Dear Emuna,

I love my husband and we have a great relationship, but sometimes he gets very mad at me and curses me out. He'll even sometimes try to put his hands on me, but we always make up and everything is great again. This stresses me out a lot because it happens too often. My stress starts interfering with my job. I cry all day sometimes; that's how deeply it bothers me. But I love him and I’m willing to work things out. I’m a little dramatic myself though but I have been trying to not respond or continue arguing. But he still gets mad.... Please advise.

– Hurt and Stressed

Dear Hurt,

Since you describe a complicated situation outside my realm of expertise, I consulted with my friend Shirley Lebovics, LCSW, who has years of experience dealing with situations such as yours.  This is her response:

As you mention, you are in a very stressful relationship, which is understandably taking a heavy toll on you emotionally. Even though there are undoubtedly some very wonderful things about your husband that attracted you to him, and that reinforce your love for him, your marriage is comprised of disrespectful treatment, i.e. cursing, yelling and the threat or use of physical aggression. Behavior like this demands some professional attention, particularly because, typically, situations like this get worse unless some significant help is applied. It is best if you see someone alone, so that you can be forthcoming with regarding the details of your home life. Try and get a referral to someone who is specially trained in dealing with these kinds of difficulties, perhaps from your local rabbi or Shalom Task force hotline. It will offer you some much needed support and attention and guide you in responding to your husband and taking care of yourself.  

You may also want to avail yourself of either of these two books, which may capture your experience. The Shame Borne in Silence by Dr. Abraham Twerski and The Verbally Abusive Relationship by Patricia Evans. 

Hope this helps (thank you Shirley!) 

– Emuna 

Dear Emuna,

My problem is getting everyone to come to the table at the same time. It is such a big operation – preparing dinner and setting the table and then cleaning up afterwards – that’s not to mention the fighting/silliness of the meal itself. Oh, and getting everyone to come to the table when dinner is being served! I have to yell at them to come; they leave what they are doing a mess etc…and not to mention the fact that I can barely sit down for one minute because of all the serving and the demands during the meal!

I really would like us all to eat dinner together but it just seems so hard. The only time we eat all together is Shabbos; during the week I will prepare food and just give each child individually or two at a time.

Should I aim for us all to eat together or accept the situation the way it is now? My kids are little (ages 8, 6, 5 and 2). What do you think?

– Running Ragged

Dear Running Ragged,

I am not in your home facing your challenges but I am a strong believer in family dinnertime. It is an opportunity for the kids to decompress, for important bits of information/news to leak out and for the family to bond. Does that mean it will always be pleasant? Certainly not. Does that mean it will be effortless? A big no there as well.

You need to get a little tougher. What do you mean you have to yell at them to come? If this is their only chance to eat and you’re not waiting on them on demand, they’ll come.

You are constantly jumping up and down? Why? Put all the food on the table and that should be it. As I am fond of telling my family, “This is not a restaurant.” If a child really doesn’t like dinner, there is one option and one option only: cereal and milk. Just as this is not a restaurant, I am not a short-order cook and neither should you be. Your kids are certainly old enough to help set and clear the table. You can take that off your head and it is good education for them as well.

Structured appropriately you will find that not only can you get the benefits of everyone eating together, but in the end, it’s actually easier!

– Emuna 

Dear Emuna, 

How can we teach children to be grateful for what others do for them? How do we turn them from being takers into givers? 

– Yet Another Frazzled Mom 

Dear Frazzled Mom, 

You ask a question that I think every parent asks – and never stops asking!  The Torah is filled with lessons on gratitude – from the story of Cain and Abel that highlights Cain’s lack of appreciation to the constant building of altars to thank the Almighty to Moses’ inability to strike the Nile because it had hidden him as a child.   

If gratitude were easy, we wouldn’t need to be taught it over and over and over again.  On top of that, particularly with respect to parents, the relationship is so uneven.  Parents do so much, they love so much; the level of dependency and the amount “owed” threaten to overwhelm the child and they may turn away.   

It is certainly best not to expect or demand gratitude but to rather, as with everything else, model it on all occasions.  You don’t want them to be takers? Don’t let them hear you discussing how many times you had the Steinbergs over for dinner and how they haven’t had you once.  Or resentfully complaining about the beggars collecting tzedaka.  Or comparing the size of the gift you received to the one you gave.  Or (my personal weakness) talking about how many times you drove carpool compared to the other parents! 

Let them see you expressing gratitude – to your parents for all they have given you, to your friends for inviting you over or helping you out or just being a friend, to the mail carrier for delivering the mail, to the waiter for bringing the food, to the child whose chore it is to clear the table.  The more we demonstrate our own appreciation for the giving of others, the more our children will learn gratitude.  And of course, the more we express a sense of entitlement, and resentment when our expectations are not met, the more they will learn that as well.   

In addition, we need to give without complaint.  We need to show joy and pleasure in giving.  If our children see giving as a positive experience, they will want a piece of it. If they see it as an uncomfortable, demanding and draining experience, they will shy away.  It is up to us.   

Finally, I think that everyone who embraces the idea of giving will testify that in the end it turns out to be a very selfish act – you actually get more than you give!  If you open your home and your heart to others, not only will your children not suffer, but they will experience an expanded world of caring.  The praise, the attention, the gratitude (!) they get in return from the recipients of their family’s kindness is perhaps the greatest lesson of all. 

– Emuna