Your Children Don't Need Your Genes. They Need Your Values. | Dennis AMA

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On today's episode of Timeless Wisdom.

Why do we not see Jewish evangelists or missionaries, or— it seems like they're almost kind of content to sit back and let the world come to them, and I was just wanting to get your feedback on that.

Eric, you have asked one of my all-time favorite questions.

Dennis, my friend.

Yes, sir.

Um, I have a son who has a very high IQ, but he does not perform well in school. And, um, I've followed your suggestions.

How old is he? How old?

He's 12.

In what grade?

Um, 6th.

Well, my question was to you, when's the last time you had to hitchhike? Actually stick out your thumb and hitchhike?

God, I don't remember hitchhiking. But I have picked up hitchhikers frequently. And you wanna hear an eerie story? I never told this one.

My question was, I was wondering if you're able to trace back through your family history which tribe of Israel you are descended from.

What?

I can tell you how to properly adjust your mirrors in your car to eliminate blind spots? Get outta here. Nope, get out. It is possible? Len in Garden Grove, California?

Dennis.

It is possible?

Yes, it is.

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Welcome to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Hear thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs. And to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles, go to dennisprager.com.

Dennis Prager here, and this is the hour of the week where you set the agenda I set them the other 14 hours of the week. This is yours, whatever you want to talk to me about, from politics to the meaning of life to my shoe size to what pipe tobacco I like to recommendations on music or books or anything you've just been curious about, about me or about my ideas or what have you. 1-800-PRAGER-776.

1-800-PRAGER-776.

776. This is the time for you. Let me immediately go to, uh, some of your calls. Now, there's an interesting one, uh, to Al in Grand Prairie, Texas, on KSKY. Hello, Al. Dennis Prager.

Hey, Dennis. I, uh, wanted to, uh— I was a little surprised that you're, uh, well, not taking certain calls, but I'll get right to the point. I've noticed that you—

Wait, you were surprised at my not taking certain calls?

Yeah, because I called a few minutes earlier and—

Oh, well, oh, I see. Well, Eva—

And I had to come up with an alternate.

Oh, OK. Well, I won't ask you what it was that Eva said no to. Yeah, we'll find out a few weeks from now. Email me, OK.

OK.

Go ahead.

I've noticed that you, unlike every other talk show host I know, you play the same 12 pieces of bumper music.

That's right. Yes, we do. And every very rarely we throw in something new. Uh, that was Alan's idea and I liked it. It, uh, and I have to get his thinking once again. I like it because it gives a certain rhythm, predictable rhythm, to the show. I happen to like it. Do you not like it?

Uh, no, it, uh, it sparked my curiosity. I mean, I'm okay with it. It sparks my curiosity. I wondered if, uh, the It almost becomes—

no, not really. But the opening theme, of course, represents something that we're in a— we are in a battle for the country, and now at a war abroad as well. But the— and that's the theme, of course, from Hans Zimmer's Gladiator.

Right. And you changed that in the last half of 2002, was it?

Was— when did I change that? No, let's see, we're in 2004. It's about 2 years ago, after a decade at least of using the— uh, hey, Sean, do you have the old handle theme around?

Give—

have you— I was not, of course, on KSKY. You don't know my old theme, do you, Al?

I do know your old theme. Uh, you were on another station in this area.

Oh, you're right, you're right. Of course I was. KRLD. That's right.

Right.

And that's right, much on a tape delay, which was fine.

I—

if I could not hear you at work, I got to hear you in the evening.

That's right. Now you hear me live. Anyway, that's—

that's—

thank you very Thank you very much for the call. That's the thinking. Sean, do that again. Do it again. Let the folks— Is that gorgeous, folks? I, I, you know, you know how many times I've heard that? Thousands of times.

I did.

I did.

I know.

