Show host Dave Lefkowitz chats with his cousin, ADAM GLASS
Topics include: family, shopping, New York
Segment aired May 15, 2021 as part of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio/podcast program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.
Please Note: Segments extracted from “Dave’s Gone By” may have music and other elements removed for timing and media re-posting considerations. For the full interview with all elements, please visit the audio of the complete original broadcast.
Here is the 796th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired live on Facebook Saturday morning May 1, 2021. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Guests: actors Christiane Noll and Jason Graae. theater critics Leslie (Hoban) Blake and David Sheward, Dave’s wife Joyce.
Featuring: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews actress Christiane Noll; Jason Graae plays the Today/Yesterday trivia quiz vs. Leslie (Hoban) Blake and David Sheward; Dave Goes Off on Rash & Tag; Greeley Crimes & Old Times; Colorado Limerick of the Damned (La Garita, CO); Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection (Meron).
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN w/ Joyce 00:10:00 GUEST: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Christiane Noll 01:15:30 GREELEY CRIMES & OLD TIMES 01:26:00 TODAY/YESTERDAY Trivia Quiz: May 1 w/ Jason Graae, Leslie (Hoban) Blake, & David Sheward 03:05:00 Friends of the Daverhood 03:12:00 RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #169: Meron 03:20:30 DAVE GOES OFF: rash `n tag 03:59:00 COLORADO LIMERICK OF THE DAMNED: La Garita, CO 04:01:30 DAVE GOES OUT Classy Noll / on youtube
Shalom Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for April 30, 2021.
Happy Lag B’Omer everybody! And if you’ve ever had your Omer logged, you know just how delightful that can be.
Lag B’Omer is a relatively minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, but our people appreciate it because it is a happy one. Well, not completely happy. God won’t let a Jewish holiday be completely happy. And this festival, in particular, is about putting a bookend on a time of gloom.
Some say Lag B’Omer is celebrated because that day marked the end of a terrible plague in the Jewish community. No, not bad drivers. Rabbi Akiva, who was a great sage — and a mediocre parsley — had a lot of disciples who started dropping dead between Passover and Shavuoth. Somehow, on this date, they stopped dying. Maybe it was Pfizer, maybe Moderna — whatever. Suddenly it was time to rejoice.
Now, a completely different explanation for Lag B’Omer involves one of Ravi Akiva’s disciples, Shimon bar Yochai. Lag B’Omer is the day he kicked the b’ucket. So who celebrates a death? Well, this Yochai guy was something of a mystic. By writing the Zohar, he started the Kabbalah ball rolling. He told his followers, now that I’m leaving my body, all my teachings and good deeds belong to the universe. So don’t mourn; go have a wedding, do a dance, get a fun haircut, light a bonfire because of all the light I’ve brought into the world. And marshmallows.
So that’s what Jews have been doing — taking a break during a somber time on the calendar, when everyone’s worried about the harvest, and having a party. And if you happen to be in Israel, you can go visit the tomb of Shimon bar Yochai, which happens to be in a town called Meron. I think you know where I’m going with this.
Year after year, hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Jews make a pilgrimage to Meron for feasting and fun. It’s like Woodstock — only Jews don’t take acid; we get acid reflux. The Yidlach gather for this festival — sometimes 400,000 people show up for this Lag B’orgy.
April 2021, because of COVID, only 100,000 came. Easy-peasy, right? Except, a few people slipped, folks behind them couldn’t go backwards — voila! Stampede. 45 people crushed to death like grapes in a Manischewitz pulper. 150 more wounded. It’s the worst peacetime disaster in the history of Eretz Yisroel. I know you’re waiting for a joke but no…that’s the emmes.
Who’s to blame? Everybody, of course. First of all, you have the insular Orthodox, who don’t think the greater community’s rules apply to them. We saw this with the Haredis in Brooklyn, who were holding massive, unmasked weddings and funerals when the governor was begging everyone: don’t even hold small unmasked weddings and funerals. Were Cuomo’s restrictions draconian? Did the Orthodox exacerbate a health crisis? Or vice versa: by disregarding protocols, did they prove that, at least for people under 60, we’ve all been going overboard with a punishment that’s worse than the disease?
Even if that were true, and Governor Cuomo was erring on the side of caution — well, not with his schmeckel but with everything else — what the Haredi were doing was unbelievably selfish and thoughtless. “We follow American laws to the letter…up until the moment we don’t happen to agree with them. Who needs police? We police ourselves.” So elected officials who crave the Orthodox vote look the other way when rules are bent.
Sometimes that’s fine — sometimes it enables catastrophe. Wifebeaters and child molesters keep on beating wifes and molesting childs while the Rabbis try to fix things behind the scenes. Ask the Catholic church how well that works. And it’s this entitled arrogance of the Haredi attitude that tells Bibi Netanyahu, “We’re gonna put a hundred thousand people on a road meant for 30,000. HaShem will be our crowd control.” But they forget: God likes crushing things. Look what He did to Samson.
