Of many things

ONE AFTERNOON in early February, a sad-eyed man in a faded parka was standing on a corner in Midtown Manhattan. He was timidly trying to distribute cards for a nearby sandwich-and-salad shop, but the crowd brushed past him.

Not far away, two young women were more successful. Smiling and twittering, they thrust upon pedestrians handbills that asked: "Who really killed Jesus? A public debate in response to the upcoming film, 'The Passion."'

These fliers had pictures of the two men who would be debating. One of them, 37-year-old Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, is a popular preacher, educator, radio ...