if you wait long enough. What is it?
An unripe banana would be Shehakol. But if you leave it alone it will ripen and become Ha'adama
Another one - and Esrog on the last day of Sukkos you can bentch lulav with it. Leave it until after Y"T and now you can make Ha'etz on it.
Wine turns into vinegar if left to ferment
86. Which righteous people entered Gan Eden alive? (there were 9)
87. Which name doesn’t belong:
Noach, Metushelach, Korach, Pinchus
Metushelach isn't a Parsha
88. Two people ate bread. How could it be that one ate a half loaf and was obligated to recite Birkas Hamazon, and the second ate two loaves and was not obligated to recite Birkas Hamazon?
a. The second was an Onen and is absolved from all Mitzvos
b. Second person ate the loaves in "shiurim" too small amount over too long a period of a time to say Birkas Hamazon
89. What two things are permissible when separated but forbidden when mixed?
Milk and meat
Wool and linen
90. Who had their name changed at some point in their life?
Avraham
Sara
Yaakov
Yehoshua
91. Which famous tefila has only 5 words?
קל נא רפא נא לה
92. Name a person who was thought to be Moshiach (either because he claimed to be Moshiach, or because others thought he was.) (I can think of 4)
Mashiach.
Chizkiahu couldhave been Mashiach if he would have sung Shira.
Bar Kochba could have been Mashiach according to R Akiva.
Shabtai Tzvi.
Yeshu
93. Which person wrote a dictionary of hebrew words and is quoted by Rashi? Extra credit if you can say where Rashi quotes him.
Menachem ben Seruk
94. what do these three people have in common:
a. The son of the Rambam,
b. the Raavad
c. The Ibn Ezra
All named Avraham
95. What is a mitzva that if done more than absolutely necessary will not be fulfilled at all?
96. Upon what do we recite a bracha, even though we cannot see it?
Thunderשכוחו וגבורתו מלא עולם…
Hearing good news הטוב והמטיב
Hearing bad news ברוך דיין האמת
המחזיר נשמות לפגרים מתים
On stuff u can’t see but u can smell - הנותן ריח טוב בפירות
97. When is it permissible to open the door of a room but forbidden to close it?
When an animal is in the room on Shabbos
98. You have 2 items, one is forbidden, the other permitted. When you mix them the permitted becomes forbidden and the forbidden permitted.
Chicken and (koshering) salt
99. Who were the two people who saw three; one was killed and the other lived?
sar hamashkim and sar haofim
100. How tall was Moshe and how do you know?
10 Amos
He was 10 amos tall, had an axe that was 10 amos long, and jumped 10 amos into the air and still only reached the ankle of Og melech habashan!
101. What does Yaknehaz stand for?
The order of kiddush and havdala when Yom Tov comes out on motzei Shabbos.
Yayin
Kiddush
Ner
Havdala
Zman
Sukkos it's yaknehazel- leisheiv
And sometimes acharon Shel Pesach is just yakneha. No shehechiyanu.
102. Can you list the asarah harugei malchus?
Rabbi Yishmael
Rabbi Shimon
Rabbi Akiva
Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon
Rabbi Elazar Ben Shamua
Rabbi Chutzpis Hameturgeman
Rabbi Yeshevav Hasofer
Rabbi Yehuda Ben Bava
R' Chanina ben Chachinai
Rabbi Yehuda Ben Dama
103. What is שעטנז an acronym for?
רשי
שוע טווי ונוז
104. What are the three other names of Daniel?
105. What are seven other names for the Beis Hamikdash?
106. When is it permissible to eat something on Shabbos but forbidden to eat after Shabbos?
wine and meat on shabbos during the 9 days
Also, chometz up to a certain time on shabbos erev pesach
86. Nine people entered Gan Eden alive. They were:
Chanoch son of Yered
Eliezer eved Avrohom
Serach bas Asher
Bas Pharoah (Bitya)
Eliyahu Hanavi
Moshiach
Eved Melech Hakushi (who saved yirmiyahu from the pit)
Chiram melech Tzur
Yaavetz , son of R. Yehuda Hanassi.
85. For the question of how can it be that the food in front of you will be different if you just wait some time, the author of this riddle actually had two different answers in mind than what was suggested here.
1. Wine has a borei Pri hagafen. However some say that frozen wine would require a shehakol. So the bracha would change back to Hagafen as time progresses and the wine defrosts. (Please note that this is a machlokes so for practical application, ask your lor.)
2. The second answer only applies to sefardim. Matza eaten during the year is Mezonos. And matza eaten on Pesach is Hamotzi. So the same matza which is mezonos before Pesach, if you wait until Pesach becomes hamotzi. And some say that if you eat the matza after pesach it reverts back to Mezonos.
95. The mitzva that if done more than absolutely necessary is as if it was not done at all-
Answer: Hafrashas Teruma. One who designates all his fruit as terumah does not fulfill the mitzva, as the requirement of the separation of teruma is that it renders at least some remainder chullin (ie. Permissible to be eaten).
Last edited by b.chadash on Mon, Oct 18 2021, 2:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
To four fathers who were tzaddikim, my lineage I can trace,
And I'm included in the eight special people's space.
Along other tzaddikim I did showcase,
But the batei k'nesios was my place.
In Tanach, many people share my name,
Some as plain, some as leviim, and some as kohanim it does claim.
Who am I?
