Rabbi Laura

For some reason I am most often in the car during the hours when Dr. Laura is on the air. 

I first started listening to Dr. Laura because I couldn't believe that anyone could give advice with such certainty and no shades of grey.  It took months to figure out the two principles involved: (1) Dr. Laura has a clear hierarchy of values and (2) Dr. Laura doesn't care if the callers don't understand what she is saying, because she is talking to the radio audience.

I rapidly understood Dr. Laura's hierarchy of values.  First comes the child, from pre-birth to adulthood.  The child needs as much love, support and attention as it is possible to give.  Having a married mother is of next priority with the mother staying at home to take care of the child, children.  Having a father to support the child and provide a male role model is third.  All else, that supports these values follows deductively. 

Now I listen to Dr. Laura for another reason.  Once you understand that she hangs up on listeners who don't pay attention to her or where she has communicated her message and has nothing more to say, then you understand the drama of the show.  I've never hear Dr. Laura be cruel or uncaring to a person in need.  On the otherhand she is not romantic, sentimental or squishy.

What I listen for is the endless parallels to her way of solving halachic problems.  The past 630 generations of rabbis have had the same hierarchy of values to adhere to as Dr. Laura. I am constantly amazed that Dr. Laura uses halachic solutions to the problems she encounters.  I suspect she has been getting a steady diet of halachic studies.

Comments

[Nighthawk Colorado]

I listened to Dr Laura until the commericals became longer than the show. I traveled 25 minutes to my work, and I got 7 minutes of Dr. Laura and the rest was commericals.