The medieval sage Moses Maimonides explicated the process very well. He declared that initially one says to a child, learn such and such a mishna, and I will give you a candy. And the child learns because children like candy. Later you offer nice clothing, because teens are typically concerned about their physical appearance. But the ultimate goal is to learn the truth, simply because it is the truth, and for no other reason, and the truth resides somehow in these texts.
Similar situations exist in other cultures, and have a profound effect on their adherents.
They have an intellectual and spiritual heritage shared with their fellows, and it only takes a hint, a word, a turn of phrase to summon up recollections of this heritage and how and when various elements of it were acquired. Gifted poets and writers like Immanuel of Rome or ibn Zabara could use this feature even for comic effect. For example, there is a statement in the Mishna that the hand that explores among women is praiseworthy, while the hand that explores among men deserves to be cut off. This opaque statement means that the woman should constantly piously check that she is not menstruous to avoid her husband's unknowingly falling into transgression, whereas the man must scrupulously avoid self-stimulation. It seems to me that Christian Europe lacked this feature.