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Daniel Spiro delves deep — in both his writing and his life. His new novel "Moses the Heretic" addresses the conflicts between Jews, Muslims and Christians via the story of Rabbi Moses Levine, a fictional present-day prophet.

Palestinian terrorists, who capturee and torture the rabbi, demand that he publicly denounce the state of Israel and call for its relocation to Europe. They also call for the release of hundreds of Palestinians who are jailed in Israel for alleged terrorist activities.

And that's just the beginning. As the book unfolds, so does the tumultuous life of Levine, who passionately fights for justice as did the biblical Moses.

Levine rises and ultimately falls from grace as he comes to discover himself, his role as a religious and philosophical leader, and his human imperfection.

"It's really a celebration of this man — warts and all," says Spiro.

Levine has non-traditional views of God and of Israel, hence his classification as "heretic," the author explains. But the rabbi also has innovative ideas about what is needed to bring peace to the Middle East.

Spiro hopes the book will help readers come to grips with the meaning of Judaism: the pursuit of justice, peace and truth. In addition, he intends it to encourage Jews and Christians to think positively about the Islamic faith.

"I want Jews to appreciate what is beautiful in Islam," Spiro says. "You're not respecting them if you can't find what is uniquely beautiful about their religion."

Spiro has had his own journey with faith. A staunch atheist when he was young, he majored in philosophy in college, then went on to study at an Orthodox yeshiva in Israel.

"It opened my mind to a belief in God," he says, and provoked him to consider the idea of multiple conceptions of god.

Now Spiro, who describes himself as a practicing non-Orthodox Jew, spends much of his free time tossing the big questions of life around in his head.

"Religion has become my greatest interest as I have gotten older," he says.

Spiro believes religion can bring people together.

"Why should religion be a source of division?" he asks. "Why can't it be a source of unity?"

"Moses the Heretic" is Spiro's second novel. He plans to write a memoir about his own spiritual journey, but felt fiction was the best format for the topics this book addresses.

"I think it's a better medium to get people involved," Spiro observes, adding that non-fiction can be very dry. "I do want to engage people's hearts as well as their minds."

He says his writing style is upfront and conversational rather than lyrical or poetic.

"I want to be sort of in your face," he says. "I want the reader to feel the intensity that I feel when I write."

Religion is not Spiro's only commitments. The Harvard Law School graduate is a Senior Trial Counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice. He specializes in fighting health care fraud. A father and a husband, too, he says his most important goal is to be married to the same woman for 60 years. He still has 40 to go.

Spiro is a founding member of Shirat HaNefesh, a new Jewish community based in Montgomery County, and is the coordinator of the Washington, D.C. Spinoza Society, a discussion group sponsored by the Goethe-Institut Washington. He also blogs about politics.

Managing all his involvements is challenging, Spiro says, but thinking about ideas and being able to communicate them to a wide audience is "so gratifying that it does give me additional energy."

"Moses the Heretic" is available through online booksellers and can be ordered at most local book stores. Visit www.danielspiro.com.