Jews have good reason for being wary of outsiders. From Roman soldiers to Spanish inquisitors to Cossacks — if a goy was on your doorstep, he wasn’t holding a check from Publishers Clearing House. However, when it comes to legitimate concerns about public safety — whether you’re spitting corona droplets on your cousin or getting pushed so close to a stranger your quarter shoes land on his forehead — it would be nice if my brethren would show a little consideration for the bigger picture.
Besides, what’s so wrong with a few more weeks of distancing? We’re Jewish. We shouldn’t be going to mass.
This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches.
Here is the 794th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired live on Facebook, Saturday morning, April 17, 2021. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Guests: musician Frank London; theater critics David Sheward and Leslie (Hoban) Blake
Featuring: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews musician Frank London and performers a “Miscast”: song; Greeley Crimes & Old Times; Today Yesterday trivia quiz (April 17 w/ Frank London, Leslie (Hoban) Blake, and David Sheward; Colorado Limerick of the Damned (Crook, CO); Inside Broadway.
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN w/ Joyce (miscasting, Big Sur Sucks, break a leg) 00:45:30 INSIDE BROADWAY 01:01:00 GUEST: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Frank London 01:50:00 TODAY/YESTERDAY Trivia Quiz (April 17 w/ Leslie (Hoban) Blake, Frank London, David Sheward) 03:18:00 RABBI SOL SOLOMON is Miscast 03:22:30 GREELEY CRIMES & OLD TIMES 03:41:00 Friends of the Daverhood 03:50:00 COLORADO LIMERICK OF THE DAMNED (Crook, CO) 03:52:30 DAVE GOES OUT
Segment aired March 27, 2021 as part of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio/podcast program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz.
Please Note: Segments extracted from “Dave’s Gone By” may have music and other elements removed for timing and media re-posting considerations. For the full interview with all elements, please visit the audio of the complete original broadcast.
Here is the 791st episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired live on Facebook, Saturday morning, March 27, 2021. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Guests: restaurateur Rob Clement, theater critic David Sheward
Featuring: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews deli owner Rob Clement; Today Yesterday trivia quiz (March 27 w/ Rob Clement vs. David Sheward); Greeley Crimes & Old Times; Inside Broadway; My Sick Mind (King Soopers); Colorado Limerick of the Damned (Maybell).
00:00:01 DAVE’S GONE BY w/ Joyce (seder plate, Boulder, bad egg, student transfer) 00:59:00 GUEST: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Rob Clement 01:47:30 TODAY/YESTERDAY Trivia Quiz (March 27 w/ Rob Clement vs. David Sheward) 02:41:00 INSIDE BROADWAY 03:06:00 MY SICK MIND (King Soopers) 03:09:30 GREELEY CRIMES & OLD TIMES 03:27:00 Friends of the Daverhood 03:33:00 COLORADO LIMERICK OF THE DAMNED (Maybell, CO) 03:36:00 DAVE GOES OUT
Here is the 789th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired live on Facebook Saturday morning March 13, 2021. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Guests: comedian Bill Kirchenbauer, theater critic Leslie (Hoban) Blake, friends Wendy Highby and Fred Cleaver (aka Frendy)
Featuring: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Bill Kirchenbauer; Greeley Crimes & Old Times; Today/Yesterday trivia quiz (March 13 w/ Bill Kirchenbauer vs. Frendy vs. Leslie (Hoban) Blake); Colorado Limerick of the Damned (Evergreen).
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN w/ Joyce (Ireland, vaccination) 00:59:30 GUEST: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Bill Kirchenbauer 01:58:00 TODAY/YESTERDAY trivia quiz (March 13 w/ Bill Kirchenbauer, Leslie (Hoban) Blake, Fred Cleaver and Wendy Highby 03:18:00 GREELEY CRIMES & OLD TIMES 03:37:00 Friends of the Daverhood 03:43:00 COLORADO LIMERICK OF THE DAMNED (Evergreen) 03:45:30 DAVE GOES OUT
Here is the 788th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired live on Facebook Saturday morning, March 6, 2021. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Guests: actors Bob Dishy and Judy Graubart, playwright John Pielmeier, theater critics David Sheward and Leslie (Hoban) Blake
Featuring: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Judy Graubart and Bob Dishy; Inside Broadway; Today/Yesterday trivia quiz w/ Leslie (Hoban) Blake, John Pielmeier & David Sheward; Colorado Limerick of the Damned (Pine); Greeley Crimes & Old Times.