And I hear it now. It, it is— I'll never forget. I will never forget. I first heard that on the— on a classical radio station about 25 years ago. I, I stopped I just, I wanted to just hear it. Stayed in the car till the piece was over to find out what it was. Now, I know classical music really well. It's the— I'm not proud to say it's the only music I listened to till about 6 years ago. Now I'm crazy about many forms of jazz. I'm nuts about film music and— And jazz is so broad because it's blues and it's jazz singing, and as well as the jazz, uh, the, you know, the classic jazz, uh, trio. But anyway, uh, I had never heard this piece. It's by Handel, lived in the 17th century, H-A-N-D-E-L, and it is the Concerto a Due Core, number 2, movement 5. Very rare, very rare piece, but it's, it's a beauty. Denver and KNUS 710. Hello, Eric.

Hey, Dennis.

Hi.

Uh, honored to talk to you.

Thank you.

My question, switching gears, is—

Yes, that's why I switched. Yes.

Yeah, is why do we not see Jewish evangelists or missionaries, or it seems like they're almost kind of content to sit back and let the world come to them, and I was just wanting to get your feedback on that.

Eric, you have asked one of my all-time favorite questions. And I have, I have, I have a lot, I have a real good answer for you because I have worked a lot to find out the answer. You will note— are you Christian?

I am.

Yeah. You may— I don't remember which book of the New Testament, but Paul says that the Jews, and I'm paraphrasing, the Jews would sail seas and cross continents to make one convert. The fact is that at the time of Jesus, Jews were missionizing. Jews don't know this generally, and non-Jews certainly don't know this. In fact, 1/10 of the Roman Empire was Jewish at the time of Jesus. That is how many converts had been made in the Roman Empire. What happened was, sad to say, for both religions, but by the time Christianity was made the state religion of Rome, it was banned. No one could convert to Judaism. And then began a terrible period in Europe of persecution of Jews. It was banned as soon as the Roman Empire became Christian, and then the church banned it forever. Indeed, there were Christians who did convert and they were killed, and the Jews who facilitated it. Then Jews were put in ghettos and certainly could hardly— the last thing they were going to do was try to make anybody Jewish. They were happy to stay alive. Then unfortunately what happened— and you ask, well, what about the last couple of hundred years where Jews were far more free? Why didn't Jews return to that? Well, that's an internal— then it's an internal Jewish problem, which is, uh, number one, that because of almost 2,000 years of being forced into insularity, uh, that, that came— and these are, these are my take now— uh, it came to prevail where Jews, uh, were so used to living among themselves that the more religious the Jews were, the more they retreated from society rather than entered it. You with me, Eric?

Yeah.

So that is a problem. It is being undone by a handful of Orthodox Jews. I'm not Orthodox. I'm religious but not Orthodox, so I'm not making any case for any denomination so that people listening will understand I'm truly objective here. But there are Jews like Chabad. I don't know if you are familiar with them.

No.

They have houses all over the country And they have an outreach not to make people who are not Jewish Jewish, but to bring them to what, what are called the 7 Laws of Noah, or the Children of Noah, universal moral laws and recognition of God. Does that make sense?

Yeah, I appreciate your help.

All right, I thank you for asking. Okay, be well. Okay, um, let's go to— and let's see here. Oh, Ryan. Okay, Ryan, I love when 10-year-olds call. In Littleton, Colorado, it's Ryan on KNUS. Hello, Ryan.

Hi, Mr. Prager.

Hi, Ryan. What, what, uh, what has you calling my show? Why are you calling?

Um, I want to repeat Shema to you in Hebrew.

And how do you know it?

Well, I go to a private Christian school, and we, we were— we're learning it at our school right now, and we keep repeating it in chapel in our classroom.

Oh, that's very touching. Okay, let me hear it.

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad, Vehavta Adonai Elohecha, B'kol levavcha, U'vakol nashchaka, U'vakol me'odecha. Amen.

Wow!

So it's not just the Shema, it's also the first sentence of the paragraph, love God with all your heart, your soul, and your might.

