I recently was asked about how disciples studied with rabbis. What age were disciples, and did they pay the rabbi a fee to study? How did they support themselves at the same time? Did the rabbis work at some craft to support themselves? (They were not like rabbis of today, which like pastors are to […]
Covered in the Dust of Your Rabbi: An Urban Legend?
Some time back ago, pastor/blogger Trevin Wax posted an article called “Urban Legends: The Preacher’s Edition.” There he lists several “urban legends” that he’s heard floating around lately in sermons. Like Internet rumors that people forward on ad infinitum, these preaching illustrations don’t have much grounding in fact. One potential fallacy on his list caught […]
Disciples as Apprentices
In Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, we wrote about the life of an ancient disciple in chapter 4, called “Following the Rabbi.” You might remember that the ancient practice of apprenticeship is very similar, and likely the source of some of the traditions of discipleship. I included the story of a modern day […]