Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf 
Staff Reporter

Tevya Heller was raised Jewish, but it didn’t take.

The Montreal-born, now New York-based comedian/actor/producer has spent the last decade happily living as an atheist.

But as he grows older, he said he’s finding it harder to avoid the great big God-shaped hole in his life, and he’s on a mission to reconnect with the omnipotent one, although just which incarnation of the Almighty he’ll go back to is anyone’s guess.

Whatever the outcome, it’s likely to be a fun ride. And North American TV viewers can watch Heller agonize over how best to re-spiritualize his life on his new reality TV show, Oh My God! (Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on ichannel.)

The show’s premise is simple: Heller visits with and is guided by members of every major faith group (and many others) in an effort to understand how and why they believe what they do. The hope is that their fervour will somehow rub off on or enlighten him.

Most of the writing is lighthearted and peppy, and the show’s aim – aside from being a vehicle for Heller’s obsessive quest to reconnect his soul to something deeper – is to promote tolerance and acceptance.

Oh My God!’s premier on Dec. 5 features Heller immersing himself in Toronto’s Hindu community.

There are more than 900,000,000 Hindus worldwide.

Other episodes already recorded and set for broadcast include visits with a Wiccan community, the Jewish community and the Muslim community.

Of his visit with the Jewish community, Heller said it was one of the saddest for him to film.

While living with with an Orthodox Jewish family in Toronto, he realized his birth religion still didn’t have the answers he sought.

“I was shocked at how committed the family was to their faith. I loved growing up Jewish,” he told The CJN in a recent interview. “I love the food, the history, the stories told in the Torah. I’m a Jewish atheist.”

However, his faith in God was shaken and ultimately broken when he left home at 18 to pursue his dream of making it in show business.

He said that after he moved to New York, he realized how hard it was to break into the business and lived as a pauper for some time. He started praying to God as a Jew for help and guidance.

He received neither, he said.

“I would plead for help, for a sandwich. But it got to the point where I thought, ‘You know what? If God’s not there in your darkest hour or when you really reach out to him and beg him for help… then screw it.’ And I lost my faith right then and there. This was about 10 years ago.”

Heller then replaced God with celebrity. Which was enough for him “until it wasn’t,” he said.

This series is God’s “second chance” with him, Heller said.

For more on this story, watch The CJN’s interview with Tevya Heller and the show trailer below.