18 Questions To Get Spiritual To
A Lesson Plan For Going Deep
Everyone remembers those New York Times 36 questions that lead to love, right? Or, I do at least. Colleen and I answered them over the phone in 2015 before we started dating…we weren’t exactly subtle about our intentions. Anyway, this memory flashed back in my mind the other day as I was working on a lesson plan. Questions are the lifeblood of Jewish study. We answer questions with more questions. We ask questions on holidays. We ask them rhetorically, sincerely, repetitively, and boldly. So, I decided to make my own list for you all. This list is designed to touch on some big topics that get to the heart of what it means to be alive. Deep breath. Let’s get to asking.
– Meg
Directions:
Find a loved-one you want to talk to honestly and openly – someone you possibly have never gotten “deep with” before (or, whoever, really)!
Set aside some time where you don’t have to answer to anyone – really let this be about your conversation. And, if you need multiple sittings to tackle these, that’s great, too.
Read through the questions and assess them – do you like how this question is phrased? Why or why not? Would you phrase it differently? Be a critic!
Yes, many questions have multiple parts. Don’t email me telling me this is more than 18.
Don’t be too much of a critic (see no. 3) and just try your best to answer them.
Go!
Questions:
What is the soul? The spirit? Are they the same or different? Explain.
Are people born morally good, bad, or neutral (like a blank slate)? Why do you think what you answered?
What is a story you heard as a child that has impacted the person you have become?
Does everything happen “for a reason?” Explain.
What is one question you never want to know the answer to?
20th Century Sage Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel write that “Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement. ....get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.” What do you think is amazing?
How do you define “miracle?” Have you ever witnessed a miracle?
When do you feel the most meaning or purpose in your life?
In your opinion, does everyone have a unique purpose? Is each person’s purpose unique to them or is there a universal purpose that all of humanity shares? If you do believe that each person has a unique purpose, what is yours?
How do you define “justice?” Where did you learn to define it this way? And right now, in our world, do you think we need more justice or mercy? Why?
What is prayer? Do you pray? Why or why not?
Which sense (taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing) do you feel gives you the most access to The Divine?
What brings you the greatest sense of peace?
Scholar and ritual expert Vanessa Ochs writes, “In Judaism and, I imagine, most other faith traditions, the spiritual is material. Without things, in all their thingness, there is no Passover, only an idea of Passover…Things denote one’s belonging, one’s participation, possibly one’s convictions.” 1 What objects in your life help you connect to yourself, your purpose, or a higher spirit?
In his poem, Sabbath Poems III, Poet Wendell Berry writes, “What are we but hosts of time?” In what ways are we hosts of time?
What do you think happens to us when we die? What do you hope happens to us when we die?
What do you hope people will say about you after you have died?
Create your own question (and then ask it).
Vanessa Ochs, What Makes a Jewish Home Jewish? MyJewishLearning.com https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/what-makes-a-jewish-home-jewish/