Family: The Di Josephs
Premiered: June 12, 2006
This week Rabbi Shmuley is invited to Miami to help Paula Di Joseph and her fiancé Gary, deal with Paula’s ADHD-diagnosed daughter. Those with ADHD have a hard time concentrating and tend to be hyperactive. After an intensive session in the Shalom Mobile Home, Shmuley brings Paula, Gary, Savannah and her 6-year-old brother Michael to Monkey Jungle to help Mom and Gary find ways to inspire and manage the kids without losing their patience. But, after witnessing Mom lose her cool, Shmuley relays his painful diagnosis – Savannah’s erratic behavior is a direct result of Paula and Gary’s confrontational parenting style.
Shmuley also wades into the relationship between Paula, Gary and Savannah and Michael’s biological dad Robert. For the past three years, Paula hasn’t spoken to Robert, and Gary’s never even met him. Shmuley mediates a painful and emotional first meeting and within hours, the entire extended family strolls together down the beach and begin to plan their next get-together.
Family: The Warrens
Premiered: May 29, 2006
When April Warren asks Shmuley for help with her 14 year old daughter, Teaira, it really hits home – he has three teen-aged daughters of his own. Teaira’s outbursts and sassy backtalk are driving a wedge between April and her partner of eight years, Jack.
Shmuley’s diagnosis surprises everyone – Teaira needs much more support from her parents, especially her stepfather. Shmuley encourages Jack to tell Teaira that he loves her, and within seconds she bursts into tears and falls into his arms. It’s the first hug the pair has had in many years.
Shmuley coaches mom, dad and brother Chris as they organize a solo singing performance for Teaira in a nearby African-American Baptist church. With the full love and support of her family, the once surly Teaira blossoms – her tantrums stop, her language softens, and the family seems happier and closer. As Shmuley introduces Teaira , he launches into a fiery sermon about the shortage of peace in American homes, then brings the congregation to a foot-stomping frenzy.
Family: The Sterlings
Premiered: May 22, 2006
Melissa's father, a Civil Rights attorney, and mother turned their back on her when she came out of the closet and moved in with Ilene. Ilene was also ostracized by her parents. Now, this couple of 17 years is raising two girls of their own, but being pushed out of their own families has unfortunately turned them into pushy parents.
Eleven-year-old Alexei spends 6 hours every day on homework. She spends her free time writing poetry. Shmuley tells the moms that they’re pushing their daughters, and themselves, far too hard. Can Shmuley convince the two moms that their kids’ happiness comes from what their daughters think of the world, and not what the world thinks of their daughters?
Family: The Morgans
Premiered: May 15, 2006
Carolyn Morgan had a storybook romance for 10 years, until her husband died in her arms after a car crash on Valentine’s Day, 2000. For the past 6 years, Carolyn has struggled to put her husband's tragic death behind her, and for 6 years she has fallen into deep depressions in the months leading up to Valentine’s Day.
Shmuley first helps Carolyn face the painful legacy that her struggle with grief is creating for her two daughters, Mackenzie and Meghan. In one agonizing scene, Carolyn and Shmuley watch videotape of Carolyn forcing her kids to look at old pictures and videos of their dad against their will. Next, Shmuley and Carolyn go back to the scene of the accident to help her confront her demons. In the shows most powerful moment, Carolyn buries the blood-soaked sweater she wore on the night her husband died.
We revisit Carolyn two months after Shmuley's visit – her kids appear to be happy, and for the first time in 6 years Carolyn is dating a man and is beginning to feel emotions that she was not sure she would feel again.
Family: The Maxwells
Premiered: May 8, 2006
Three-year-old Zach Maxwell is the king of his castle. He has no rules at home, he sleeps in bed with mom (while dad sleeps on the sofa), and he’s the star of a website that his dad Craig spends all of his free time working on. Between the website and the sleeping arrangements, Craig and wife Lynn Sue’s love life is non-existent.
Shmuley invokes The First Commandment of Families – the marriage comes before the kids. And then he really grabs the parents’ attention when he warns Lynn Sue that her husband is ripe for an affair if they continue as they are.
