click above to watch episode #989click above to listen (audio only)
Here is the 989th episode of the long-running radio show/video podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired live on Facebook, Saturday morning, July 5, 2025.
Featuring: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews poet Devon Fulford and offers his Rabbinical Reflection on Danielle Khalaf and the ACLU; Colorado Limerick of the Damned (Burkett); StoryTime (“A History of Underwear with Professor Chicken”); Greeley Times. Guests: poet Devon Fulford; spiritual leader Rabbi Sol Solomon.
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN w/ Joyce: lawn animals, July 4th at Nathan’s, Richard Greenberg 01:14:00 GREELEY TIMES 01:44:30 GUEST: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Devon Fulford 02:25:30 RABBI SOL SOLOMON’S RABBINICAL REFLECTION #196: Danielle Khalaf and the ACLU 02:35:30 STORYTIME: “A History of Underwear with Professor Chicken” (Hannah Holt) 02:57:30 Friends of the Daverhood 03:04:30 COLORADO LIMERICK OF THE DAMNED: Burdett, CO 03:07:00 DAVE GOES OUT
Segment airs July 5, 2025 as part of the 989th episode of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio/video 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.
All content (c)2025 TotalTheater Productions.
More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com
Rabbi Sol Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection #161 (4/25/20): RABBI SOL SOLOMON READS SHAKESPEARE’S SONNET #30
(Rabbi Sol Solomon’s 161st Rabbinical Reflection debuted live as part of Irondale Ensemble theater company’s virtual Sonnet Marathon on April 23, 2020 and then aired Saturday, April 25, 2020 as part of Dave’s Gone By: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_U35BeLXRg&t=4s)
Shalom, Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon, founder and spiritual leader of Temple Sons of Bitches in Great Neck, New York. And I am delighted to be taking part in Irondale Ensemble’s Sonnet Marathon to honor April 23rd, the day William Shakespeare was born. It’s also the day he died, but why be negative?
And besides, who needs sanitizer, when we can all be Sonnetized?
I have chosen to read Sonnet number 30; in Roman numerals that’s XXX, in Hebrew: Yud Yud Yud.
“When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time’s waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unus’d to flow,
For precious friends hid in death’s dateless night,
And weep afresh love’s long-since-cancell’d woe,
And moan th’ expense of many a vanish’d sight;
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o’er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor’d, and sorrows end.”
Now, what do we learn from this Sonnet? First: it’s ideal for Jews: it’s depressing, it’s about regret, and how tempting it is to rehash miseries over and over. Sorry—o’er and o’er.
The schmendrick in this poem sighs over spilled milk, cries over dead people, grieves over old pussy, and then complains that he’s wasting precious time being unhappy. Freud would have a field day with this putz.
But of course, Shakespeare being universal, we are the putz. Even before the pandemic, who among us hasn’t wasted decades on worry, fear, disappointment, inertia, and that most Jewish of bugaboos, guilt?
The silver lining is when you have someone who brightens your day: a friend, a pet, an anatomically correct, inflatable rubber Gal Gadot doll. Even if your loved one is merely a memory, it can erase all the tzuris of what Rabbi Tom Lehrer once called, “your drab, wretched lives.”
And so my dear friends, in this time of woes and grievances, where we can’t dab our drowning eyes because there’s no goddamn toilet paper, remember the good times and the good people of those times.
This is Rabbi Sol Solomon wishing you sweet thoughts and ended sorrows. And Charmin! Two ply!
Shalom Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of January 1, 2018.
Hard to believe, but the tumultuous, ridiculous year of 2017, or, as I like to call it, 5777-5778, is coming to an end. We’ve made it through 365 days without a nuclear war, an ice age, and a new Renny Harlin film, so why grouse?
As I did last year, I have chosen to summarize the events of the past annum in a poetical-artistical form, so I hope you will bear with me as we bid shalom to the current year and, well, shalom to the next. Seriously, whoever invented Hebrew really dropped the ball on word coinage. Anyhoo, here goes:
`Twas the night before New Year’s and throughout this great land, Americans took about all they could stand
The country was split between blue states and red And folks on each side wished the other side dead
The Democrats never imagined they’d lose To a man who refers to the truth as “fake news”
A man who will speak without filters or grace Though he could not repeal and he could not replace
And so, onto migrants Trump’s temper did fall But Mexico said, “We won’t pay for your wall!”
“Now, folks,” said The Donald, “I’m just getting warm! I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll do tax reform!”
And just before Christmas, the bill it did pass. It’s great for the rich, not the poor and middle-class.