Yes.

Now, that's very impressive. I am very touched that you called. And that's what they're teaching you, uh, to, to say in the Christian school? That you learned that in your Christian school?

Yes.

That's very impressive. Now, Ryan, I want you to try to work on one sound with me right now, because otherwise it was just about perfect. Can you say kuh?

Kuh.

Kuh.

That's a toughie. So that's the only letter there that you were having a little tough time, and I'll bet your teacher probably has a tough time because we don't we don't have that in English because it would be בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך ובכל מאודך. So there are a lot of חז in there. Ryan, God bless you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Made my day. Yes, folks, only in America. Only in America. The Jewish-Christian alliance to save this country. That's my dream. That's my project. My mission. We'll be back in a moment. You're listening to The Dennis Prager Show.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

What happens when faith and mental health meet for real?

What's up? I'm Grace Graber.

Welcome to Breaking Through with Grace Graber, a podcast for honest conversations about anxiety, trauma, healing, hope, and the God who never backs away when life gets heavy.

We are gonna talk about everything mental health.

No pretending, no perfect answers, just real stories, real faith, and a reminder that you're not alone.

Get ready. You're going to be absolutely obsessed.

Breaking Through with Grace Graber, available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

Alrighty, in Los Angeles on 870 KRLA, Jesse. Hello, Jesse, Dennis Prager.

How you doing, Dennis Prager?

Well, thank you, thank you, my friend.

Oh my God, it's a pleasure to talk to you, Mr. Dennis.

Thank you so much.

I'm a truck driver. I'm really young, 26.

Yep.

I'm Hispanic, and I just want to tell you that Uh, you, you, I don't know, you, you made so much of my life. So besides having Christ on me, on my heart, yes, you've been, um, I don't know, such an inspiring guy for me that I can't wait the next day to, to listen to you. Oh, turn my radio on.

And, um, you're giving me the chills. You're, you're really— I'm very touched by your call, Jesse. Just, um, Jesse, you— do you drive, uh, what, what do you— what type of truck do you drive?

A big rig, the 18-wheelers.

An 18-wheeler. How long did it take you to learn how to do it?

About 6 months.

I tell you, when I see guys driving big rigs and then parking them— Jesse, I have trouble with my car.

I know, you live in Long Beach, right?

I admire your talent, let me tell you.

You gotta drive the busiest freeway in LA.

Hey, you know what? One day I'd like to drive in your truck with you.

Oh, that would be an honor.

All right.

I was thinking about that.

I'd love it. I would love it. So send me an email. Do you email?

Yeah.

All right, send me an email and write Jesse, Jesse the Truck Driver.

Okay? All right. All right, Mr. Dennis.

All right. Thank you, my friend. God bless you. Thank you. Got Christ on his heart and, and me in the same sentence. I tell you what I mean. You know, my, my cup runneth over.

Woof.

My friends, whatever is on your mind, uh, this is the hour to, uh, do so. And let us go to Naples, Florida, WCNZ 1660, and Richard. Hi, Richard.

Dennis, my friend.

Yes, sir.

Um, I have a son who has a very high IQ, but he does not perform well in school. And, um, I've followed your suggestions.

How old is he?

How old?

He's 12.

In what grade?

Um, 6th.

Okay.

Um, and he does very well in certain subjects, but now he's falling behind in those subjects, like science and math.

Uh-huh, right.

And those are where he really achieves highly. And I've done the paying for the grades, tried that with him, and he came home with an F in science. And I— and my question to you is, should I take away things he likes to do, like He plays ice hockey and roller hockey, and, you know, I'm afraid to take those things away from him because he does well in those things, too. And— but then again, there's got to be some kind of, I feel, punishment for not achieving to where he should be expected to achieve.

Well, what are his reasons for doing poorly?

He doesn't know. He never knows. He— I can never get a straight answer out of him when it comes to his grades. It's— he doesn't know what he's doing in class or things like that. So it's really tough to get the information out of him.

