The RDL Podcast with Rabbi Daniel Lapin

“This was the beginning of evil, for if no man is a hero to his valet, much less can he remain a god for long in the eyes of a curious woman.  Here, as in other matters, familiarity breeds contempt.”  I didn’t realize that when the great English adventure writer Rider Haggard wrote those words, he was quoting the German 18th century philosopher Hegel, of whom in general, I don’t think much but who did write these good words, “No man is a hero to his valet. This is not because the hero is not a hero, but because the valet is a valet.”  Anyway, a husband and wife see far more of one another than a valet sees of his boss so with all that familiarity, how can they avoid developing contempt for one another?  The answer goes far beyond bathroom privacy and sexual restraint and provides an indispensable guide to marital happiness and durability. But it isn’t easy. 

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On this show, I enjoy a conversation with several listeners of the Rabbi Daniel Lapin Show. The only thing about hosting my shows on terrestrial radio that I miss is the conversation with callers. Otherwise, I prefer the up-and-coming podcast format. A few weeks ago I solicited advice from tech-savvy listeners about how to incorporate your calls and today’s show is the result of their generous guidance. We talk with callers about marital infidelity in marriages with higher earning wives, maintaining contact with business associates, the collective effect of pornography on the economy and other unexpected questions. 

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Most adults who have lived a little of life, and who’ve survived  its inevitable heartaches and tears, deeply desire to save their children from pain.  Chief among their legitimate concerns is premature sexualization.  What a blessing it would be if children could avoid the intense emotional roller coaster ride of serial infatuations.  (And don’t for a moment surrender responsibility by fallaciously claiming that such heartbreak is ‘just part of growing up’.  It isn’t.)  How about if kids could grow up seeing sexuality, not as a smash-and-grab raid for the goodies in the window, but as a first step towards love, commitment and marriage?  Maybe if we helped them understand the tight relationship between sex and money they’d be better equipped to face temptation.  Let’s help them see that unrestrained sexual indulgence erodes the self-discipline necessary for economic success.  The Bible just happens to be a superb textbook for really getting this link.

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Do you really believe that all children born ought to have equal opportunities for successful lives?  Really?  And how far exactly do you want the government to go in order to guarantee this?  How should we guarantee the child of a drug-addicted homeless woman the same shot at success as a homeschooled child from a caring intact family?  Should parents be able to bequeath their assets to their children or is the death tax a moral attempt to provide all children the same shot at success?  Does a religious upbringing confer an unfair advantage on some children?  Why isn’t it just a little immoral to care so much more about one’s own children than about all the other children in society?  Why was Russia the first country to recognize the new State of Israel in May 1948?  Politics is nothing more than the practical application of our most deeply held moral values.  Is it wrong for prestigious universities to provide priority admission to children of alumni? 

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Three Mediterranean oceanfront countries with similar population densities, similar limited access, similar lack of natural resources. Yet, Malta and Gibraltar are thriving, happy places that attract throngs of tourists while Gaza is a dangerous and oppressive hell hole.  Why? (Clue: It has nothing to do with Israel)  Should countries that start wars and then lose them also lose territory?  How helpful is the United Nations? When groups of people succeed or when they fail, the causes are seldom external.  It is nearly always due to internal culture.  Kids who succeed at school usually do so because they come from a family culture that esteems education.  Whether young people grow into productive citizens building successful, independent lives or whether they become indolent, pleasure-seeking parasites depends only on culture. Why have Biblically-based countries and cultures been more successful than the rest?  Is the victim always virtuous or can you sometimes blame the victim?  Why are the Arabs in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Dubai more successful than those in Gaza and the West Bank?

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Here’s an unexpected reversal:  It’s not so much that civilization developed water-borne sewerage systems as much as it’s that the cultural values of cleanliness that made it imperative for certain cultures to distance themselves  from their body waste that made civilization possible.  Toilets and sewage systems are more important than banks and art galleries and have to come first.  Cultures that sexualize the public area lose economic vitality.  Why premature sexualization of youngsters dooms them to poverty.  How a certain ‘redheaded slut’ contributed to the economic and military decline.  How they got enough water into New York in the 1840s.  Why it takes 3 or more people to sustain 2 elderly people even if the old-timers have retirement plans and pensions.  What distinguishes humans who are creators from humans who are consumers.  Why a prominent Stanford professor who got it all stupendously wrong fifty years ago is still teaching. 

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True systems like mathematics and physics have no internal contradictions. No law about addition or subtraction contradicts any other law about multiplication or division. No law about gravity or optics contradicts another law about motion or electricity.  Yet, repeatedly, the system known variously as liberalism/leftism/progressivism/secular fundamentalism/socialism reveals internal contradictions.  These intrinsic fault lines prove the failure of the unproven axioms known as liberalism/leftism/etc.  It is clear that it is no coherent system.  It clearly possesses no integrity at all.  Women-only organizations, yes; men-only clubs, no?  Really?  A vacation resort for women only. Makes sense, but why not one for men? Germany wants all immigrants but also wants to be pro-Israel. What if your immigrants hate Israel?  Why did so-called black leadership like Jesse Jackson support O.J. Simpson but not Bill Cosby?  Should it be illegal to deny the Holocaust? 

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Deep down, do you harbor a horrible little suspicion  that accepting most migrants or refugees, (whatever you want to call citizens of other countries who want to live in America) is more moral than building a wall or stopping them at the border in any other way?  Deep down do  you suspect that it is more moral to help beggars in Bombay and derelicts in Djibouti than helping  your own sister?   Do any of the 535 legislators on Capitol Hill know of any moral framework defending national integrity?  Does any State Dept. bureaucrat know of any moral framework validating border control?  It sure doesn’t look like it, does it?  And if you don’t believe in the morality of it, how can you accomplish it?  No decent person can succeed at any enterprise that deep in his heart he considers morally reprehensible.  Deep down they and their European counterparts believe that any South American has the right to live in Texas or Arizona and they believe that any MENA (Middle East North Africa) resident has the right to reside in France, Italy, Germany or anywhere else in Europe. Yet, there is one moral response to uninvited immigrants; one blindingly clear and compelling approach to the problem that is entirely moral and which your rabbi imparts in this episode detailing what happened when they poured into his house.

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3 vital questions to ask the man wanting to marry (or date) your daughter. One sure giveaway that he’s a loser.  Hint: It has to do with his mom.  A scary interview with an intensive care hospital nurse.   If civilization was left up to women, we’d still be living in grass huts.  What sexist male pig said that?   It’s also true that there are more female fetuses aborted than male. By their feminists moms!  Why so many LUGS (lesbians until graduation) but not so many HUGS.  Participation prizes-a national disgrace.  Why Bible says “Man must leave his father & mother…

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What really distinguishes liberalism from conservatism.  Holding your own baby for the first time matters to all people in all places at all times.  Tennis and marshmallows do not.  Feeling hope as the sun rises is something all humans everywhere have always known.  Riding a rollercoaster ride is not. Ancient Jewish wisdom’s take on Scripture is that it covers everything that is applicable to all people everywhere, always.  Such a universal experience is laughter.  What is it and what makes some things funnier than others?  Why does so much comedy revolve around toilet functions, sexual functions and God?  Which is the better blueprint for families, companies, organizations and countries; kindness & compassion or law & discipline?  Do you know what is so funny about laughter in the Bible?  Who laughs more; liberals or conservatives?

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