One of the ways that academics transform a simple idea into a complex one is by coining a new word. A newly minted third-grade teacher instituted ‘SSR’ in our daughter’s classroom, taking pride in explaining to the class’s non-teaching-credentialed mothers how important Sustained Silent Reading was. The response we gave her punctured her air of
Dear Rabbi Daniel and Susan, I have heard that reading a physical copy of a book is an immersive experience. I love to read and though I read books on an iPad as well, I sense a unique pleasure in reading a physical copy. I can’t quite place my finger on this; what is the
Should I Read Physical Books Read More »
How many emotions can one heart simultaneously hold? Love, joy, gratitude, sorrow, hope, apprehension, yearning…all these and more are swirling in mine. Tuesday evening my husband and I enjoyed the great delight of attending—and my husband officiating at—our grandson’s wedding in the land of Israel. The last time so many members of our immediate family
Celebration of Life Read More »
Have you ever assembled a kitchen cabinet from Ikea? A bookcase from Target? A kit airplane from Zenith or Vans? How about a mini-brick fortress from Lego? What these endeavors share is that you receive all the necessary parts along with an instruction manual providing numbered pictures of each step in the process. At any
The Instruction Guide for the Tabernacle Read More »
I love your teachings and am sorry I have not found them sooner. I could have spared myself so much misery, but that’s neither here nor there. I am currently dating a man of whom my parents do not approve, simply because he is black. We have been dating for almost 2 years and are
My Parents Object to My Marrying Read More »
Lately I’ve been struck by how rarely we hear good news online about family life with grown children. Offline, in the real world, things are different. Over the past few weeks: • Two of my friends were invited to join their children and grandchildren on vacation. • One of our grandsons wrote to my husband
February 10, 2026 Dear Friend, Thank you for your generous prayer and support for our work this past year. Please know how much we all appreciate you making our work possible. For many years, we have been devoted to defending not only Judeo-Christian values but also Christianity in America and the world. In fact, we
The Work That Must Be Done Read More »
I can honestly say I have a very good wife and she is the love of my life, However I feel she’s too tough on me from time to time and sometimes I’m pretty darn sure she’s downright wrong. I just can’t shake the fact that, had it not been for my shortcomings and being
My Wife Always Argues with Me Read More »
Prequel: I deliberately did not mention specific challenges like ICE, Minneapolis, Mamdani, Greenland, Iran, universities, gender transition and its backlash, or any other hot button topic. I leave it to the reader to apply these ideas to his or her own specific basket of worry spots. A video circulated last week, showing the many Israeli
Is There a Future? Read More »
My life story was impacted by two events that both took place twenty years ago. In January 2006 the man who had been Bill Clinton’s vice president, Al Gore, released a documentary movie, An Inconvenient Truth, produced by and starring – himself. That same month I started working as the host of The Rabbi Daniel
Let God Worry About That! Read More »