Now, when he's not working for school at home, is he watching TV? What is he doing?

Um, he plays on the PlayStation when, you know, if— like, we've taken certain things away from him because, you know, he's not allowed to play on the PlayStation right now because He needs to be working on his schoolwork or studying, or maybe now he's reading a book.

Have you thought of— he does read books?

Yes.

That's great.

He likes to read.

That's terrific. What do the teachers say?

Well, he is also ADD, and he's taking medication for it prescribed by his doctor, which I'm not real keen on, but Um, he does do a lot better when he has the right dosage.

Um—

Well, if he's getting Fs on the medication, what would he be getting if he weren't on it? Well, I'm glad, I'm glad you could laugh.

He got one F and he got 3 Cs and one A. I just don't understand why he gets one A and one F and the rest Cs.

Probably because that's what— why did he get the A in?

Um, oh gosh, I I don't remember.

That's all right. Um, look, let me— all right, look, you know, without meeting him and a whole host of things, it's very difficult. Let me, let me state for you— I think though you know it— and all those listening, my general theories as opposed to an answer where I don't know the individuals. So here goes, number— not in order of importance. Number 1, I do not consider Very good grades important in a child's life, provided, number 2, that when they are not working hard for school, they are not vegetating in front of the television set. My general theory is, if your child is not doing schoolwork, what is your child doing when he or she is not doing the schoolwork? If he is wasting his time on television, that should be removed. But if he is playing, and I consider play important, socializing, reading books, building model airplanes, whatever it might be, I could live with that. Next, the question of the school. This you, uh, and this you have to consider, uh, is maybe this is not the right school for him. Maybe other teachers might inspire him. Maybe he needs a, uh, a different setting. Maybe he needs to be homeschooled. Maybe he needs to be in a small school. Maybe he needs a private school. Maybe he needs a public school. Maybe he needs, I don't know what. F, F bothers me. It does. If a parent called up and said, my kid is getting Cs, Bs, and As, I would say, you're very— you're lucky. Have a great day. Don't worry about it. It's a very real tension between my attitude that we drive kids crazy on grades and allowing them to flunk. Allowing them to flunk is not good. That, that, that needs to be addressed. Also, while there are kids who do need medication, I do believe that medication is offered too freely. The purpose of medication is not good grades. The purpose of medication is to be able to function. Now, being able to function may lead to good grades. I fully understand. So I hope this is of some help, but I would definitely consider switching schools. If there's one F, then let him do the work. But you have to sit down. The kid's old enough to say, listen, F is not acceptable in this home. That's a failure. What will you do to make sure that you do not fail, that you get at least a C? Okay, I'm not going to drive you crazy for A's, but what would be done? What can we do to make that possible?

Are you enjoying Timeless Wisdom? We'd love to hear from you. Call 877-243-7776 and leave a Leave a review, share your thoughts, or just even an encouraging word for Dennis. Your voicemail might just make it on the show. That's 877-243-7776. That's 877-243-7776. Thanks for listening and for your support.

Uh, oh boy, here's a funny question. Let's go to Chatsworth, California. John, hello.

Hello, Dennis.

Hi.

It's a pleasure to talk with you.

Thank you.

I enjoy your show immensely.

Me too. Is that all right, by the way? Is that an okay response?

Is that—

does that— to say me too, as opposed to just—

Yeah, yeah, it's acceptable.

Is it arrogant?

No.

Okay, go ahead.

Well, my question was to you, when's the last time you had to hitchhike, actually stick out your thumb and hitchhike?

God, I don't remember hitchhiking. But I have picked up hitchhikers frequently. And you want to hear an eerie story? I never told this one. I was— I had one terrible crash in my life. I was 21. I was on a mountain road in Pennsylvania. And I, uh, it was an inherited car. It was my first car, bad tires. And I was not the world's most careful driver. I was newly minted as a driver. I didn't become a driver in my teens. I was a New Yorker. Anyway, uh, I went down a hill. The hill ended at a curve, uh, which led to a little bridge, and I, and I put on the brakes and smacked right into the steel railings.