When Shmuley tells Craig that his devotion to the website is excessive and leading to Zach’s behavior problems, Craig fights back and threatens to shut Shmuley out. Another showdown in a horse-corral threatens to undo the entire effort, and Shmuley finds himself struggling to regain Craig’s trust while still convincing him to make the tough changes needed to fix his family.
Family: The Wexlers
Premiered: May 1, 2006
“If a family’s in crisis I’m coming to talk to the people in charge – the parents. The problems – and the solutions – start with them,” so says relationship counselor Rabbi Shmuley .
In this episode, Shmuley meets Ali, a Jewish guy from Philadelphia who converted to Islam when he married Tijen, a Turkish Muslim. They have major culture clashes over child rearing, and their raucous arguments drive 7-year-old Dilara into her room and under her bed.
Shmuley soon uncovers the real truth – mom’s over-protective parenting is the result of a childhood of abuse; dad’s impatience and aloofness stems from his being abandoned as a kid. Shmuley tells Tijen she has to stop using her kids as a security blanket, and Ali that he must deal with his anger before it destroys him and his family.
After Shmuley delivers his 1st Commandment of Families – your spouse comes before your kids – he helps Ali and Tijen embark on a crash course to re-start their love life. Later, in an attempt to help Ali deal with rage - Shmuley arranges a surprise visit: Ali’s estranged father shows up at the house. A fiery face-off ensues - will Shmuley’s gamble pay-off, or just leave Ali angrier then ever?
Family: The Lubners
Premiered: April 24, 2006
Todd and Lisa Lubner have a troubled 9-year old daughter Hannah, who screams at her parents, hits her mom and does what she wants, when she wants around the house. Is Shmuley up to dealing with this problematic child, who really only yearns for her parents' attention?
But, in a move that shocks mom and dad, Shmuley gets tough on them, not Hannah. And after seeing themselves on videotape, mom and dad begin to realize that their own bad habits – dad’s furious temper, mom’s half-heartedness- have created a kid who acts like a cynical and angry adult.
Rabbi Shmuley prescribes ‘a return to nature’ and sends the family into the woods for a night of supervised survival training. The parents have to stop bickering, pull together, and give Hannah the attention she deserves. They pitch a tent, start a fire, even share their first tender moments as a family in years. Hannah begins acting like a cute little kid again, but will a new round of parental squabbling threaten all the progress the family has made?
Family: The Gordons
Premiered: April 17, 2006
This time out, Ro and her husband Roy (both children of divorce and divorcees themselves) are struggling to keep their second marriage together. Ro’s obsessive cleaning and fiery temper are destabilizing their blended family – Roy and the kids have checked out, and the family is rapidly drifting apart.
Shmuley brings Ro and Roy into his trailer and quickly discovers how Ro’s painful childhood has left her full of anxiety and anger. The family spends the next day doing a psychodrama in a theatre, where the kids and Roy stand up to Ro, and her shouts dissolve into tears. Returning home, Dad and the kids take over the household chores and Ro struggles to surrender control. Will Ro eventually realize that it’s better to have a happy house than a perfectly clean one?
Family: The Romeros
Premiered: April 10, 2006
Former rabbi at Oxford University, family counselor & best-selling author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach visits the homes of families in crisis. He delves into the parents’ relationship and personal histories as he seeks ways to fix the whole family. And when it comes to fixing families, Shmuley should know – he’s got 8 kids himself.
In the premiere episode, Shmuley wades into the rocky waters of a broken home. Luis and Beatriz met as teenagers and spent the next 17 years happily married and raising four kids. But, when financial difficulties led to fights, Luis had an extramarital affair. Now, dad is banished from the family he still wants to be with, and mom is struggling with insecurities and four kids who fight violently inside the home.
Even though they’re divorced, Shmuley calls Beatriz and Luis together to fix their family. Before long, Shmuley realizes that this couple still has strong feelings for each other, even though they’re seeing other people. Shmuley tells Beatriz that until she softens her heart towards her ex, her kids won’t be able to soften their hearts towards each other. He tells Luis to follow his heart and do everything in his power to reunite his family. By the episodes’ end, Beatriz and Luis are dating again, and their kids have stopped fighting with each other.
