Rabbi Akiva on the Tagin and Ziyunin

Rabbi Akiva’s Background

15 CE

The Talmud tells us more about Rabbi Akiva than it does about any other individual. Since the purpose of the Talmud is not to relate history but to teach, there must be a tremendous amount to learn from Rabbi Akiva’s life.

Rabbi Akiva was born in the year 15 CE.

He came from humble beginnings. His parents were poor, uneducated and simple peasants who derived a living from a little bit of farmland in Lod, in central Israel. (It is not clear whether that is the same as present-day Lod.)[i]

Rabbi Akiva’s father Yosef was a convert [question: Rabbi Akiva’s grandfather?] and, moreover, a descendent of Sisera. (His mother’s status is unclear.)

Sisera was a Canaanite army commander in the time of the prophetess Devorah who led a bloody campaign against the Jewish people (Judges 4-5). Once, as he was returning from battle, he passed by the tent of a woman named Yael (whether or not she was Jewish is a matter of dispute). Yael invited Sisera into her tent. There she seduced him and, after he fell asleep, she killed him by driving a tent spike through his head. (From here, we learn that a person is permitted to commit “a sin for a positive purpose.”) She then cut off his head and displayed it to his troops, who were so demoralized that the Jews were able to defeat them. The Talmud tells that Devorah declared that in this deed Yael was in a way greater than our matriarchs, Sarah, Rivkah, Rochel and Leah.

Due to this incident Yael bore Sisera’s child, from whom Rabbi Akiva descended (Ran, Sefer Hamafteach on Berachot 27b). The Talmud must be telling this for a reason.

There is a simple explanation: sometimes leadership must come from the outside—and, furthermore, from the most unexpected places. Sometimes a person within a situation cannot easily understand it and improve it. Instead, someone from the outside is needed to offer a fresh perspective on what needs to be done.

The most prominent example of this is Moshe Rabbeinu. He grew up in Pharaoh’s palace and then went to Yitro’s house. Until the age of eighty, Moshe was immersed in alien cultures: first Egypt, and later with Yitro. And then Moshe unexpectedly became the leader of the Jewish people.

There is another reason that the Talmud tells us about Rabbi Akiva’s connection to Sisera.

The kabbalah explains that nothing is inherently good or bad. Rather, all energy can go either to good or to evil.[ii] For instance, the desire to worship can be channeled to God or to idolatry. Thus, during the Second Commonwealth, in the time of Ezra and the Men of the Great Assembly, many of the Jews returning to the land of Israel engaged in idolatry and incestuous relationships. The Men of the Great Assembly prayed that the Jews should no longer have an evil inclination for these sins, and their prayers were successful. But with the demise of the yearning to worship idols came the demise of interest in worshipping God as well, such that the second Temple was inferior to the first.

The fact that Rabbi Akiva was descended from Sisera means that he too had the energy to battle against the Jews. But his battle was a struggle to transform them for the good.

After the Temple was destroyed and the Jews could no longer focus their Jewish identity on its sacrificial system, they were in great danger of assimilating. Rabbi Akiva took action against that propensity by inventing the idea of learning Torah as an ideal. Now Judaism was no longer Temple-centered but Torah-centered.

Rabbi Akiva was the father of the Oral Law as we know it. Thus, when Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi redacted the Mishnah, he collected material from five different traditions, all of which were derived from the teachings of Rabbi Akiva.

Rabbi Akiva, the person whom Moshe saw in his vision who would be the father of bringing the oral Torah into this world, was assigned this role because he taught us how to be Jewish.

Rabbi Akiva was able to listen and he was able to talk, he was able to grow. He was able to grow a whole generation with him and transmit the oral Torah.

Rabbi Akiva’s Childhood

25 CE

When Akiva was a child, his parents sent him to yeshiva, where—as was the custom—he learned the alphabet and then the book of Leviticus (Vayikra). But learning bored him, and so he left yeshiva.

At that time, Tosafot state, the Sages were elitists who hated the ignorant masses, and the masses hated them in turn. Thus, Rabbi Akiva said that before he learned Torah, he hated the Sages so much that he wanted to bite them like a donkey. The Talmud says that he didn’t only want to bite them like a dog, whose bite only draws blood, but like a donkey, whose bite can crush a person’s bone. Akiva wanted to get back at the essence—in Hebrew, the “bone”—of the Sages.

Rabbi Akiva as a Young Adult

33 CE

At the age of eighteen (in 33 CE), Rabbi Akiva married a woman whose name is not recorded. (Her father was named Yeshua and she had a brother named Rabban Yochanan.) Some say that they had a son named Yehoshua ben Korcha. Others state that this boy was the son of Akiva’s second wife, Rochel.

Rabbi Akiva and his son went to learn together at his son’s school. Rabbi Akiva and his son each held a side of the board that had the alef bet engraved on it. After learning the alef bet, they went on to learn Leviticus (Vayikra) [question: or was this Rabbi Akiva by himself as a child?].

According to different traditions, Akiva either divorced this woman or she died.

