Reform.

Tradition teaches that at Mt. Sinai, when Moses is given the Torah, we are taught the first of all commandments: "I, the Lord, am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods besides Me."

This first commandment, as a statement of God's existence and connection to our people, may lead us to presume that we are hard-wired for belief in God. Throughout the Torah, we read stories of conversations and debates with and pleas to God. Our ancestors turned to God in times of joy and sorrow, for guidance and thanksgiving.

Yet in our real-life living rooms and coffee-house conversations, we know that not all people believe in God. We struggle, we question, we doubt. No, we are not hard-wired for belief in God.

Rather, we are hard-wired to ask questions about God. As self-reflective, conscious, conscientious human beings, we have it in our make-up to ask those existential questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? What happens to me after I die? Our answers are dependent upon our own understanding of the existence and role of God in the universe. Torah illustrates how our ancestors answered these questions. With the Torah's lessons, the traditions of Judaism and the support of the Jewish community, we each have the opportunity to find our own answers. It is our prerogative, even obligation, as Jews to seek out our answers to these questions.

Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, RJE 

Fresno, CA