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You know that awkward moment when you realize you made a parenting mistake? That moment when your action or body language sends all sorts of hurtful messages to your child?

When I receive feedback about my articles, it is usually unassertive: “Good job this week,” “I really enjoyed your article,” and the like. Last week’s article received radically different attention.

You know what I’ve never heard at the beginning of a session with a couple? “We only have one problem.” Never have I ever been tasked with helping a couple navigate one issue. The same is true with family therapy. Relationships don’t contain one problem; they contain endless differences, triggers, and frustrations that can populate the script of an infinite argument.

In parshas Pinchas, the Torah has a census of Klal Yisrael, which was at the end of the 40 years in the desert. We find discrepancies between these numbers and those from parshas Bamidbar, which was at the beginning of the 40 years. Shevet Shimon had the biggest difference of numbers, the only shevet numbering losses in the tens of thousands. Based on this, Chazal say that the 24,000 who died in the plague at the end of parshas Balak were all from shevet Shimon. In addition, when Moshe blessed all the shevatim, he left out Shimon, only hinting at them, highlighting the disappointment with them from the recent tragic event.

“What kind of question is that? I love my children!”

I didn’t ask if you love your children. Love is common. But do you like your children? Do you enjoy them? Enjoy spending time with them? Appreciate their personalities? Look forward to seeing them? Does your face light up when you think of them?

Recap: The Wright brothers review the glider flight and what went wrong. Sender tells them about the stranger who was shooting photos.