Y is a crooked letter.
This is how my mother would respond to me whenever I’d ask my favorite question:
Why?
For as long as I can remember, I have been inquisitive. Curious. Questioning. Whether about the inner mechanics of how something works, the underlying motivations of people, or the complacency of the status quo, it’s my nature to question.
In fact, it’s human nature.
The ability to ask questions is one of the things that differentiates us from animals. Human beings have the capacity — and the responsibility — to inquire, to seek answers and explanations.
Perhaps this is why Passover is my favorite holiday. It’s a holiday that doesn’t merely celebrate questions, it requires them.
Over the past several years, I’ve written dozens of essays about questions, and several exploring what Passover teaches us about asking questions.
The Power of Questions
Questions can challenge, provoke, incite, ignite, open minds, and open hearts. They are a portal to engaging with others, to learning, and to expanding our horizons to new ideas and new worlds.
They are also a path to and a responsibility of a free society.
Here is a round-up of six of my favorite essays from my Passover collection that I’ve written about the art of, and responsibility to, ask questions. Plus two more that are required reading if you tend to be resistant to questions.
6 Passover Essays About the Power and Purpose of Questions
(1) Passover is the Festival of Questions
In many contexts, sometimes (ironically) even in educational contexts, questions are discouraged. Questions can be seen as challenging authority, or as an attempt to incite debate. Some people get defensive if you ask them questions.
At the Passover seder, not only are questions are welcome — they are required.
Questions are the best tool we have for learning and teaching, and this is what the Passover Seder is all about.
No question is too simple, too complex, too ignorant.
*Read More*: Festival of Questions
(2) Questions Are a Sign of Freedom
At the Passover Seder, we tend to focus on the process of asking questions. Equally as important in this context is the receiving of questions. The willingness to allow questions — to create space for them — is also a sign of freedom.
Consider this: what are the character traits of someone who doesn’t create space for questions?
A dictator. A tyrant. An autocrat. A Pharaoh.
This is a person who strives to control everything. A person who seeks total control is not a free person.
*Read more*: Questions are a Sign of Freedom
(3) 8 Reasons to Question Everything
Questions are the path to deeper learning, greater awareness, and a life of meaning and fulfillment.
Questions are also a profound way to add value to others. As a coach and consultant, my true value to clients is not in offering guidance or answers, but in asking the questions that elicit their wisdom.
This essay details 8 reasons to ask questions.
Read more: 8 Reasons to Question Everything
(4) How to Engage a Student in the Learning Process
One of the most fundamental lessons of the Passover seder is that the first step to teaching a child anything is to teach the child how to ask questions.
Read more:How to Engage a Student in the Learning Process.
(5) Why Ask Questions
A free society does not merely confer on its people the right to ask questions; it requires us to ask questions to preserve that freedom.
We are obligated to question our leaders, our processes and our laws. We have a duty to question motive, purpose, and intention.
The rituals of the Passover Seder might be confined to only two nights, but asking and allowing questions is a daily responsibility.
For without questions, there is no freedom.
Read more: Why Ask Questions
(6) 4 Ways Questions Facilitate the Learning Process
It’s axiomatic that the mark of a successful teacher is that their students learn.
Unfortunately many “teachers” miss this point.
Good teachers know that questions are fundamental to the learning process. The best teachers unequivocally welcome those questions.
From Talmudic scholars to Socrates, the ancient sages and philosophers understood that questions and inquiries are an essential component of learning.
It’s not enough to deliver information in a lecture format. True learning involves a process of asking questions and seeking answers, posing inquiries and receiving wisdom.
Read more to learn 4 Ways Questions Facilitate the Learning Process
2 Must-Read Essays If You Resist Questions
Although these essays are not from the Passover collection, they are important reading for anyone who resists questions.
Do you believe that questions are a waste of time, or do you get easily exasperated by another person’s questions?
Read Why Questions Are Never a Waste of Time.
Do you find yourself always seeking answers in your rush to get to where you want to go? Do you abhor questions as an obstacle in your path?
Learn how to Find Pleasure in the Questions.
Which resonate with you?
Which of these essays resonates most with you? Drop a note in the comments or share on social media and tag me @reneefishman.
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