Rabbi Akiva Begins to Learn Torah

55 CE

In 55 CE, at the age of forty, Rabbi Akiva had not yet learned any Torah [question: if he was going to school with his son from his first wife, he must have been in his twenties]. He was earning a living as a shepherd [question: is that correct?]. One day, as he stood at the mouth of a well, he saw a stone that had the appearance of having been eroded. He asked what had eroded it. His fellow shepherds [question: is that correct?] told him, “The water that falls upon it constantly every day.”[iii] When Rabbi Akiva expressed surprise, they told him, “Akiva, don’t you know the verse, ‘Stones are worn away by the water’ (Job 14:19)?”

Immediately, Akiva had an epiphany: if water, which is soft, can erode a stone, which is hard, then words of Torah, which are as hard as iron, can certainly penetrate his heart of flesh and blood. Akiva realized that if he learned alef today, bet tomorrow, and everyday a bit more and processed everything carefully, he would ultimately become a Torah sage.[iv]

He understood that everything had to proceed step by step: a drop at a time.[v]

Akiva decided to return [question: but he had never learned before?] to yeshiva [question: for himself, not just for his son?]. He accompanied his son to school and told the teacher, “Rebbe, teach me Torah.” Akiva’s son had a board to work on. Akiva grasped one end of the board and his son grasped the other end. The teacher wrote the alef bet for Rabbi Akiva, and Rabbi Akiva learned it.

Every time he learned a letter, he would go off by himself and ask himself, “Why is this alef written as it is? Why is this bet written as it is?} The teacher then taught him Torat Cohanim [question: Vayikra?] and then another text, until he eventually learned the entire Torah.

Each time Rabbi Akiva learned a halachah, he would leave the school and return to the alef bet: Why does the alef look the way it does? What about the bet? And so on. He heard the halachah like a child and then went off by himself and processed it like an adult. [question: Is there a conflation here of R. Akiva learning alef bet with his child and learning mishnah in Yavneh?]

Rabbi Akiva was obsessed with the alef bet. He would always return to it, even after he was learning sophisticated halachahs. Thus, Moshe had a vision in which he saw Rabbi Akiva teaching the alef bet, and Rabbi Akiva wrote a book on the kabbalah of the alef bet. Why was this so important to Rabbi Akiva?

We learn the alef bet when we are children; Rabbi Akiva learnt it as an adult from a completely different perspective. The world was created with the alef bet. When Hashem said, “Let there be light,” the letters of that statement were the first articulation of His holiness. Hashem is completely spiritual and the world completely physical. The passage from spiritual to physical goes through the alef bet. When Rabbi Akiva was studying the letters, he was studying the essence of Creation.

When Akiva had learned as a child, the Torah had not spoken to him. However, when he learned with his son it spoke loudly within him. That is because when a person is teaching his child, the experience is completely different [question: according to others, this son was that of Rochel, and so this took place later].[question: was this learning after he decided to go back to yeshiva with his son?] [question: was he teaching his son? It seems that he was learning together with his son]

Rabbi Akiva Gets Married

55 CE

Rabbi Akiva worked as a shepherd for a resident of Jerusalem named Kalba Savua, one of the ten richest men [question: or: Jews] in the land of Israel.

Kalba Savua had a daughter, Rochel, who realized that although Rabbi Akiva was not a scholar, he was modest and aspiring. She saw great potential in him, and she proposed that they marry on condition that he go to yeshiva and learn Torah. He agreed, and so they were secretly wed.

Kalba sent many suitors to Rochel, but she rejected them all. When he questioned her, she admitted that she was already married to Akiva. Kalba was outraged that she had married his shepherd, the son [question: grandson?] of converts [question: or: a convert] and a descendent of Sisera. He disowned Rochel and swore that she would derive no benefit from any of his wealth. And he dismissed Akiva.

Akiva and Rochel lived together in abject poverty in a barn.

Once Eliyahu Hanavi came to the door of the barn disguised as a beggar, saying that his wife didn’t have any straw to sleep on. Rabbi Akiva told Rochel, “Look how fortunate we are!” And they gave Eliyahu half of their straw.

Each morning, Rabbi Akiva would take the straw out of Rochel’s hair. He told her that one day he hoped to get her an ir shel zahav, a golden tiara with an image of Yerushalmi on it to put in her hair.

They had a son, Yehoshua, later known as Reb Yehoshua ben Korcha. [question: alternatively, this was the son of his first wife]

Rochel suggested that Akiva join a cheder to learn, and he and his son began by learning the alef bet.[ question: alternatively, this story is about Akiva’s son by his first wife]

To earn a living, Rabbi Akiva gathered a bundle of straw each day. He sold half to get the money to purchase basic essentials, and he brought home the other half for cooking and heating and light. His neighbors taunted him [question: protested?], “You are destroying us with the smoke! Sell us the straw, and with the money we pay you, buy oil and learn by the light of the oil lamp.” But Rabbi Akiva refused, saying, “I get a great deal of benefit from this straw. I learn by its light [question: how much light can one get from burning straw?], I warm myself by its fire, and I sleep on it.”

Our Sages state that in the messianic future, Rabbi Akiva will be the cause of the poor being questioned in judgment. If they say that they didn’t learn because they were poor, they will be told that Rabbi Akiva was even more impoverished than they were. If they say that it was because they had children, they will be told that Rabbi Akiva too had sons and daughters [question: should we learn anything about them?]. But if they say that it was because they did not have wives as extraordinary as his wife, their argument will be accepted.

