Jerde: Good study groups add to experience of sacred writings – telegraphherald.com

Ive never done Talmud.

Ive never seen anyone do Talmud, except on the pages of books Ive read, whose stories take readers inside the lives of devout observers of Judaism.

One of those books is The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, the story of an unlikely friendship between two teenage Jewish boys the Orthodox Reuven and the ultra-Orthodox Danny, whose father is a Hasidic rabbi. (Dannys calling to study psychology is at odds with his fathers dream that he become a rabbi.)

Its been a few years since Ive read The Chosen, although Im now reading another Potok book, My Name is Asher Lev, about a Hasidic teen with a gift for creating art.

But I remain drawn to the scenes in The Chosen, where Reuven and Danny are invited to join the rabbi and other Hasidic men in a session of studying Talmud.

Its a collection of centuries-old writings on Jewish laws and legends. Studying Talmud was probably what 12-year-old Jesus was doing in the temple in Jerusalem, when Joseph and Mary noticed he was missing, and frantically searched for him (Luke 2:41:52).

I never gave much thought to what Jesus might have experienced sitting among the teachers, listening, asking questions until I read the description of Danny and Reuven doing Talmud, in The Chosen.

Studying religious writings in my experience, and I suspect in the experience of many people of faith is serious, solemn work. For Lutherans like me, it tends to be a left-brain activity, a cognitive, systematic process, sometimes tedious, sometimes satisfying, but never joy-filled.

Thats why the Talmud scene from The Chosen stood out in my memory.

Most of the men in the group certainly the rabbi, Dannys father had read those writings hundreds of times. Yet, by reading together in a group, and thinking out loud about what they read and how they read it, they came up with insights that were fresh, delightful and surprising.

Something similar happens in a good study group like the current Wednesday morning Bible study on Exodus, facilitated by my churchs gifted interim pastor.

The group experience is vital, whether were all in the same room or whether were linked via an interactive computer program. We need to see each others faces, tell our stories and share our insights.

At its best, our study like the Talmud study in The Chosen is a right-brain, creative, colorful activity. Its work that feels like play.

The roles of the teachers and students are often blurred, even reversed.

Group study of sacred writings is not the same as worship, but its just as essential to a rich, full faith walk.

Im starting to understand why not-quite-teenage Jesus was so drawn to it.

In the story in Luke, Jesus comes off as a little bit sassy to his understandably worried parents, when he says, How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Fathers house?

I can imagine Jesus saying something more like this: Mom, Dad, I got caught up in the joy of joining others in experiencing the mysterious, spiritual richness of the written word. I cant wait to do it again.

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Jerde: Good study groups add to experience of sacred writings - telegraphherald.com