When Daniel Ortner was 18 years old, his faith in God was shattered. "My mom, when I was in high school, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and she passed away shortly after my 18th birthday," Ortner says on a recent NPR podcast. Having grown up in a household where his mother "believed strongly in God" and his dad was "strong in his Jewish heritage," Ortner remembers celebrating Hanukkah, eating homemade latkes, and attending Jewish schools.
