Rabbi, may I ask a question?
After the rabbi says, Of course, or words to that effect, the question usually involves a kashrut matter or some aspect of Shabbat behavior. Or a myriad of other areas of halachic detail of day-to-day Jewish life.

How about matters of belief? If we take the Rambam’s (and many others) approach to the first Statement of the Aseret HaDibrot, the “10 Commandments” — ANOCHI, I Am HaShem your G-d... that we are dealing with a mitzva (among the 613) that commands us to believe in G-d, then we are also dealing with a halachic topic among the many that make up our lives as Torah-committed Jews. And this means that we should be able to ask our rabbis and religious mentors questions in this area.

If we can ask a Rav if white wine is acceptable for Kiddush on Friday night, then we should be able to ask a Rav if it is “kosher” to question G-d’s “role” in the Holocaust. If we can ask a Rav about a dairy spoon that was accidentally used to stir a pot of tomato sauce with pieces of chopped meat in it, then we should be able to ask a Rav about your under- standing of what happens to a person’s Soul after he dies.

To be sure, many rabbis would be nervous about questions of belief and hashkafa and more comfortable with what to do if you forget Yaaleh V’yavo or how much of a chipped letter requires taking out another Sefer Torah.
And the answers to these belief questions are rarely going to be yes or no. But the questions need to be asked. It’s the only way we can grow in our fulfillment of mitzvot such as ANOCHI.

This kind of mitzva is dynamic, always changing and growing. It is not like what bracha do you make on Chumus?

A child begins to develop a belief in G-d. That belief continues to grow and reshape as the person grows into adulthood. And it doesn’t stop there.

Throughout a person’s life he has experiences – and reads and hears about the experiences of others – that challenge his belief. Each of those new questions is an opportunity to fulfill anew the mitzva of ANOCHI HASHEM ELOKECHA.

Some of the questions we are able to handle on our own. But some require help, in the form of some religious guidance from a rabbi or scholar – one we trust well. It takes more out of us, but it is well worth the effort.