Questions to Ask a Jewish Rabbi: A Three-Faith Perspective on Seeking Religious Guidance

In Judaism, asking a rabbi is not merely encouraged — it's a foundational religious act. The Torah itself commands the Israelites to bring difficult questions to priestly and judicial authorities: "thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment" Deuteronomy 17:9. This verse is the scriptural bedrock for the rabbinic institution as we know it today.

The tradition of diligent inquiry runs deep. Deuteronomy instructs believers to "enquire, and make search, and ask diligently" before reaching conclusions Deuteronomy 13:14, a principle that rabbinic culture absorbed into its very DNA. The Talmudic method — argument, counter-argument, and resolution — is essentially institutionalized questioning. Scholar Jacob Neusner (d. 2016) spent decades arguing that Judaism is, at its core, a religion of the question.

Some of the most meaningful questions to ask a rabbi touch on halacha (Jewish law), lifecycle events like bar/bat mitzvah or conversion, the meaning of specific commandments, and theodicy. Deuteronomy 6:20 even anticipates a child asking a parent — and by extension a teacher — "What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?" Deuteronomy 6:20, suggesting that curiosity about divine law is itself a sacred act. Moses himself served as a living example: the people came to him specifically "to enquire of God" Exodus 18:15.

It's worth noting that not every question gets a tidy answer. The prophet Jeremiah records God's frustration with those who treat prophetic inquiry casually Jeremiah 23:33, a reminder that questions asked of religious authorities carry genuine weight and should be approached with sincerity.

Christianity doesn't have rabbis, but it has a rich tradition of consulting clergy, theologians, and spiritual directors — and many Christians find enormous value in asking Jewish rabbis questions specifically about the Hebrew Bible, Jewish context of the New Testament, and the shared Abrahamic heritage. The Old Testament passages that Christianity inherited affirm the value of seeking wisdom from appointed teachers Deuteronomy 17:9.

Christian theology generally holds that scripture is the final authority, but it has never dismissed the role of learned teachers. The Reformation (16th century) intensified this debate: figures like Martin Luther insisted on sola scriptura, while Catholic and Orthodox traditions maintained that ordained clergy carry interpretive authority passed down through apostolic succession. Either way, asking hard questions of religious leaders is considered spiritually healthy.

The Hebrew scriptures that Christians also revere encourage diligent inquiry Deuteronomy 13:14, and the image of Moses as a spiritual counselor to whom people came with their deepest questions Exodus 18:15 prefigures the pastoral role that Christian ministers occupy. Questions a Christian might ask a rabbi include: How do Jewish scholars interpret messianic prophecy? What does Shabbat observance look like in practice? How is the Torah read in synagogue? These cross-faith conversations have been championed by scholars like Amy-Jill Levine (Vanderbilt) since the 1990s.

Islam holds the People of the Book — including Jewish rabbis — in a theologically significant position. The Quran (5:44) acknowledges that rabbis (Arabic: rabbāniyyūn) judged by the Torah, and Islamic tradition has long recognized the legitimacy of asking learned scholars questions on matters of faith and law. The concept of istifta' — seeking a religious ruling — parallels the Jewish tradition of asking a rabbi for a halachic decision.

The shared Abrahamic instinct to "enquire, and make search, and ask diligently" Deuteronomy 13:14 resonates strongly in Islamic intellectual culture, where the tradition of ijtihad (independent scholarly reasoning) and fatwa (legal opinion) mirrors the rabbinic responsa literature. Islamic scholars like Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328) and, in the modern era, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, emphasized that seeking knowledge from qualified scholars is a religious duty.

A Muslim engaging with a Jewish rabbi might ask questions about the nature of Torah law, the Jewish understanding of monotheism (tawhid in Islamic terms), the role of prophets like Moses and Abraham, or comparative ritual practice. The Quran itself instructs believers to ask "the People of the Reminder" when they don't know (Quran 16:43), which classical commentators often interpreted as including Jewish and Christian scholars. The spirit of Isaiah 45:11 — asking God about things to come concerning His purposes Isaiah 45:11 — finds an echo in Islamic du'a (supplication) culture as well.