The stock market soared, the jobless claims fell And still we all feel like we’re going to hell
Big hurricanes drowned with their winds and their waves And statues came down `cause their subjects owned slaves
The national anthem brought teams to their knees While Hollywood drowned in an ocean of sleaze
Oh Spacey, oh Keillor, oh Lauer, oh Franken A few should get jailtime, the others a spankin’
The Democrats grinned when Fox News canned O’Reilly Till the axe fell on Schwartz, Hockenberry, and Smiley
And suddenly hashtags were filled with “Me Toos” Against a whole passel of rich, horny Jews
Yet Hollywood shlock remained vegetative “Star Wars” 26 – how innovative!
But at least cinema took our minds off our woes Prince Harry did, too, when he chose to propose
But still there were shootings by Muslims and crazies With Jason Aldean fans all pushing up daisies
Now, that Vegas massacre was not by a Muslim But they sure got mad at a Jewish Jerus’lem
And speaking of mad, how about North Korea Which seems like it’s ready to start World War Threea
The pundits were urging our chief to stay calm While Rocket Man threatened to liquidate Guam
But Trump was no Scrooge, no fiend out of Dickens Why, he tossed paper towels at wet Puerto Ricans
He railed against Clinton, he’s threatening DACA He kisses hot women but won’t use Binaca
He seated Neil Gorsuch upon the high court To make it much harder for girls to abort
He praised Neo-Nazis so white folks were mollified And all his appointees were ultra-unqualified
That said, he bombed Syria for murder by gas So why does he Tweet and kiss Putin’s ass?
O.J.’s a free man until his next trial And Mary Tyler Moore turned off her smile
This year we lost Domino, Berry, and Petty And Allman and Cassidy and enough already.
2018 is just up ahead With midterm elections to fill us with dread
The Winter Olympics will bore us with thrills So doctors, please don’t ban our opioid pills
We’ll need them to get through each day and each night Happy New Year to all, and to all a “La-La-Land.” I mean, “Moonlight!”
This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches, in Great Neck, New York. Shana Tovah!
Click above to listen to the episode (audio only).
Here is the 593rd episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on UNC Radio, Feb. 11, 2017. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Host: Dave Lefkowitz Guest: poet Irene Backalenick, Dave’s wife Joyce
Featuring: Rabbi Sol Solomon chats with poet and former theater critic Irene Backalenick. Plus: Inside Broadway, Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later (trees), Saturday Segues (two peters, in the news), Greeley Times.
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN w/ Joyce (dog seizure, Dorothy, Hans Moleman, delis) 00:36:30 GREELEY CRIMES, OLD TIMES, & FRACCIDENTS 01:18:00 SATURDAY SEGUE – Two Peters 01:43:30 INSIDE BROADWAY 02:21:00 GUEST: Rabbi Sol Solomon interviews Irene Backalenick 03:00:00 Sponsors 03:03:00 BOB DYLAN – Sooner & Later (trees) 03:28:00 Friends 03:36:00 SATURDAY SEGUE – In the News 04:14:30 Weather 04:17:30 DAVE GOES OUT
Feb. 11, 2017 Playlist: “Do I Have to Do This All Over Again” (01:21:30), “Little Girl” (01:31:00) & “Tear the Top Right Off My Head” (01:37:00; The Monkees). “Come Talk to Me” (01:24:30) & “D.I.Y.” (01:34:00; Peter Gabriel). “As If We Never Said Goodbye” (Sunset Boulevard, 1994 Broadway cast w/ Glenn Close). “Apple Suckling Tree” (03:09:00) & “Huck’s Tune” (03:15:30; Bob Dylan). “Man in the Long Black Coat” (03:12:00; Mark Lanegan). “Patriot’s Dream” (03:36:30; Arlo Guthrie). “Cat Joke” (03:39:30; Professor Irwin Corey). “Frozen Warnings” (03:40:30; Nico). “Voices Carry” (03:35:00; `til Tuesday). “You are in My Arms” (03:49:00; Sylvie Simmons). “All the Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands” (04:22:30; Sufjan Stevens).
(pictured: Irene Backalenick, Rueful Reflections – Book 1, Peter Tork, Peter Gabriel, Hugging a tree for Tu B’Shvat.)
Click above to listen to the episode (audio only).
Here is the 536th episode of the long-running radio show/podcast, Dave’s Gone By, which aired on UNC Radio, Dec. 12, 2015. Info: davesgoneby.com.
Featuring: Dave chats with old friend Jeff Goodman; Inside Broadway; Rabbi Solomon’s Rabbinical Reflection (Hanukkah Haiku); Saturday Segues (Frank Sinatra, vacation); Bob Dylan – Sooner & Later (Sinatra’s Shadows); Greeley Crimes & Old Times.