The—

I had my father— I was hospitalized. I broke my nose and I had glass all over my body, which is not— neither of which is terrible, just it was painful and I was knocked unconscious. The car became an accordion in the back. The back was completely demolished because I hit the car. I swerved in time to have the back of the car— I had let off a hitchhiker 2 minutes before. I would have been responsible for the death of a human being if he had not gotten out of my car 2 minutes earlier.

When's the last time you Never told that story.

Never told it on the air, never told it publicly. Not that I'm hiding it, it just never arose. It's very sobering. It's a very sobering part of life. I guess we all have sobering stories, obviously, but I never have forgotten that. I had my father go to the junkyard and take a picture of the car. I still have it somewhere. Back in a moment. You're listening to The Dennis Prager Show. Monica— yeah, I know— Monica in Lakewood, Colorado. On 710. Hi.

Hi, Dennis. How are you?

Okay, thanks.

My husband and I just got such a kick out of your, um, Happiness Hour. He's a first-time listener and he's a psychiatrist, and he said that you reminded him a lot of Dr. Phil, um, but Dr. Phil on the radio, because you, um, had such good advice for Kathy, for example.

Oh, thank you.

He did have one suggestion though for Kathy.

Yes.

As a psychiatrist, he thought that She might want to try some meds, um, as well as therapy for her disorder because it's really a social anxiety disorder. But we— you just made us very happy, Dennis, listening to your Happiness Hour. And I was so happy because my husband had never heard you and he just, he just thought you were great.

Oh, look, if a psychiatrist likes my hour on happiness— wait, I want— wait, wait, let me finish the sentence. It's a good sign for me, but in my opinion, it's a good statement about him.

Well, I have to tell you, he said, you know, you better tell Dennis I'm jealous because you have Dennis on your cell phone. You have his number plugged into your cell phone and you don't even remember my beeper number sometimes.

Oh, that's funny. Well, you know what? You know, I'll tell you a story about that too. I— when I began radio, I was on on Sunday nights in Los Angeles, and women would come over to me in front of their husbands and say, Dennis, I go to bed with you every Sunday night. And I'm standing there, and you know what? I'm speechless. What am I going to say? Thank you? Or, oh, I love it? Or, that's wonderful? What am I going to say?

You really had us go in stitches because you just made us so happy in that Happiness Hour that we just couldn't help but call.

Well, thank you. So thank you, Dennis, and thank you for making us think of Dr. Phil because you really are—

you're better than Dr. Phil.

Oh, that's so sweet.

That's true. All right, be well. Say hi to your husband and don't forget his beeper number.

Okay.

Okay, bye-bye. Bye. That's funny. Yeah, I used to get that line, folks, and I would, I would turn every shade of red. I, you know, I, I would smile sheepishly, you know, at the husband. I'm out of here. On the other hand, men would say that too. I fall asleep with— oh, or I'd get this other one, which people meant as a compliment. Dennis, every Sunday night I fall asleep listening to you. And I didn't know what, you know, it was meant as a compliment, but, you know, how good was I if they fell asleep during the show? So I ought to make a list of the comments that I have, that I have gotten, because that— and they're, they're so often meant well. And that was, I mean, I would take that as a compliment, but it was a funny way of saying, you know, how much I enjoy you that you put me to sleep. By the way, talking about put to sleep, I could tell you stories about radio for obviously forever because 22 years I'm in radio. This first show that I did on radio, I did for 10 years. I was expanding to other hours at the time, but for 10 years I did a show which changed my life, utterly changed my life and prepared me for what I believe is a great, great mission in my life now of having a Jewish-Christian alliance to save this country. And the, the show was where I moderated a priest, a minister, and a rabbi, different ones each week. And after, after a few years, I almost always had a 4th guest from a 4th religion. But many of those nights, my son, who was young, my older son who was young at the time, Uh, would be with me, and, uh, he would fall asleep because it was from 10 to midnight, and he would fall asleep in the studio. I remember under a table behind the clergy. And from a very young age though, he snored. And it, it was a very funny little precious part of my life that my son David's snores might be heard, uh, all over Southern California. But I never know if they were hurt. I know the clergy every so often did, and it jolted them because they didn't know that there was a little boy in the room. He is now a strapping young man of 21 and still snores. We'll be back in a moment. 1-800-PRAGER-776, The Dennis Prager Show.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

