QUESTION
How do I make peace with my mother-in-law?
ANSWER
The first step is to send her a little gift. A woman was telling me that she was fighting with her mother-in-law for a long time. So I said, “Stop talking against your mother-in-law.” “What can I do?” she said. “She’s my enemy.” I said, “The first thing is to send her a little gift.” That’s number one. And even if she’s going to belittle you again and she’ll say, “Such a gift she sends me!”, don’t worry. Because she’s going to feel, however, a certain warmth, a softness towards you. מתן אדם ירחיב לו – A man’s gifts open the doors for him (Mishlei 18:16). It’s important to give gifts; small gifts.
A father-in-law was making trouble for someone here in the shul. I said, “Send your father-in-law a seventy five cent pair of cheap cufflinks. Mail it to him; it’s a good beginning. Don’t think of it as a small thing.” And therefore, מתן אדם ירחיב לו – a man’s gifts open the doors for him. You can make shalom with gifts. TAPE # 824
Only a few copies of Volume I still left in print. Almost 500 pages of Q&A’s.Order Now. Vol. 2 Are you interested in more Q&A’s on the subject of succeeding with your in-laws? Should I live near my in-laws? What should I do if my mother says something not nice about my wife? My in-laws have a TV in their house, Can I let my kids visit them? And much much more... Stay tuned for the Chapter on Succeeding With In-laws in the upcoming Questions On Any Subject Volume 2
