In the past I have discussed the question of whether one can be a moral, ethical and upright person w/o Hashem and Torah. I will not repeat the discussion here. But what is clear is that the levels of Tzidkus, of kindheartedness, of goodness, of thoughtfulness, of self-sacrifice, of generosity etc. etc. achieved by our Gedolim one can only reach through Torah. The stories of great Talmidei Chachomim and tzadkim of all the generations are unparalleled in any other religion and in any other culture. [That is not to say that every story told about every Gadol is necessarily accurate but many of them are true and simply jaw dropping. However, to appreciate the stories one has to be a little elevated over the world of twitter-facebook-instagram and social media in general, Netflix, NBA, NFL, etc. etc. that cloud one's Neshama. One has to be at LEAST a little but of a ben Aliyah. ואכמ"ל].
For example - How many secular atheists will not go to sleep at night if they have a penny to their name b/c they make sure all "extra" money is given out to the poor as was the custom of the Divrei Chaim of Tzanz and others? How many secular atheists give thousands of thousands of hours of their time [which they never waste of second of] to help anyone and everyone in every which way? How many secular atheists go out of their way to do favors for people who attack and defame them as so many Gedolei Yisroel have done? How many Professors of anything and everything die and their funeral is attended by thousands of students who cry that they lost their father - as has happened to so many Gedolei Yisroel? The answer to those and many similar questions is ZERO.
Thousands of thousands of thousands of stories that show what happens when the soul properly encounters Torah. Mind boggling.
So if someone really wants to be extraordinary and/or wants to be in the same "club" as extraordinary people - then Torah is the only way.
If someone just wants to get through life eating, drinking, sleeping and surfing the Web, with some vacations, Tashmish Ha-Mittah and shopping on Amazon thrown in - then he doesn't need Torah. But I don't recommend it....