Host: Dave Lefkowitz Guest: former guest co-host Jeff Goodman, Dave’s wife Joyce
00:00:01 DAVE GOES IN w/ Joyce (so long semester, snu, temps, Eggley Bagelface, The Soup, Mama Doni, Hawaii Kai, Kaleidoscope, horse head) 01:12:30 GREELEY CRIMES & OLD TIMES 01:47:30 GUEST: Jeff Goodman 02:36:00 SATURDAY SEGUE – Frank Sinatra 02:59:00 Sponsors 03:02:00 INSIDE BROADWAY 03:23:00 BOB DYLAN – Sooner & Later (Sinatra’s Shadows) 03:40:30 Sponsors 03:45:30 RABBINICAL REFLECTION #132 – Hanukkah Haiku 03:51:00 Friends 03:46:30 SATURDAY SEGUE – Vacation 04:16:30 Weather & Thanks 04:20:30 DAVE GOES OUT
Dec. 12, 2015 Playlist: “Chanukah Fever” (Mama Doni). “Chanukah” (01:08:30; Six13). “The Coffee Song” (02:39:00). “It’s the Same Old Dream” (02:42:00), “It Never Entered My Mind” (02:44:30), “You Make Me Feel So Young” ({live}; 02:47:30), “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (02:51:00) & “I Have Dreamed” (04:22:00; Frank Sinatra). “A Brand New Day” (03:19:30; The Wiz 2015 TV cast). “That Lucky Old Sun” (03:27:30), “What’ll I Do” (03:31:00) & “Stay With Me” (03:34:30; Bob Dylan). “The Draidel Song” (03:50:00; Mickey Katz). “Your Mind is on Vacation” (03:57:30; Van Morrison). “Take a Musical Break” (04:00:30; Dottie Burman). “Albuquerque” (04:02:30; Neil Young). “Take Me Away” (04:06:30; Oasis). “Homeward Bound” (04:11:00; Simon & Garfunkel).
Shalom, Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical Reflection for the week of December 12, 2015.
With everything going on in the world – the craziness, the killing, chaos in the GOP, E. coli at Chipotle—which is really confusing because how the hell are you supposed to differentiate noro-virus diarrhea from regular Chipotle diarrhea? Such distinctions are lost on me. But what we must not lose this mid-December is the arrival of Chanukah. Eight days of happiness and food and gratitude, and a reminder that every Jewish holiday isn’t about fasting and wishing you could afford maid service.
Sometimes we win. Sometimes the enemy who is trying to destroy us, or weaken our faith, gets a shank in the ribs. We did it to Egypt in a thousand BC, we did it to the Greeks—who bent over and took it—and one day we’ll do it to ISIS and ISIL and Al Qaeda and Boko Haram, and maybe the first guy who said, “Hey, it’s Halloween soon. Let’s put pumpkin spice in everything. Lattes, pancakes, donuts, beef wellington—doesn’t matter. Pumpkin spice is the new oxygen.” We need to get him.
Anyhoo, Chanukah commemorates a small band of Jews who would not succumb to the hellish Hellenic hellions who tried to hinder our Hebrew historicity. The second temple in Jerusalem was recaptured from the Greeks, re-consecrated as a synagogue, and retrofitted for Wi-Fi. And when the Hashmonaim were cleaning the temple, and making it minty fresh, they had only a drop of oil with which to light the holy candelabra, the menorah. And yet that oil burned day and night for eight straight days. The electric bill must have been horrendous, but the point is: miracles do happen. They happened then, they happen now. It’s a miracle that a computer can digitally print working human organs. It’s a miracle you can stare at a hole in the ground in a city block, come back six months later, and it’s an office building. It’s an astounding miracle that someone like me is on the radio.
So let us delight with our family, our friends—all the people we barely tolerate for fear of loneliness—and cheer the miraculous holiday of Chanukah. To do so, I have written a few short poems celebrating the Festival of Lights in haiku form. Haiku is a Japanese poetry style that is perfectly marvelous because it’s so short. As soon as you get started, you’re finished. Like a teenage boy on prom night. Your entire thought process must fit into a mere 17 syllables, which proves the Japanese not only invented haiku but twitter.
I pray that you enjoy these holiday poems from me, Rabbi Sol. Chanukah Chaikus:
Eight candles burning
On my shaky menorah.
Shit! Call 9-1-1.
Headline: Polish Jews
Suffer Third-Degree Burns When
Bobbing for Latkes
Judah Maccabee
And sons beat the Greek army
Yay for terrorists!
Happy holidays, my friends, and may all your dreidel spins come up hay. I’d say gimel, but why press your luck? This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of Bitches, in Great Neck, New York.
Dave Lefkowitz interviews literary scholar and “Dylan’s Visions of Sin” author Christopher Ricks
Topics include: Bob Dylan, poetry
Segment originally aired Dec. 15, 2005 as part of the “Dave’s Gone By” radio 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: Full Episode
All content (c)2005 TotalTheater Productions.
More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com