After they were married for a year[question: is that right?], Rochel told Akiva that he should leave home to learn Torah. The year was 55 CE, and Akiva was forty years old.

Rabbi Akiva Learns Torah in Yavneh

55 CE

At this time, Rabban Gamliel was nasi—“president”—of the Torah world. [question: but I thought he was only allowed to be nasi by Vespasian fifteen years later?]

Rabban Gamliel had set up a series of yeshivas along the coast of the land of Israel, from Acco to Ashkelon. Of these, the two central yeshivas were those of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanus and Rabbi Yehoshua [question: ben Chananya?], both situated in Yavneh. These rabbis were among Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai’s major students, all of whom played a vital role in transmitting and developing the tradition (Pirkei Avot 2:8). Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai described Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanus as a sealed cistern that never lost a drop of water—meaning, someone who retained everything that he learned; and he described Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya with the words, “Happy is the one who bore him”—[question: what does that have to do with someone producing original Torah thoughts?], someone who produced original insights like an overflowing spring.[vi] [vii]

During these years, the material that would comprise the Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi was compiled in these and in other yeshivas.[viii] [ix]

Rabbi Akiva went to Yavneh to learn from Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. Whenever he learned a halachah, he would go off by himself and ponder, “Why was this matter stated?” He would then return and ask Rabbis Eliezer and Yehoshua questions that they could not answerהעמידן בדברים [?].[question: or: they made it clear to him [?]]

He would also ask them the meaning of the shapes of the Hebrew letters. (Later on, Rabbi Akiva broke these shapes down into smaller components—for example, he taught that an alef is composed of two yuds and a vav—and he derived insights from that as well. He went on from there to analyze the ornamental “crowns” on the Torah scroll’s letters.)

One time, when Rabbi Akiva found a corpse in a field, he picked it up and carried it for 13 miles in order to bring it to burial. He came across Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer, and the latter told him, “You’ve done the wrong thing. A corpse should be buried where it is found.” Akiva realized that he had a great deal more to learn, and he remained in the yeshivas of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua for a total of 24 years. [question: but he spent most of those years as a teacher]

In later years, Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar stated that at this time Rabbi Akiva was like a man hewing rock from a mountain. When people asked him what he was doing, he replied that he was going to uproot the mountain and move it into the Jordan River. They told him that this was impossible, but he chipped away until he was able to leverage a large rock, and he rolled it into the river.”

This means that Rabbi Akiva was able to move the mountain of Torah, bit-by-bit, stone by stone.[ question: unclear]

Rabban Yochanan [question: ben Nuri?] was in the yeshiva [question: yeshivas?] in Yavneh together with Rav Akiva. Rabbi Yochanan Ben Nuri related: “Heaven and earth can testify that many times my friend Akiva ben Yosef was hurt because of me, because I used to inform on him to Rabban Gamliel.”

When Rabbi Akiva was new in the yeshiva [question: yeshivas?], there was resistance to his ideas and genius [question: by whom?], because he was perceived [question: by whom and why?] as a threat to the nasi.

Rabban Gamliel would yell at Rabbi Akiva and embarrass him in front of the other Sages.[question: but that only began in 70 CE]

“But every time I did so,” Rabban Yochanan [question: ben Nuri?] testified, “Akiva loved me even more, because he was a paragon of the verse, ‘Criticize a sage and he will love you’ (Proverbs 9:8).”

Although Rabbi Akiva was embarrassed, he still loved Rabbi Yochanan, because Rabbi Akiva saw that this criticism was helping him grow.[x]

And Rabbi Tarfon addressed Rabbi Akiva: “The verse, ‘He bound up the depths of the rivers and brought forth light from the window in the firmament’ (Job 28:11), is about you. You brought to light matters that were otherwise hidden from human beings.”

For 13 of these 24 years [question: which 13? Under whom did he learn the rest of the time?] Akiva learned under Rabbi Eliezer [question: simultaneous with Rabbi Yehoshua? Independently of Rabbi Yehoshua?].

At Rabbi Eliezer’s yeshiva, the focus was on tradition. Rabbi Eliezer would teach what he knew, and there wasn’t much dialogue. In kabbalistic terms, that represents the energy of gevurah, “might.”

By contrast, Rabbi Yehoshua believed in deriving the halachah through logic. In kabbalistic terms, that represents the energy of chesed, “kindness.”

Rabbi Akiva blended these two approaches. The combination of gevurah and rachamim/chesed is tiferet, “harmonious beauty.” And tiferet eventually leads to the Moshiach.

This combination has become the basis for Jewish learning ever since.

Rabbi Akiva lived twelve years in the house of Rav [question: the yeshiva of Rabbi Yehoshua?].

While Rabbi Akiva was in Yavneh, his wife Rochel worked as a maid [question: sold her hair?] and sent her meager wages to him so that he could continue learning.

Predictions of Rabbi Akiva’s Violent Death

60 CE

At that time, when Rabbi Akiva was a promising young rabbi, one of the major Sages in Yavneh was Shmuel Hakatan—a man so great that one time a heavenly voice proclaimed him worthy of experiencing prophecy (Sotah 48b). When he was on his deathbed, he prophesied that there would be ten holy martyrs [question: hadn’t some already been killed?] from among the rabbis, and he named a few, including Rabbi Akiva.

