If you are a person of faith, how do you put into words the basis of your faith? How do you explain to others why you believe as you do? Do you speak of emotional experiences, or of rational conclusions?

In his 12th century work The Kuzari, Yehuda HaLevi relies on the emotional power of storytelling. The Israelites, he says, witnessed many miracles as they wandered in the wilderness. They spoke of their powerful experiences with their children who, deeply moved, spoke with their children, and so on through history. The power of those miracles still fuels our storytelling; only true miracles can hold so much power.

One hundred years later, Ramban (Nachmanides), relies on scientific thinking. No one, he says, simply accepts an account of a miracle. Rational people want verification. It’s natural to dismiss the Torah’s accounts of miraculous sustenance and suggest instead that the Israelites camped where food and water were abundant. Parshat Masei lists the Israelites’ forty-two stops so that future generations can see for themselves: the places are arid and infertile, and thus the Israelites survived with God’s miraculous support.

Where is your own faith grounded? In emotion, experience, childhood memory, reasoned inquiry or historical connection? What difference do you think the grounding makes? Rarely is it easy to live in Jewish community. Given that life raises political, spiritual, and interpersonal issues that can challenge your religious identity, what resources do you bring to meet them?