Learning to Ask 学问

This is the first day of another year, and it is a good time to learning to ask questions. According to the Chinese language, the word “knowledge” is made up of two characters. These two characters are “learn” (学) and “ask” (问). The implication is that knowledge is acquired through “learning to ask”. Today Israel is an outstanding nation in terms of her achievement with a small population comparing to other nations. Perhaps, one of the factors leading to her achievement is their way of acquiring knowledge. Generally, a Jewish mother would ask her children who are back from school with the question, “What question did you ask in school today?”

Indeed, one of the way to acquiring knowledge is by asking question as prompted by curiosity. When a child is young, he or she is curious and tends to ask a lot of questions. However, how many parents have destroyed their ability of learning by telling them to shut up. In a more moderate manner, the parents dismiss them by telling them that these are naive questions or they will know the answers naturally.

As we begin another year, it is time to ask questions, even tough questions. There may be times we have no answer but can only respond by saying, “Heaven knows”, which implies only God knows. Hence, there are many questions that we can hardly find satisfactory answers. However, we can ask God. Sometimes, asking God is being referred to as praying. This is also a beginning step to get connected with God.

这是今年的第一天，也是学习發问的好时机。根据中文，“知识”这个词是由两个字组成；这两个字是”学” 和“问”，这意味着知识是透过“学会提问”而获得的。今天若以国家成就而言，以色列是一个杰出的国家，雖然她和其他国家相比人口较少。或者导致她成功的一个因素乃是基于他们获取知识的方式。一般来说，一位犹太母亲会问她从学校回来的孩子问题：“你今天在学校问了什么问题？”

实际上，获取知识的方法之一是因为好奇而提出问题。当孩子年幼时，他会很好奇，往往也会问很多问题。然而，有多少父母已经告诫孩子要闭嘴而破坏了他们的学习能力。当然有些父母会用较温和的口气告诉孩子这是很天真的问题，时候到了他们就自然会知道答案。

当我们开始另一年的时候，或许是我们该提问，並甚至提出棘手问题的时候。对一些问题我们没有答案，而只好回答说“天知道”，这意味着上帝有答案。的确有很多问题我们没有满意的答案，但是我们还是可以问上帝；而求问上帝则被称为祈祷，这的确也是与上帝联系的一个开始步骤。