So what is that? Why do Jews seem to have more trouble talking about this than, certainly Protestants, certainly Evangelical Protestants.

Gregory: Look, I don't believe it's a Christian overlay to ask the question, “Where is God?” and to seek closeness, and a relationship with God. I think that is such a fundamentally Jewish idea, and I pointed to Psalm 27 as the place where that is so powerful for me, but it's other places—it's all over the place. Psalm 121: “I look to the mountains—from where does my help come? It comes from the Lord, the Creator of heaven and Earth.” Jews are constantly seeking God's closeness and God's example. Now look, I grew up in a way that I think a lot of Jews grow up in America, which is cultural—

Goldberg: You even more so. I mean, you went to that, what is it called?

Gregory: The Synagogue for the Performing Arts. It was actually a very warm place. The point is, these ideas that we’re talking about, these were not things I was focused on because I was really not that educated, to be honest. So I think there are a lot of Jews like me, who grow up without a lot of understanding of what Judaism is, who don't understand the prayer book; who don't understand the service; who don't understand the deeper meaning. Again, I'm talking about myself; this is how I grew up. I think a lot of Jews are like that. So I think it's very easy to simply be Jewish. You know, my Dad talks about that. He was just Jewish, meaning that's just who you are. It's an ethnic thing. It’s what David Wolpe says—there's the family piece and a religious piece. That was the family piece—the cultural trappings of Judaism.

Goldberg: But that's dissipating in America now, don't you think?

Gregory: Well, yeah, but there's still a lot of areas around the country that are Jewish culturally—

Goldberg: I mean, use your family as an example. The ethnic-tribal component is not going to keep your family Jewish.

Gregory: No, but I'm trying to ensure that it does, both through family, through practice, and through my own fidelity to that. So, it's funny, when the ethnic and cultural piece remains strong with me, despite my background and despite my last name and my father changing his name, but for a lot of people it’s still the only part, because a lot of people didn’t grow up with any of the theology.

Goldberg: One of your core points is that many American Jews don't even know what's in Judaism.

Gregory: There are a lot of people who are Jewish—I happen to believe that what's true in my life is true for a lot of people—and who are experiencing a spiritual longing, and they may not know what that is. Maybe it was like it was for me. It was a sense of, “Who am I, what do I believe, how do I live a religious life of meaning? How do I bring meaning—true, deep meaning and purpose—into my life?” And people want to feel the presence of something—something that lifts their spirit. They want to experience transcendence. They would like to be able to sit back and observe a little bit and not always be on the go. So I think there is a spiritual longing, a desire for closeness to God, however people experience God or understand God. There is that spiritual longing. And yes, people then say, “Oh, I have this spiritual longing for more peace and more tranquility in my life, so maybe I'll try yoga. Maybe I'll try Buddhism.” But I would say, have you tried Judaism? Because there's so much there: daily meditation, study of the Torah, study of aspects of the Talmud—I mean, I haven't studied Talmud in great depth and some of it can be—