For first time in decade, female student wins top Bible quiz
16-year-old Ruth Cohen takes top spot in Jerusalem’s traditional Independence Day competition; teens from US and Mexico, competing via video link, come in 3rd and 4th
A 16-year-old student from southern Israel on Tuesday became the first female student to win the International Bible Quiz in 10 years.
Ruth Cohen, a student at the Barahan Ulpana school in Mercaz Shapira, took first prize in the annual competition in Jerusalem on Wednesday, held every year on Independence Day.
This year, due to limitations brought on by the coronavirus crisis, the competition was held for the first time with no audience and with participants from outside Israel taking part via video link.
The spelling bee-like contest has teenage contestants answer trivia questions about the minutest of details from the most obscure biblical books. Contestants must locate or complete fragments of biblical verses, identify who said which quotation to whom, or name geographical details of the ancient Land of Israel.
Moshe Giladi, a student at the Makor Chaim school from Alon Shvut, took second place in the competition, organized by the Education Ministry, the IDF, the Jewish Agency and the Jewish National Fund. Chaim Nosson Shildes from the US came in third, and fourth place went to Miriam Sharam from Mexico.
More than 70 teens from 39 different countries spanning six continents took part in the competition, with 16 from eight different countries competing against each other in the televised final rounds.
Knesset Speaker and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, addressing the contestants as a judge, praised the competition for bringing together Jews from all around the world.
“We need this connection. We need this connection just as we need a tradition that connects our shared history, present and future,” he said. “Jewish heritage is the source of our cohesion. It is the introduction to the State of Israel and the power of the Jewish people.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking a question in the final round via video link, said that the Bible is not an ancient document, but a vibrant, constantly revitalized book.
“There is no statute of limitations on the Bible, just the opposite: what characterizes the Bible above all is constant revitalization,” said Netanyahu, whose son Avner is a past third-place finisher. “Each generation finds answers to the challenges of its time in the Bible. Each generation adds new layers to the acts of the heroes of the book of books.”
The Times of Israel Community.