Yeshua in Context >> Reading Strategies , Study Tips >> Guest Post: The Joy of Hearing
Guest Post: The Joy of Hearing
In response to my podcast and essay "The Joy of Reading" from last week, a friend in California wrote to say that some people learn by hearing. In his case, a busy working and commuting life leaves less time for reading, but plenty of time for hearing. I liked what he had to say so much, I invited him to offer it as a guest post. Hmmmm, I wonder if I should let him make a podcast out of it . . .
The Joy of Hearing
by Brian Richie
After perusing through Rabbi Leman's blog "The Joy of Reading" the other day I found myself once again breaking the 10th commandment. Will God be angered by my coveting of another man's study time? Joking aside, I have found that hearing God's word via audio can be an excellent supplement for those of us who work "9-5's" on a regular basis. Many employers will allow their workers to play music at a low volume as long as it's not a distraction to others. Along with your music, why not "bump" a little Jeremiah the Prophet?
Disclaimer: I readily admit that this is not a solution for all. Some cannot work unless they have complete silence. Other's who try this could become distracted and fall behind on there jobs. This obviously then is not the solution for you. However, for those of you who can get work done while playing audio in the background why not? Imagine being able to go through Torah and The Gospels everyday. It would be almost impossible with most of our schedules. However, via audio bible, I was able to enjoy the ENTIRE Gospel of Mark today.
I work as an accountant, so Math has always been a favorite subject of mine. If I listen to the book of Mark five times a work week, and multiply that by approximately four weeks in a month, then that gives me the opportunity to go through Mark twenty times in one month! There is no way this would be possible for me without the use of Audio Bible. If you believe this may be a great study supplement for you as well I want to recommend a couple of my favorite resources:
The first is the "Jewish Audio Bible" posted by Dr. David Rudolph. These audio postings afford the hearer the opportunity to go through the entire Jewish Bible in two years by listening only 14 minutes a day. Dr. Rudolph utilizes Dr. Stern's "Complete Jewish Bible" for his readings. To go to the Jewish Audio Bible, click here .
The second resource is the online audio bible through bible gateway. My personal favorite at this site is the ESV version readings with Max Mclean. To check out his readings click here .
Hopefully, these resources prove as valuable a study tool for you as they have become for me.
Peace and Blessings.
Bio: Originally from Ohio, Brian now resides in Southern California with his wife Geraldine. He enjoys working out, taking his two dogs to the beach, watching Laker basketball games, and of course all things Yeshua.
Filed under: Reading Strategies , Study Tips
I think that works for some people and not others and, it depends on the material being consumed. Not too long ago, I was asked to review an audio series called "What About Paganism" created by Toby Janicki for FFOZ. I listed to the lecture during my commute to and from work which took a few days since it's 202 minutes long.
However, I also had PDFs of Toby's notes so that I could refer back to written content when it was time to write my review. Maybe it's my middle-age memory, but I couldn't recall all of Toby's points over the several days of listening, and I'm sure there were times when my driving distracted me from the audio. While I could have used earphones and listened on my computer at work, I'm a writer by trade, and listening to someone speak while I'm trying to compose text or format content in a markup language, turns my thoughts into alphabet soup.
All that said, listening to novels or similar content sometimes works for me while driving (though not writing), though I prefer jazz or listening to Hebrew prayers (I know...an interesting mix). Also, I'm old fashioned enough to really enjoy reading and, because most people can read faster than they can speak, I can burn through the same material in a shorter amount of time than if I were listening to it being recited.
It probably boils down to how each person assimilates information. I've learned that different people have different preferred learning "styles", such that Brian may take in data better in an audio format where as I do better with text. There's no one right way to do this, which is why we have print and audio books.