Rabbi Akiva saw in this prophecy his mission. For the rest of his life, he knew that he would be killed as a martyr in the sanctification of God’s name.

Rabbi Akiva also received a prediction of his violent death by Rabbi Eliezer, in a way that showed Rabbi Eliezer’s disapproval of the kind of innovative interpretations that Rabbi Akiva was learning in Rabbi Yehoshua’s yeshiva.

(m. Pesachim 6:1-2) Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua disagree as to whether one may prepare an animal to be a Passover sacrifice on the Sabbath if that involves what would ordinarily be a rabbinical infraction.

[question: Rabbi Yehoshua] argues that since this action does not have to be performed on the Sabbath (it could have been done earlier), it may not be performed on the Sabbath.

[question: Rabbi Eliezer,] on the other hand, states that if one may slaughter the Passover sacrifice on the Sabbath, certainly one may perform what would ordinarily be a rabbinical infraction.

Rabbi Akiva then steps in and argues that Rabbi Yehoshua is right on the basis of an innovative insight regarding animal slaughter—something that would not have been done at Rabbi Eliezer’s yeshiva.

The Talmud tells that Rabbi Eliezer responded, “Because you used a proof from slaughtering, you will meet your end through being slaughtered.” And again later on,] when Akiva visited Rabbi Eliezer on his death bed [question: date?], Rabbi Eliezer said that Akiva would meet a violent end.

Destruction of Jerusalem

66 CE

In 66 CE, at a time that Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was nasi, the Jews throughout the land of Israel rebelled against Rome, and [question: Vespasian was appointed to suppress this revolt.]

Rabbi Akiva Came Home after 12 Years

67 CE

Meanwhile, Rabbi Akiva continued learning in Yavneh. By the time he had been there for 12 years, he had grown so acclaimed that he himself was teaching and he had 12,000 students.

At that point, he returned home to Lod to see his wife Rochel, accompanied by these students.

Before he entered the house, he overheard an old man tell Rochel, “How long will you go on as a living widow?” She replied, “If my husband would listen to me, he would continue learning Torah for another 12 years.” [question: how is it that no one noticed these 12,000 students?]

Hearing this, Rabbi Akiva said, “I am acting with my wife’s permission.” He turned around without even seeing her and returned to yeshiva for another twelve years in the house of Rav [question: or Rabbi Yehoshua?].

Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz (rosh yeshiva of Mir Yeshiva) raises the question of why Rabbi Akiva didn’t at least greet his wife. Rabbi Shmuelevitz answers that there is no comparison between learning for two sets of 12 years and learning for 24 years without interruption. [question: still, all this time he was only 20 kilometers away from her]

At the end of thirteen years Rabbi Akiva taught Torah in public [question: doesn’t this contradict the statement that at the end of 12 years he had 12,000 students? Or is “in public” something different?].[xi]

Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and Vespasian

68 CE

[xii]When Rabban the nasi Yochanan ben Zakkai, saw that the Romans were crushing the Jewish rebellion and were likely to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple, he engineered a meeting with Vespasian in order to gain whatever concessions he possibly could. Thinking that Vespasian would never cede the Jews anything having to do with Jerusalem, he requested, “Give me Yavneh and its Sages”—i.e., he asked Vespasian to allow the enterprise of Torah study to continue in Yavneh.

With this, the Jewish people would no longer be Temple-centered but rather Torah-centered. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was planning for the Jews to survive during the coming exile. He created the infrastructure for the Jews to have Torah and leaders.

Related to this, Vespasian permitted Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai to move the Sanhedrin to Yavneh.

And in addition, Rabban Yochanan requested that Vespasian allow the return of the chain of leadership to the Gamliel family. (This right had been taken away in the lifetime of Gamliel’s father [question: is that right?], Hillel (110 BCE-10 CE). Hillel had been such a strong leader that, as a descendent of King David, he and his son after him, Rabban Gamliel, were seen as possible messianic candidates and thus the Roman government viewed them as potential threats.)

Vespasian acceded to this request as well.

Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai thus transferred the role of nasi from himself to Rabban Gamliel. And in order to avoid acting as a rival to Rabban Gamliel, when Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai left Jerusalem he did not go to Yavneh but eastward to a town called Gror Chayil.

Rabbi Akiva Regarding Vespasian Deal

68 CE

(Gittin) Rabbi Akiva disagreed with Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai’s surrender of Jerusalem. He applied the verse, “He turns back wise people, and makes their knowledge into foolishness” (Isaiah 44:25), to Rabban Yochanan. Hashem causes historical events to occur according to His will so that even great people err.

The Talmud uses the word metzafeh in describing its description of Rabbanan Yochanan ben Zakkai’s “anticipation” of the destruction of the Temple. Metzafeh also means “gazing down from a height,” indicating Hashem’s point of view. Rabbi Akiva thought that Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was acting in accordance with Hashem’s perspective but insufficiently concerned for man’s point of view of the tragic destruction that was about to occur.

The Destruction of Jerusalem

70 CE

In 69 CE, Vespasian became Roman emperor. He handed over command of the Roman campaign against Jerusalem to his son Titus.

