Where do you find the energy at times of real difficulties & challenges?
Back at home.

What is the role of Judaism in your life?
In the US there is a significant separation between State and Church. But because the very reason for Israel's existence is based on its Jewish identity, it is legitimate that as a kid growing up there, you would be taught Jewish values, stories, morality and so on. It all became part of us, though the emphasis never was on the ceremonial side of religion. You will actually often find that secular Israelis are significantly less observant of the ritualistic side of religion than secular Jews outside of Israel, who need to go through rituals to remind themselves of their Jewish identity. So since we have moved to the US, we make it a point for instance to have a Friday night Shabbat meal with the kids, we teach them stories and so on, because they do not get it on a daily basis as my wife and I did in Israel.

You could see of course a contradiction in us reciting the Kiddush prayer on the one hand, and doubting the existence of the divine on the other. But show me one thing in Judaism that is not about contradiction!
And I always go back to that one sentence explanation of what Judaism is about: “do onto others what you would like them to do onto you”. Then I get to the Ten Commandments which is basically a well defined process for maintaining together a countryless nation while wondering towards their land. It is like having a CEO and a COO going up the mountain and saying "we have got to build something really simple, so that all these guys in the tribe understand it, and that we get into Israel with as many men capable to fight as possible". And they put together a few rules so that nobody could question their leadership. No one could declare they talked to another God, as there is only one God. No one could build idols and talk to that one God. Moses and Aron could talk to Him, which established them as the only leaders. Then they set up rules to keep the men intact: one should not kill, one should not steal because somebody may kill you, one should not take someone else's wife because her husband would kill you. This does not mean by the way that you could not be with another woman, as long as she is not married. So there is nothing moralistic in this, it is all about maintaining the tribe intact.

... contd.