Rikki –
By the way, I hope you’re still reading this thread, becuase as you can see from the banter, “going off the derech” while nothing to sneeze at, does not mean a burial for your brother.
We all have our weak moments, and bouncing back from a hard fall only makes us tougher and more scratch-proof for the next go around.
Have your brother read what we’ve posted (and also look up a thread called cognative disonance, which aslo has a bunchof well written stuff on this topic).
We’re here to have fun, but we’re also here to help!