How much can we simply rely on another person’s advice?

So this past weekend we had an interesting conversation at out Shabbat table, to vaccinate or not.

And what I realized was most apparent was that no one really knew the details of either opinion, they were simply following the advice of those that they trusted, either their doctors and the government agency's that over see vaccines, or scientists and naturalists who see vaccines as a dangerous thing for people. One person made a very good point and said that no one at the table would knowingly do something harmful to their child, and that we were all simply following someone else's advice.

This made me wonder, how many other things are we simply following because the person telling us seems trustworthy? Is that a practical way of running our lives?

When I look at my life of Torah observance I see a child raised in a wonderful loving warm home that adhered to the strict rules of Jewish law. I also had the unique opportunity to grow up in a non-religious community. So I was no stranger to the world at large. All my friends were of non-religious backgrounds; our neighborhood was primarily not Jewish at all. My father is a Chaplin at a University so we constantly had students from all walks of life in our home. I was far from a sheltered child.

However I did continue to follow in my parent’s way. But there is a day that truly sticks out in my mind, I don't remember the date but I do remember where I was. It was that day that I made a decision for myself; I was going to continue to lead a religious life, not simply because this is what I had been told, but because this is what I truly wanted for myself. I had asked the questions, I had gotten answers. I was able to think thing through for myself. I saw this path as the right one for me I was also adamant to continue to ask questions when I felt necessary.

I have to say that although the secular world often looks at the religious as the ones who are forced into something, as the ones who know no other way than what they are taught; I am going to have to disagree with that. I of course did not grow up in a traditional religious community, but even those who do; you have to be living under a rock to not know simply what is going on in the rest of the world. I think it was partially the knowledge of "what was out there" that made me reaffirm that this is what I wanted for myself. Now don't think I don't know about the very very secluded and closed religious communities, yes those do exist and are really as closed as you imagine them to be, but they are not the majority.

Take the large religious communities in Boro Park for example, as tight as they are, these people shop in Manhattan. They see a very strong element of the general world. Sure they may not know the hottest movie stars, but they know about the way most people dress, eat, and even hear the latest music over the loud speakers.

If you look at the average secular teenager, they have no idea at all as to what a religious lifestyle looks like. Not about what they wear, how they eat, and for sure not any of their music. And once taking that into consideration it makes you wonder who the sheltered ones are?