What happens when faith and mental health meet for real?

What's up? I'm Grace Graber.

Welcome to Breaking Through with Grace Graber, a podcast Welcome to the podcast for honest conversations about anxiety, trauma, healing, hope, and the God who never backs away when life gets heavy.

We are going to talk about everything mental health.

No pretending, no perfect answers, just real stories, real faith, and a reminder that you're not alone.

Get ready, you're going to be absolutely obsessed.

Breaking Through with Grace Graber, available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

Okie smokie, let's go to Golden, Colorado. That's so nice. Golden, Colorado. That's so nice. How are you in Golden? Beats Intercourse, Pennsylvania. You know, there's a city— there is. That is correct, Marcel. There is a city, Intercourse, Pennsylvania.

Oh my gosh.

I know. Yep, it is. I saw once a listing of names of cities you might not want to have lived in. So you have it a lot easier in Golden.

Yes, I do. Dennis, I heard you talking to Ron Reagan yesterday. And he mentioned something about an Old Testament translation, and you said, no, that's the wrong translation. And since I'm a lay Bible scholar, I'd like to know, what do you consider the best?

Well, there are, there are 2 answers, or 3 even. There, there are 3 types of best. One is the most accurate, one is the most readable, And one is the most, uh, elevating. The most elevating is King James.

Okay.

Yeah, I've got that.

The King James is, is, is a staggering work in its own right. It is a work of religion. Yeah, it is a religious act. Uh, yeah.

And I knew—

I use an interlinear now.

Well, do you mean from the Hebrew and the Greek?

From the Hebrew and the Greek, yeah.

Have you studied Hebrew and Greek?

I haven't, and I'm about to, uh, because I'm running into problems with, uh, grammar in the Hebrew.

Well, I could help you out. I know Biblical Hebrew very well, but it is, um, it is certainly worth doing. It is absolutely worth doing. But anyway, in terms of elevation, is that— in terms of readability, the NIV is now my favorite. If I could— if I had to go to a desert island with only one Bible translation, it would be the New International Version.

Yeah.

Uh, I, I, in terms of accuracy, there is one, uh, well, it's not the whole Bible actually. So, uh, accuracy, I don't know the answer on accuracy. And, uh, I love to talk about the hobby stuff. Hobbies are a great source of joy in my life, always have been. So let's see here.

What?

I can tell you how to properly adjust your mirrors in your car to eliminate blind spots? Get out of here. No, get out. It is possible? Len in Garden Grove, California?

Dennis.

It is possible?

Yes, it is.

Len, if you teach me how to do this without even being by my car, Alan will send you a copy of his book.

Oh, I'd love to have that book. Anyway, I was years back. I don't listen to the Motor Man, Leon Kaplan, very often, but I just happened to catch him when he said 99% of the people on the roads do not adjust their mirrors properly, therefore the blind spot.

Okay, tell me.

Okay. When you're— the average person driving down the road, sitting in the driver's seat.

Yes.

When they look in their mirrors, they want to see the side of their car. This is wrong. And the way you do it, you don't have to be in the car. You lean your head over and touch till your head— the side of your head— for the left mirror, the side of your head hits the glass window, right? You then adjust the mirror so you can see the side of the car.