A year later, Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the second Temple, and disbanded the Sanhedrin [question: but I thought it had already moved to Yavneh?].

Some rabbis fled to Yavneh, and others went north: to the Galilee, the Golan and Lebanon.

What Is the Role of the Nasi?

79 CE

In Yavneh, Rabban Gamliel was very much concerned with asserting his authority. In of doing so, he embarrassed a number of great scholars.[xiii] [xiv] [xv] He was particularly strict with Rabbi Yehoshua, and as a result the Sages in Yavneh decided to depose him.

Rabbi Yehoshua was suggested to take Rabban Gamliel’s place, but he was rejected because he had been involved in the dispute that brought this about. Rabbi Akiva was also considered, but since he did not have a distinguished family background, he too was not chosen.

Finally, Elazer ben Azariah was chosen. Even though he was only eighteen years old, he was a Torah sage from an illustrious family, tracing his ancestry back to Ezra (which is where the name Azariah comes from). In addition, he had good connections with the Roman government.

After some time, Rabbi Akiva arranged a meeting between Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabban Gamliel, and instituted an agreement between the two, according to which each would preside over the Sanhedrin of Yavneh one week at a time.[xvi] (From this comes the question raised by the Talmud on occasion: “Whose week was it?”—i.e., was it the week of Rabban Gamliel or the week of Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria?)[xvii]

Rabban Gamliel asserted his authority so strongly because he believed that the nasi is the equivalent of a king and should thus be granted a sovereign’s honor.

Other rabbis, on the other hand—Rabbi Akiva among them—believed that a nasi must earn respect as the greatest sage. In addition, because Rabbi Akiva believed that the redemption was around the corner, he did not want to settle for an exilic substitute.[xviii] [xix]

Coming Home after 24 Years

79 CE

Immediately following this episode, Rabbi Akiva left Yavneh (perhaps because he was behind the revolution) [question: but the revolution was until 70 CE and Rabbi Akiva left for home in 79 CE].

After 24 years in Yavneh, including eleven years as a teacher [question: is that right?], Rabbi Akiva had 24,000 students (of whom 300 were of the first rank).[xx] [xxi] [xxii] Accompanied by them, in 79 CE he returned home to his wife in Lod.

After he returned, his father-in-law Kalba Savua told him, “Many years ago, I vowed that I would not give my any of my wealth to my daughter. But now that I see that you have become a Torah leader, I would like to annul my vow.”

Rabbi Akiva asked, “When you made that vow, did you imagine that your daughter’s husband would ever become a Torah sage?” Kalba Savua said no. And thus, because he had not understood the ramifications of his vow, Rabbi Akiva was able to annul it.

Kalba Savua then gave half of his estate to Rabbi Akiva. And at the same time, a rich Roman gave Rabbi Akiva his estate as well. [question: is that right? Why would he do that?]

Rabbi Akiva immediately bought his wife the ir shel zahav diadem that he had promised her so many years earlier. (Some of Rabbi Akiva’s students complained that now their wives would want an ir shel zahav as well, but Rabbi Akiva responded that Rochel had worked very hard for him to become who he was, and she deserved it.[xxiii] [xxiv] [xxv] [xxvi]) In addition to that, she also wore a royal adornment called a kardamin. Rabbi Akiva had tables of silver and gold, he climbed up to his bed on a golden ladder, and his house was filled with silver and gold.

Rabbi Akiva moved by Bnei Brak, and there he opened his own yeshiva, presumably with his 24,000 students.[xxvii] [xxviii] [xxix]

The Haggadah relates how once in Bnei Brak Rabbi Akiva sat with Rabbis Tarfon, Eliezer, Elazar ben Azaria and Yehoshua all night, discussing the exodus from Egypt. Some commentaries explain that this episode didn’t take place on the seder night—for then the other rabbis should have been home with their families. Rather, these rabbis were discussing how to spiritually prepare the Jewish nation for the

redemption and bring it closer. They invoked the inspiring miracles that occurred during the exodus from Egypt in order to hasten the arrival of the Moshiach and the building of the third Temple. [question: unclear]

Rabbi Akiva had an ongoing disagreement with the Yavneh school of thought. In Yavneh, Rabban Gamliel continued with the view that we are no longer in Temple mode. We are in exile, and we need to readjust accordingly. [question: And what did Rabbi Akiva think…?][ question: this contradicts what is written below]

70 CE

Rabbi Akiva had been running his own yeshiva only four years when the Destruction took place. [question: Rabbi Akiva moved to Benei Brak in 80 CE. The Temple was destroyed in 70 CE.]

Laughing and Crying at the Same Time

Post 80 CE

(end of Makkot)

Sometime after the destruction of the Temple, Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Eliezer ben Azaria, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva traveled from the land of Israel to Rome in order to petition the government to loosen its grip on the Jewish community.

When they reached Poni Eilos [question: is that right?], 70 miles from Rome, they heard Rome’s military legions playing triumphant martial music that expressed power, success and confidence.[xxx]

The rabbis wept, but Rabbi Akiva then laughed.[xxxi] When the others queried him, he responded, “Why are you crying?”

They said, “The Holy Temple that served as Hashem’s footstool has gone up in flames. Yet these people, who bring sacrifices to false gods, are happy and at peace!”

