King David, Mimonides, and Rabbi Elisha Bar Avuya

It's a bit complicated to explain, especially when most of the crowd would know only one of the above.

King David fascinates me, because if you take the Biblical account of him as more-or-less true, he was a very complex man, with Charisma, talents, and also a band of rogues, and several dark stains in his past. It would be interesting to find out how much was really true, and how close his sophistication as a politician is to modern-day politicians. Also how he managed to become a favorite with the religious establishment, despite his obvious sins.

Mimonides was interesting in two aspects. First, he was both a surgeon - a brain surgeon, it is said - and a deep religious scholar. Second, he introduced a real revolution into Jewish thought. Before his time, God was perceived much like the Greek Gods - a physical being, with supernatural powers. After him, God became an abstract, unperceivable entity, not just an old man sitting in the sky.

As for Rabbi Elisha Bar Avuya, he is a fascinating person. He was a Rabbi in the time of the second Temple, and he came to realize that the Torah is false, and got ex-communicated, although his scolarly achievements were still respected within the religious sect. His studies were not attributed to him after this - wherever he was quoted, they said "That Other said...". He is therefore the first known Jew who abandoned religion for rational reasons. It would be a fascinating talk.