Okay?

When your head is resting on the window?

Yes.

You adjust that? So we're talking obviously—

You tip your head over till, you know, the, you know, I understand.

Your head is resting on the window on the left side, obviously the driver's side.

Right.

And then you adjust the side mirror so that what?

So that you can see the side of the car.

As opposed to seeing the side of the car when you're sitting back.

Right. And it takes a while to get used to, but once you get used to it— anyway, so therefore when you come back up to center again, you cannot see the side of the car through that mirror. Now the right mirror, you tip your head to the— about the middle of the vehicle.

But why won't there be a blind spot? You will be still—

Let me finish.

Okay, go ahead.

Then to adjust the right mirror, you lean your head to the center of the car.

Yeah.

And you adjust the mirror the same way so you can see the side of the car. Then when you're driving down the road, there'll always be a car in one of your mirrors, either your rearview mirror in the middle or one of your mirrors on the side. The car will always be in the mirror. In other words, when the car's coming up alongside you and you see them in the rearview mirror, in the middle, you know?

Yes.

As the car's coming up, it'll start fade— it'll start disappearing in the rearview mirror and it'll appear in the mirror on the side.

And there is no point where the car will be on either one of your sides and it will not be seen by one of the side mirrors?

One of the side mirrors or the middle mirror.

Wow. Yeah, I, I thought— It takes a little bit.

Everybody's car I've ever, ever get into it and get into it, they're never adjusted that way.

So you mean I will not have to automatically turn my head?

No, just look in both mirrors at the same— just be looking in the mirrors and you will see the car as it disappears in the rearview mirror in the middle. It'll appear in the side mirror. There will always be a car in the mirror.

All right, I'm gonna try it, and if it works, you send your name to Alan.

You mean email it?

Yeah. All right.

Yeah, Leon Kaplan's the man.

All right. He— I know him well. He's a darling man. Thank you, Len. See, now that's precious knowledge. I'm skeptical only because— why am I skeptical? Now I have to analyze that. I am skeptical because just the laws of physics seem to suggest that there is a point.

More—

what people are calling in to say that the rearview mirror guy is right on. By the way, folks, what do you think of the idea of my offering that Alan sent you his book? Did anybody notice that, that I was having Alan give away his book? I wonder if that went by quickly. I am sure it did not go by Alan. Alan, I think it's a phenomenal thing for your book. I'm going to start having— offering your book from you more often. All right, more of your calls, and now I will drive more safely. 1-800-PRAGER-776, The Dennis Prager Show.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

What happens when faith and mental health meet for real?

What's up? I'm Grace Graber.

Welcome to Breaking Through with Grace Graber, a podcast Join Grace on her podcast for honest conversations about anxiety, trauma, healing, hope, and the God who never backs away when life gets heavy.

We are going to talk about everything mental health.

No pretending, no perfect answers, just real stories, real faith, and a reminder that you're not alone.

Get ready, you're going to be absolutely obsessed.

Breaking Through with Grace Graber, available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

Alrighty, everybody. request that you no longer call about the sideview mirror to say that the man is right. We have been deluged. We have been deluged. But I will take this one call from San Antonio on KLUP of someone who's in his car and tried it. Go ahead, Jesse. Yeah, thanks, Dennis.

I tried it.

It works.

What can I say? It makes sense. You see the vehicle behind you. And only one mirror at a time, and I think that makes the difference.

Well, that's a big deal. And you tried it while driving?

Yeah, I did.

As we were listening to Lyn on the radio, I was saying, well, I'll try this. So I started fiddling with the mirrors, and you have much wider coverage. You can see further to the left and to the right as you're driving down the road.

So it absolutely works. As Allan just said to me, you never know what you'll learn on The Dennis Prager Show.

Absolutely.

KKNT Patriot in Phoenix. Chris, hello.

Hi, how's it going? Thanks for taking my call, Mr. Prager.