Rabbi Akiva replied, “This is exactly why I am laughing.” He explained, “If such is the portion of those who transgress Hashem’s will, how much greater will be the portion of those who perform His will.”

Another time (Makkot), the same quartet was traveling from Yavneh to Jerusalem. [question: why?]

They reached Mount Scopus,[xxxii] where the prophets used to sit and, inspired by the beautiful view of Jerusalem, prophesy. When the rabbis saw the destroyed Temple Mount, they tore their clothes in grief.

They continued walking, and when they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerge from the area where the Holy of Holies had once stood. They all cried, but Rabbi Akiva then laughed.

When they asked him why, he responded, “Why are you crying?”

They said, “When the Temple was in existence, any outsider who would go there would be deserving of death—and now foxes wander there!”

Rabbi Akiva responded, “That is exactly why I am laughing. Michah prophesied that the Temple Mount will be plowed over due to our sins, and Zechariah prophesied that we will see elderly people in Jerusalem living in peace and children playing on the streets. Now that I have seen Michah’s prophecy fulfilled, I have a renewed belief in Zechariah’s prophecy.[xxxiii] Now that we have witnessed the Destruction, we are on our way to the Redemption.” And, he added, “The exile will last 70 years, just as 70 years passed between the destruction of the first Temple and the building of the second.”

They responded, “Akiva, you have comforted us. Akiva, you have comforted us.” Their repetition mirrored the verse in Isaiah, “Be comforted, be comforted” (Isaiah 40:1)—a repetition that (our Sages state) refers to the rebuilding of the two Temples.[xxxiv]

Rabbi Akiva’s companions saw themselves in an exile of uncertain length. From their perspective, the game was over. Judaism was finished.

However, in the eyes of Rabbi Akiva, this was not an end but a beginning.

Rabbi Akiva recognized that there had been a tremendous amount of destruction and murder, and he cried with the others. But he saw a larger picture as well.

He saw each such event as a lesson regarding the reward of the world-to-come. This is similar to the halachah that a person should run to see a non-Jewish king because then he will have an appreciation of what the messiah’s sovereignty will look like.

Rabbi Akiva cried because he saw tragedy from man’s viewpoint,

and he laughed because he could see the bigger picture from Hashem’s viewpoint.[xxxv]

Rabbi Akiva had the emotional and intellectual breadth to see the truth of both sides of a paradox. That is why the halachah is in accordance with Rabbi Akiva. [question: one could say the opposite: if Rabbi Akiva’s understanding was beyond the ken of others, then the halachah should not be in accord with his view (similar to the case of Rabbi Meir)]

Laughing and Crying

Ordinarily, when a person perceives something his mind processes the information, and he either accepts it or rejects it.

But when something presents a contradiction, his mind does not know how to deal with it. At that point, his response is emotional.

Three types of emotional reaction are anger, laughter and crying [question: the latter two are not emotions], in a reaction similar to a seizure.

When the Sages heard the Romans rejoicing and they recalled the Jews’ struggles, that presented a contradiction with their belief in God’s justice, and this triggered their emotional reaction. Thus, they lost control and cried. Rabbi Akiva too cried. However, right after that he laughed.

The difference between crying and laughing is that crying expresses the sense that a great danger is coming, whereas laughter expresses the sense that the danger has ended and a wonderful new future lies ahead. [question: even if this is true, it is not the reason stated above for why the Sages cried, which has to do with God’s justice and not with danger]

Because Rabbi Akiva saw the bigger picture, his response was to laugh. A person’s view of the small picture manifests itself in his crying; his view of the big picture manifests itself in his laughing.[xxxvi]

Thus, Rabbi Akiva teaches [question: source?] that a person who walks into a house of mourning must show the mourners that although things do not seem good now, they will get better. So the visitor recites the formula, “May Hashem give you comfort amongst the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.” Mourners must have faith in the coming of the Moshiach, where not only do they not cry over their losses but they see that there are still good things to come.

Rabbi Akiva’s Optimism

After Hashem decreed that King David was unqualified from building the Temple, Dovid asked who would be fit to do so: “Who can dwell in Your holy place? Who can lie [?] on Your holy mountain [question: where exactly is this from?]?” Hashem responded with a daunting list of requirements: “Someone who walks with integrity, whose deeds are righteous, who speaks the truth—someone who does not speak any untruth and never hurts another person” (Psalms [question: 24?]).

When Rabban Gamliel would recite this verse [question: pl?], he would weep and exclaim, “Who can possibly do all of these things?”

But when Rabbi Akiva would recite it, he would laugh ([question: source?]).

Perhaps Rabbi Akiva thought that crying is forbidden because crying means that there is nowhere further to go, there is no more to be done, we are defeated.

But Rabbi Akiva’s perspective was that there is a future for the Temple.

As for the series of qualifications that a person needs in order to build the Temple, he need not attain them all. Even if he attains just one, he is on his way back.

Rabbi Akiva knew that if a person would do just one thing on that list—for instance, if he was just truthful—that action would lead to the next, and so forth, like one drop of water after another wearing away a stone, and that these actions would bring us closer to Jerusalem.

Rabbi Akiva saw a bigger, more realistic picture. And with his halachic mind, he was able to derive halachahs from this picture. [question: for instance?]