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN w/ Joyce (Dr. Seuss, genius, James Brown) 00:43:00 GREELEY CRIMES & OLD TIMES 01:04:00 GUEST: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Bob Dishy & Judy Graubart 01:46:00 TODAY/YESTERDAY trivia quiz (March 6 w/ John Pielmeier, Leslie (Hoban) Blake, David Sheward 03:00:30 FRIENDS OF THE DAVERHOOD 03:06:30 INSIDE BROADWAY 03:25:00 COLORADO LIMERICK OF THE DAMNED (Pine, CO) 03:27:00 DAVE GOES OUT
RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #167 (2/26/21): Purim Jokes 2021
(Rabbi Sol’s Rabbinical Reflections appear on the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAnTjN0qWOE&t=3s)
Shalom, Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for February 26th — Purim 2021!
As I often do on Purim, one of the rare jolly holidays on the Jewish calendar, I’m going to forego my usual bitching and kvetching and, instead, tell a couple of hilarious jokes that you damn well better laugh at.
We begin on Delancey Street, where a guy walks into a deli and asks the old man at the counter, “Do you sell pickles?”
“Funny you should ask,” says the counterman. “I have sour pickles, half-sour, butter pickles, thin slice, jagged slice, pickles in brine, extra large, extra small, extra dill. And these are just the domestic.”
“Wow,” says the customer. “You must sell a lot of pickles.”
“Not really,” sighs the counterman. “But the guy I buy from? Boy can he sell pickles!”
What can we learn from this joke? We learn that sometimes it’s not what you’re selling but how you’re selling it. Nancy Reagan could tell teenagers, “don’t do drugs”; she might as well have told them “do drugs!” for all the good it did. But if Beyonce or Lady Gaga say it their way, the message might stick. Or if you’re trying to teach Talmud, or derech eretz to your children, and it’s not getting through, don’t give up; adjust. I suggest smacking them around and making them recite the sh’ma standing barefoot on ice cubes, but that’s just me.
On to the next joke. Many years ago, a great Rabbi and his favorite student were traveling together through Poland to get to Warsaw. One evening, after a long trek, they decide to stop and pitch their tent in an open field. After prayers and some talmudic discourse, they both retire for the night.
A couple of hours later, the Rabbi wakes up, nudges the student, and says, “Chaim. Chaim. Look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”
Chaim yawns and says, “I see a black sky with many millions of stars.”
“Yes, and what may we deduce from this?”
“Well, Rabbi, astronomically, the view conveys the vastness of the universe. Scientifically, we can tell from the sky’s color that it’s three o’clock in the morning. And theologically, we see the power and majesty of God and our own insignificance by comparison. What does it tell you, Rabbi?”
“Well, first of all, Chaim, it tells me someone has stolen our tent.”
What a delightful joke! Not least because, admit it, you were expecting something disgusting between the Rabbi and the kid sharing a tent. Shame on you! If it was a priest, okay, but not a Rabbi! Still, this is a gentle joke that balances mankind’s longing for the sacred and splendiferous with his earthbound ties to the earth and its more mundane attributes. It also makes fun of Polacks.
And it reminds us not to miss the forest for the trees—or the tent for the stars. We get bogged down in the mechanics of life and get ground up in the gears of detail. Sometimes it behooves us to stop, take stock of our surroundings, and maybe put an alarm system around our tents.
Our final bit of humorosity, also goes back in time—this one to Soviet Russia in the 1970s. A Red Army officer is visiting a school and questioning all the students in the classroom. He goes to a Russian girl and says, “Who is your father?”
“The Soviet Union,” she replies.
“And who is your mother?”
“The Communist party,” she says.
“And what do you want to be when you grow up?”
“I want to work with my comrades for the state.”
The officer goes to a little Russian boy sitting behind her.
“Who is your father?”
“The Soviet Union,” says the boy.
“Who is your mother?”
“The Communist party.”
“And when you grow up, you want to be . . . ?”
“A worker for the glorious party.”
The officer smiles and moves on to a scrawny child in the back of the room.
“What’s your name?”
“Mordecai Groizman.”
“Ah,” sneers the Officer. “Who is your father?”
“The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.”
“Mm hmm. And who is your mother?”
“The Communist Party of the Russian Federation.”
“Very nice. And do you know what you want to be when you grow up?”
“Oh yes,” says the boy. “An orphan.”
Ah, the beauty of mordant Jewish wit. Even at the expense of angering an enemy who could send his parents to Siberia, the child tells the truth and embeds a curse inside it. You can always hope your adversary is too stupid to get that the jokes on him. But, let’s face it, it’s a little stupid of you to take that chance. At a time when we scrutinize—and sometimes over-scrutinize—things goyim say about the Jews, it’s nice to have a joke where the Yidl lobs a grenade the other way.
And isn’t that what happened on Purim? Haman planned to kill all the Jews, but Queen Esther convinced the Persian king that was a bad idea. Not only was Haman hung from the noose he’d built to murder Esther’s cousin, but Haman’s ten sons were killed in battle by Jewish commandos. The only thing left of Haman was his three-cornered hat and his name, which we drown out with noise in the synagogue. Very often Jews taste the first misery but get the last laugh.
Happy Purim! This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches in Great Neck, New York.