Thank you.

My question was, I was wondering if you're able to trace back through your family history which tribe of Israel you are descended from.

No, and in fact, we can't— I can't trace back beyond the, the, I think, the, the the latter part of the 19th century. And I will tell you something that is, may be a little upsetting, and I certainly don't mean it that way. I am very American in my attitude toward roots. I have adopted unconsciously, because I adopted this before I heard it, but Lincoln said once, I am more interested in, or I am less interested in who my grandfather was than what his grandson will be. So I have, I atypically have not been terribly interested in family roots.

Well, what you just said, it does, I never thought of it like that. It does make a whole lot of sense. Obviously you can change through your children and their children.

That's right, yes, exactly.

And, uh, yeah, influence them. You can't influence people that died thousands of years ago.

Well, right. And, and, and in the final analysis, what difference does it make?

That's true.

So, but I, I don't poo-poo people's interest in that. I mean, if somebody could show me a family tree back to ancient Israel, I'm— I would look at it. There's no question. But it is— it, it would not be one of the great days of my life. It would just be interesting. I, I'm not very blood-oriented. I'm very values-oriented. I am much more interested that my children have my values than have my genes.

Excellent point.

Okay.

Thank you. Thank you.

It was a very interesting question.

I—

that's a very big belief in me, folks. I have not talked about adoption in a while. It's You know, there's been so much about elections and politics in the last year. Some of the basic themes of passion in my life have been ignored, and I believe correctly so. But that's a big one. That too is in my book. What I consider the one— I wish people would read all 4, but the one, if you could only read one and want to know me, is Think a Second Time, my book of 44 essays. On 44 subjects, and that is one of them, about how blood— blood versus love. And, uh, when you really— I would like to ask any of you who think that blood is more important than anything, would you rather your child be— not have your blood, be adopted? And have your values, or not have your values but have your blood?

Okay.

For all of you who think that blood is that important, I believe 99% of you would say it is— you would much rather have your child have your values.

Tomorrow on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.

The subject is the phrase, well, that's the way God made me. But this argument, God made that, that, that way, is used by conservatives and liberals and religious and non-religious. I'll give you examples all over the spectrum, because I want to deal with this notion of God made a person that way. Which I don't buy for a minute. I don't buy it, and I'm a deep believer in God. But I— it's not logical, and it is almost a useless, often a dangerous phrase. For example, for example, there are people who have opposed women— usually it's women— getting cosmetic surgery. God made you that way. And why are you undoing it? You don't like your nose? God made your nose that way. I have gotten— I've heard that argument on my own show. And do you believe that, folk? God made your nose that way? If you like a better nose, get a better nose. What is it God's business? God made it that way? When I have argued on behalf of bottle feeding, I have no problem with breastfeeding. I think it's lovely. I think it's beautiful. Those who wish to do it should be well and healthy, but I get the argument, well, Dennis, why do you think God created the breast? And that's the end of the argument. Dennis, you're talking against God if you talk bottle feeding. Of course, there are a lot of answers to why God created the breast, and especially with the human species, apparently God created the breast for things other than milk production for babies, because even when women are not feeding babies, they still have their breasts, unlike, unlike other primates. So there must be other reasons for breasts, because women have breasts if they never get pregnant.

Join us tomorrow to hear more on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Visit DennisPrager.com for thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs, and to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles. We want to take just a second to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the podcast. Go to lifeaudio.com to find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network, including shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.

What happens when faith and mental health meet for real?

What's up? I'm Grace Graber.

Welcome to Breaking Through with Grace Graber, a podcast for honest conversations about anxiety, trauma, Healing, hope, and the God who never backs away when life gets heavy.

We are gonna talk about everything mental health.

No pretending, no perfect answers, just real stories, real faith, and a reminder that you're not alone.

Get ready, you're going to be absolutely obsessed.

Breaking Through with Grace Graber, available now wherever you get your podcasts.