Love Your Neighbor

85 CE

Having in his younger years been one of the ignorant Jews who despised the Sages, Rabbi Akiva realized that the Temple had been destroyed because of causeless hatred.

Besides the hatred of the ignorant for the Sages, there were a great many disputes, [question: sometimes rancorous,] among the Sages as well, even in matters of Torah and halachah. Thus, there was no unified approach to learning and to clarifying halachah and the mesorah (the tradition). There was still a movement of people trying to maintain the positions of Bet Shammai. Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Tarfon and others as well [question: unclear?].

Rabbi Akiva had a vision of creating a radical culture change, a vision that he summed up with the words, “‘You should love your fellow as yourself’ (Leviticus 19:18)—that is a great Torah principle” (Sifra 2:12).

But Rabbi Akiva did not succeed. His own 24,000 students were so affected by the existing culture that they lacked respect for each other and eventually died as a result.

The Specter

The extent to which Rabbi Akiva exemplified the principle of loving one’s fellow man is conveyed by the following story (Midrash Tanchuma: Parshat Noach).

Once, when Rabbi Akiva was in a graveyard, he saw a man as black as coal carrying an enormous bundle of wood. Rabbi Akiva told him, “If you are a slave, your owner is mistreating you and I will redeem you. If you are a worker, I will make you wealthy.” [question: unclear?]

The man replied, “None of that will help me. I am dead. In my lifetime, I was a tax collector. I made the life of the rich unbearable, I killed the poor, and I once raped a bride on Yom Kippur. As my punishment, I have to gather enough wood to build a large fire, and then I have to jump into it.”

Rabbi Akiva said, “My son, is there anything that I can do for you?”

The man responded, “There is no remedy.” But then he added, “There is one thing. When I died, my wife was pregnant. If she gave birth to a son, and if he recites the phrase, ‘Blessed is the blessed God’ in prayer, I will be released from my punishment.”

Rabbi Akiva asked, “What is your name?”

The man answered, “Akiva.”

Rabbi Akiva then asked, “What is your wife’s name, and where did you live?”, and the man told him.

Rabbi Akiva then went from town to town, looking for the man’s hometown. When he found it and asked for the man’s widow, people replied, “Her? May she rot in hell together with her husband!”

Rabbi Akiva then looked for the boy until he found him, but the boy couldn’t learn. Rabbi Akiva fasted for 40 days so that the boy would gain Divine assistance. At the end of that period, a voice from heaven asked incredulously, “Is this the boy you are fasting for?”

Rabbi Akiva affirmed that this was so. The boy was able to start learning. Rabbi Akiva taught him the Shema, blessings, and the prayers, until the boy was able to lead the prayers and say, “Blessed is the blessed God” with understanding. And as a result, the boy’s father was saved from further punishment.

How many people, if they met a wicked person suffering in Gehennom, would call him “my son”? How many teachers, when confronted with a boy who could not learn, would fast for 40 days so that he would receive heavenly assistance?

Rabbi Akiva knew that the answer to these ills and to the ills of the Jewish people as a whole was, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[xxxvii]

Different Approaches to Preserving Torah

130 CE

The Romans had thought that with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple the Jewish people would be crushed. But this disaster only made the Jews more resolute[xxxviii] to keep the Torah and resist religious oppression, and they rose like a phoenix from the ashes.

Now that the Temple had been destroyed, what was the proper response to such oppression?

Some Sages maintained that when our enemies have power, we should maintain a low profile. Others, however—among them Rabbi Akiva—advocated fighting back.[xxxix] [xl]

In c. 130 CE, the Roman emperor Hadrian visited the land of Israel. Initially, the Jews saw him as a potentially good force. But he soon proved himself to be a special type of devil. He realized that the spirit of Judaism lies in the study of Torah. To counter that, he enacted what became known as the Hadrianic decrees. He outlawed Torah learning and circumcision, making them punishable by death. He disbanded the Sanhedrin in Yavneh and shut down the yeshiva [question: yeshivas?] there as well.[xli] [xlii] And he forbade the Gamliel family all leadership positions. Even though Vespasian, Hadrian’s predecessor, permitted the reinstatement of the Gamliel family, Hadrian had prohibited it.

During this period, the Sanhedrin was in a state of upheaval. It moved to Usha, returned to Yavneh, and then came back to Usha. Meanwhile, Rabban Gamliel transferred the yeshiva from Yavneh to Lod.

Bar Kochba Revolt

post 118 CE

Rabbi Akiva resisted Hadrian’s decrees, with the ultimate goal of removing Roman rule and restoring a Jewish government over the land of Israel.

To that end, Rabbi Akiva worked with a powerful Jewish military figure named Bar Kozba (so-called after the town he came from). Together, they created a Torah-based army that eventually numbered 200,000. (By comparison, the Israeli Defense Forces today has 176,000 active duty soldiers.)

Not only did Rabbi Akiva champion Bar Kozba, but, as Bar Kozba began defeating Roman forces and driving them out of Jewish communities, Rabbi Akiva declared him to be the Moshiach. Rabbi Akiva applied the verse to Bar Kozba, “A star has issued from Jacob” (Numbers 24:17), and in consequence Bar Kozba was given the name Bar Kochba—“Son of a Star.”

