HEBRAIC STYLE OF LEARNING
The Hebraic way of learning is called Yeshiva, which comes from the word “to sit” … to all sit together. The Hebraic style is a learning style that involves participation from everyone. People, together, ask questions, make comments and also bring input. And to have one man or woman teach and everybody listens week after week and year after year?…… Is there something wrong with this picture?
When you have Yeshiva, it is good to have someone who sees things totally from the opposite side, rather than for one person to lecture and let others agree with everything.
When Jesus was 12 years old, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to His Bar Mitzvah and then returned home. A couple of days later they realized He wasn’t with them so they went back and found Him at the temple. He was asking questions, and everyone was amazed at His answers.
When you understand the Hebraic style, you realize His questions were answers. Many Jews answer with questions. It comes from a way of study and thought. Questions are very important and they should make one dig deeper and begin to process information. If you can collect valuable questions, you can get valuable answers. If you have bad questions, you get bad answers. If you have no questions, well, the answer is also just that – empty! The problem with many school systems today is that they don’t teach children how to think. Topics are taught by “fill in the blank or Multiple Choice = A, B, C or D – What is your answer? This is a sad situation and we have produced couch potatoes and shallow thinkers!
Today people just stuff the left side of their brain with knowledge. We don’t know how to use our brain anymore. It’s inactive. Even the cells that are supposed to work don’t work anymore. The creative, intuitive way God has created our brains is at half-mass and the power of revelation and spiritual insight is missing. We have become “Greek thinkers” and though we may have knowledge, we fall short of the revelation and depth the Father wants us to live and move in!
We have lowered ourselves, not using the awesome abilities God has given us. He created this brain. It’s awesome. He means for us to use both sides of the brain and walk in our true identity as His sons and daughters.
My desire is that something will spark for you from this information so that you will get excited, according to the way God made you in your gifting, and check it out for yourself rather than just believe everything I say you.
When I hear a revelation, I love to go and check it for myself … not because I don’t trust, but something happens inside me. When I go check and see for myself, I start owning it.
When you own something yourself, then you gain something that can grow. We have to reprogram our minds continually with fresh revelation that the Spirit of God is opening up to us. This is where the scripture makes quite a bit of sense that goes like this:
Zech. 9:13.
For I have bent Judah, my bow, fitted the bow with Ephraim, and raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and made you like the sword of a mighty man.
Graham Cook once said, “We didn’t produce disciples, we produced one mouth and many bottoms”. How many more sermons do we need to hear before we will get up and do what we are called to do? We have heard life changing sermons… so why is it that our lives are falling apart? How many sermons do we need?
We need to become active, become sons and daughters. The son goes about the father’s business. We have not produced disciples. We produced one mouth and many bottoms. That’s true!
My desire is that you will get a revelation of excitement of the spirit of exploration and discovery.
Alyosha Ryabinov
Questions:
Many times the rabbi teaches by asking questions. Why do rabbis always ask questions? The answer is “Why not?”
Why does the rabbi always answer with a question? The answer is “Why not?” Another variation of this is “Who told you that?”
Here’s an example of how the Lord likes to engage in this conversation… when they asked him from what authority He was speaking, he answered with a question. This was the norm.
“Was He from God of from man?” They consulted with each other and answered, “We don’t know”.
Because they said they didn’t know, He said, “No longer will I be engaging with you because there is no more conversation. Neither will I tell you. This is the end of our yeshiva dialogue”.
Another example is Jesus in the temple at age 12.
It happened after three days, they found him in the temple sitting in the middle of the teachers, listening to them and questioning them. All those who heard Him were amazed over his understanding and answers. Luke 2:46-47.
His answers were questions.
His mother said, "Child, why did you do this to us?…"
Doesn’t that sound like a mother?
"...Your father and I were suffering while we were searching for you. What were you thinking?" He said: "Did you not know it was necessary to be among these with my Father?"
So he answered them with a question too. As a Rabbi, that was the way.
Didn’t you know I must be about my Fathers business?
Did you ever wonder why God talks in questions? Why does He need to ask questions? He knows all the answers, doesn’t he?
One thing you will find about the Jewish people is that they always like to ask questions. They even give you answers with questions. If you ask a Rabbi, “Why do you always answer with a question”, the Rabbi will say, “Why not?”
In Isaiah 66, the Lord presents a problem.
Heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool, where is the house that you will build me, and where is the place of my rest?
The Lord doesn’t have any problems but He just likes to present the problem. Why does God want to present problems to us? Because he put us on this earth to solve problems! Most people want to run away from problems, but the problems in our lives are there so we can release the supernatural realm.
Thanks for taking time to read my article. Visit us again anytime on the web and if you have comments we welcome them at: songofisrael@cfl.rr.com
Alyosha Ryabinov
copyright © Song of Israel
