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bjbjLULU RABBINICAL REFLECTION RABBINICAL REFLECTION #30 Questions Scheduled to air
Nov. 26, 2011 on Dave s Gone By. Shalom Dammit! This is Rabbi Sol Solomon with a Rabbinical
Reflection for the week of November 27th, 2011. A week ago, I was able to premiere my
one-man, two-person show, Shalom Dammit!, an Evening with Rabbi Sol Solomon, at the
Norton Theater of the University of Northern Colorado. It was a magnificent experience
with audiences laughing, asking questions and treating me with undisguised bitterness
and hostility. I doff my yarmulke to all the technical and creative people who helped Shalom
Dammit! take the biggest leap at the university since that fat Asian kid jumped off a fraternity
roof last summer. It was a tremendous amount of work, but I think the results speak not
only for themselves, but for people who shouldn t speak until they re spoken to. It was that
kind of show. During the process of putting Shalom Dammit! together, I was asked many
questions, not all of them anti-Semitic. I thought I would share some of the answers
with you so that you might understand what went into this experience, which I hope to
bring to New York, Miami, Sheboygan anywhere with Jews and a sewer system. I was asked
why would I share or inflict this show on an audience. First of all, it was cold outside
and tickets were free, so who s complaining? Also, it is confusing being a Jew in modern
America. We are tied to our family traditions and ancient values, but we are also tempted
by everything from X-Box on Shabbos to the triple-X *** on Sasha Grey. Every Jew makes
his own decision as to how much to follow and how much rings hollow. My show is a glimpse
into what goes into making those choices. How are modern Jewish Americans pulled towards
crazy rules drawn up 400 years ago, how do we interact with our Christian, Muslim and
Republican brothers; how do we get past the Holocaust without getting over the Holocaust;
and how do we convince the goyim that Bernie Madoff, David Berkowitz and Paulie Shore are
Jehovah s Witnesses? I have also been asked whether Shalom Dammit!, which includes a few
naughty words and a smattering of adult content, reflects badly on my people and even fosters
anti-Semitism. The answer to that charge is: I don t have to encourage anti-Semitism; there
s enough of it without my help. If Jews feel bad about themselves, well, ambivalence and
unease are part of the modern Jewish psyche. We re never completely comfortable and never
100 percent happy. Because we don t have the ready means of support that non-Jews can always
turn to, like alcoholism and professional hockey. That said, no one watching my show
will have any misconceptions about where I stand as a Zionist, a proud Jew, a secular
humanist, and a victim of chronic prostate pain. Dear Rabbi, writes another fan, Do you
ever get stage fright? Absolutely. In fact, when I performed the show last Monday evening,
the stage manager was shocked because I peed seven times in a half hour. And I don t know
how many times before I got onstage. And finally, an audience member asked me whether my frank
words about Christianity and Jesus might rub goyim the wrong way. I can only reply that
I tell the truth as I see it, and that if Jesus Christ has a problem with it m here,
he can hit me with lightning, he can drop a meteor on my head, he can send me into cardiac
arrest come on, I m waiting. If he s really the savior, he can make a miracle, show me
the error of my Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!!! I have hangnail on my pinkie; wow,
I didn t see that before. I need to soak that. Well, anyhoo, it is on to the next step with
my show, Shalom Dammit!. If you think my hilarious evening of comedy would be right for your
local theater, community center or mortuary, please get in touch. Or if you are a producer
with much more money than taste, this is your chance to bring my thoughts to the thoughtless.
Email me: Shalomdammit_at_aol.com, that s shalomdammit_at_aol.com. It doesn t have to
be Broadway. It can be like Mickey and Judy in a barn saying, Hey, let s put on a show!
A really dark and offensive show with a lot of Yiddish in it. But, come on, what do you
expect in a barn, Jersey Boys? Greedy ***. This has been a Rabbinical Reflection from
Rabbi Sol Solomon, Temple Sons of ***. (c) 2011 TotalTheater. All rights reserved.
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