“Search the depths of your own heart and you will find the Torah; Search the depths of the Torah and you will find your own heart!” Reb Zalman Schachter-ShalomiAs one who toils daily in the “retail end” of the “Lord’s Vineyard”, I have come to feel a special resonance with the 18th Chapter of the Book of Exodus which records an encounter between Moses, the somewhat beleaguered, overwhelmed leader of the nascent Israelite Nation and his wise, experienced father-in-law, the venerated philo-semitic Sheik of Midian, Jethro.

I am deeply moved by so many elements of our Torah’s depiction of this reunion. How wonderful it is to see a seasoned “manager of human resources” who is so willing to share - freely - of his vast knowledge! How refreshing to come across a powerful and accomplished “Chief Spiritual Officer” of a nation who is both humble and open enough to hear constructive criticism…

Believe the earth is flat, or I'll kill you. Are you able to ignore the evidence that says otherwise?

Eternal bliss or eternal suffering, each at a level so profound that we cannot begin to imagine the plenary ecstasy of heaven or the relentless horror of hell. This,  Christians contend, is what is at stake as we try to decide whether or not to believe in Jesus as God.

But even this “choice” misunderstands the concept of belief. Belief is not a decision, but rather an intellectual position to which we are taken by evidence (evidence which can include, I am told, personal revelations from God, a courtesy not yet extended to me). We can’t believe the earth is flat, even if threatened with death for that disbelief, because the evidence tells us it’s spherical.

Yet according to the Christian proposition, we must believe certain things to avoid damnation. What are they? Besides the…