Day 42: שׁוֹאֵל וּמֵשִׁיב / Asking and answering questions
While we inch towards Shavuot in just over a week, today's topic of questions and answers reminds us of this project's launch holiday: Passover. The rabbis outline the ways that questioning and answering feature prominently in the night's ritual choreography. The go so far as to say, "Even if two Torah scholars who [already] know the laws of Passover are sitting together and there is no one else present to pose the questions, they should ask each other" (Pesachim 116a).
Questions and answers open a channel for transferring content from one mind to another, but they also build trust, vulnerability, humility, and relationship, some of the core features of a life of Torah.
Nobody is only an asker or an answerer. Whether we are functioning as teacher or as student, we all have opportunities to model inquiry and curiosity, as well as expertise and proficiency.
Reflection:
Do you feel more intuitively like an asker or an answerer?
Lived practice:
Think of a mentor of yours. Write down three questions you want to ask that person. Now answer those questions yourself.
