Dear Rabbi and Susan, It’s summer. Since we live in a lovely part of the country, this means that friends and relatives love to visit. We love to have them! But (you knew a but was coming, didn’t you?), sometimes we feel taken advantage of. For example, a woman with whom we aren’t particularly close...
Dear Rabbi and Susan, I have reached an impasse in my life. I come from a troubled family background and have had to step in and take charge of my parents’ life in a way that a child never should have to do. We are talking about dealing with mental illness and bankruptcy among other...
Sometimes, you can’t seem to escape a trending topic. A number of summers ago, shark attacks featured in newspaper and magazine articles and on electronic ‘breaking news’ flashes. When the frenzy died down, it turned out that the number of shark attacks was standard for that time of year. So, it is with a bit...
I recently spent quite a bit of time watching an 18-month-old with a penchant for climbing. He attempted to do incredibly foolish things. There was no explaining to him that the chair was likely to tip over, the fall from the staircase bannister would be unpleasant, and that the curtain was not mountain climbing gear....
I discovered a previously unpublished Musing deep in the bowels of my computer. From the anecdote therein, I must have written it over six years ago. Within the past few weeks, I have been bombarded with statistics about anxious children, suicidal teens, and emotionally precarious young adults. As society’s hysteria and behavior over COVID upped...
I really would love your advice and the Jewish perspective on this issue. I am a 46 year old woman. I got married late in life – and have been happily married for 8 years. However, no children have come along and my husband and I are very disappointed. We did get medical checks and...
We are heading into the Days of Judgment and Awe which means that committed Jews are engaged in deep introspection. That is why I should have been searching my conscience. Instead, I was actually browsing my computer files. I was slightly horrified to discover a Musing that was meant to appear last May, but which...
Good morning, Rabbi Daniel and Mrs. Daniel, I hope you are doing well! Listening to your podcast is not only educational, but truly enriching. I am not Jewish, but I deeply appreciate the wisdom of the Jewish faith, and also of your values on marriage, etc. I share those as well. You serve many as...
Synagogues and sugar I love how you focus on fitness and overall health as a part of a holistic lifestyle. I have three children and our local synagogue is sadly like many in that there is a culture of loading up children on sugar. Kiddush (an after prayer socializing time) Is full of sugary treats...
When talking to women looking to meet a man, they frequently say to me, “I just want to meet someone normal.” The problem is who gets to decide what is normal? My definition may be very different from yours. My views of normal certainly differ greatly from the views held by many of my fellow...
