The media have reported in recent years an increasing number of youth violence cases. According to Rabbi Shmuley, anger is at the root of these school shootings and other incidents of brutality.

Children can learn how to let go of their anger if their parents teach them how to forgive and how to be less judgmental, Rabbi Shmuley says. "Our inability to forgive—becoming so judgmental, so harsh—is what ruins our lives," he says. "It is what ruins our relationships, and we are mostly angry because we judge so much."

While learning to forgive others is important, learning how to forgive yourself is also a lesson you should teach your children, Rabbi Shmuley says. "We have to stop being so harsh on ourselves because, I think more than anything else, we are angry at ourselves, we know we are letting ourselves down, and we are letting ourselves down by not being the people we want to be."

When you forgive yourself and forgive others, Rabbi Shmuley says you will let go of all that is weighing you down and keeping you from being the best person you can be. "Forgiveness is the act of letting go of anger," he says. "It's the act of letting go of bitterness; it is the act of establishing new hope."

Today's Shmuleyism
"Never judge your life by the quantity in your bank accounts, but by the quality of your relationships."