Hannah Lubner glares at her parents, and they instantly recognize that a temper tantrum is simmering, only moments away from boiling over. The tantrum's ingredients are predictable-first the kicking, then the screaming, and finally the hitting. Her mother flees from the confrontation, exhausted by Hannah's behavior. But her father matches his daughter's rage, decibel for decibel, lashing out at his wife and his 9-year-old child. Before the Lubners can stop the eruption, another cycle of pain has begun. Desperate for ty 1B6 Molv4 (shlom bayit, family harmony), they call Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, host of "Shalom in the Home," a popular reality show on TLC (The Learning Channel). He accepts the challenge and comes to their rescue.

The goal of each show, Boteach says, is to teach troubled families to develop successful relationships. "What I'm trying to do in the show is give people a sense of satisfaction, of feeling really heroic when they invest time, energy, and attention in their families." Although Rabbi Boteach doesn't claim his advice is based on Jewish tradition, many of the life lessons he teaches parallel Jewish wisdom. For example, check out his counseling strategy with the Lubners.

ON THE AIR—ROLL THEME SONG

Rabbi Boteach parks his RV outside the Lubner home and installs hidden cameras throughout the house. After ten days, he's ready to intervene. He calls the parents into his RV and dishes out his no-nonsense analysis. In this case, he lays partial blame for Hannah's behavior on her parents; after all, they failed to establish routines and boundaries for their daughter; they argued constantly, and dad's angry outbursts set a horrible example. Rabbi Boteach's life lesson for the Lubners: "Kids are the world's most gifted mimics, and if they see you blowing up with anger in dealing with a minor setback or frustration, that's how they're going to behave too."

Nearly 2,000 years ago, another rabbi offered similar advice in the Talmud. Rabbi Adda bar Ahavah didn't host a TV show, but he understood family relationships. When his disciples asked him why he had lived so long, his answer included: "I never lost my temper in the midst of my family" (Ta'anit 20b).

THE REAL WORLD?

Reality TV isn’t always real, and one of its fiercest critics is Irene McGee. In 1998, she appeared on MTV’s wildly popular series “The Real World,” but left in a huff after complaining that the show’s producers manipulated the events. Today, she hosts a radio show called “No One’s Listening,” which examines media manipulation and the falsehoods of reality TV.

Kerrin Ast, 14, of St. Louis sounded off to us about reality TV: “I like some reality TV shows, but sometimes I think they’re overly dramatic and give kids the wrong idea of what is real.”