Rabbi Akiva influenced many great people to join this rebellion, and he gave Bar Kochba his 24,000 students as soldiers.

The Talmud tells that these students spread “from Gavat to Antiparas” (Yevamot 62b). Most commentators agree that this phrase refers to the area of Judea. This fits in well with the conjecture that they were soldiers, because it seems clear that neither the South nor the Galilee participated in this revolt[xliii] [xliv] (although some archaeological finds indicate that the Galilee prepared for the Bar Kochba Revolt).

From the fact that Rabbi Akiva declared Bar Kochba to be Moshiach, the Rambam learns that the Moshiach does not have to be someone who performs miracles: “Moshiach will not have to perform miracles. Anyone who thinks this is a fool. Rabbi Akiva declared Bar Kochba to be Moshiach and carried his armor.” The Moshiach’s principal accomplishment will be that the Jews will not be subjugated to the nations.

Initially, all of the Sages of Yavneh [question: weren’t they thrown out?] supported Bar Kochba. But when he stated that everyone in his army must cut off a finger joint to demonstrate his strength and determination, many of the Sages withdrew their support. They said that Bar Kochba was blemishing the nation of Israel, and that there were other ways for a soldier to demonstrate these qualities.

In addition, they opposed the idea that he was the Moshiach. They thought that the redemption was not going to come just yet and not through this man. Thus, Rabbi Yochanan of Toldai told Rabbi Akiva, “Before the Moshiach comes, grass will grow on your face.”[xlv]

Beitar

132 CE

Bar Kochba built a fortress in Beitar (a city southwest of Jerusalem) from which he spearheaded his campaign against the Romans.[xlvi]

He grew so successful and confident that before going into battle he would call out to Hashem: “God, don’t help me, but don’t get in my way.” Understandably, this too alienated many of the Sages.

For 2½ years Hadrian tried unsuccessfully to vanquish Beitar. Just as he was about to leave, a Cuthean proposed a daring <?> scheme.

This Cuthean realized that the Jews in Beitar were being protected by the prayers of Bar Kochba’s uncle, Elazar Hamodai, who was also in Beitar.

Elazar Hamodai believed strongly in the necessity of praying every day for Hashem’s compassion.[xlvii] Thus he taught that the manna fell in daily increments in the desert because Hashem wanted the Jews to pray for it every day. Thus, he now sat in sackcloth and ashes, and cried out the entire day, “Hashem, please don’t sit today in judgment!”

Bar Kochba, however, thought that he was Moshiach and that as such he shouldn’t ask for Hashem’s help. He regarded Elazar Hamodai’s attitude as a kind of rebellion against him, because it seemed to cast doubts on his claim to be Moshiach.[xlviii]

Now this Cuthean snuck into Beitar through a sewer. He stood behind Elazer Hamodai, who didn’t notice him, and pretended to whisper in his ear.

Bar Kochba’s men caught the Cuthean and brought him to Bar Kochba. The Cuthean claimed that he and Elazer Hamodai were conspiring to surrender. Bar Kochba summoned his uncle and asked him if this was true. In his innocence, Elazar denied it. Bar Kochba disbelieved him and grew so angry that he killed him. Without Elazar Hamodai’s prayers to help the Jews, Hadrian soon vanquished Beitar and put to death its 580,000 occupants, including Bar Kochba and Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students.[xlix]

After this disaster, the Sages called Bar Kochba Bar Koziba, meaning, “The False One.”

The reason for Bar Kochba’s failure was the lack of respect among the Jews. Perhaps if the Jews, and in particular Rabbi Akiva’s students, would have gotten along<?>, Bar Kochba would have ushered in the final Redemption.

Two Sides of Rabbi Akiva

There were two sides to Rabbi Akiva.

On the one hand, Rabbi Akiva’s motto was, “You shall love your neighbor <?> as yourself.” On the other, he was a very tough man. He created an army, fought the Romans and backed bar Kochba.

Thus, Rabbi Akiva was the perfect balance between lovingkindness and firmness. This blend appears throughout Jewish history.

When Avraham Avinu came to the land of Israel, he met with Malki Tzedek, the king of Shalem (Genesis 14)—who, like Avraham, was a descendant of Shem. They were different in that Malki Tzedek knew about Hashem through a tradition passed down by his ancestors, whereas Avraham Avinu discovered Hashem by himself.

In Kabbalistic terms, tradition is called gevurah (“strictness” or judgment), whereas creative initiative is called chesed (“lovingkindness”). Gevurah is contained and does not move, whereas chesed has no boundaries and can go anywhere. Also, gevurah represents the old, whereas chesed represents the new [question: unclear]. Malki Tzedek represented gevurah and Avraham Avinu represented chesed. There is an end to what is old, but there is no end to what is new [question: unclear]. The eternal and unlimited nature of Torah is associated not with what is old but with what is new.

At this meeting, Malki Tzedek brought forth wine and bread. Malki Tzedek represented the wine, which must age before it is drunk, wherever Avraham Avinu represented the bread, which is only good when it is fresh.

The Zohar tells that at this meeting Avraham and Malki Tzedek discussed how they would teach the world about God. They would have to give the people both old wine and fresh bread.

These two forces of gevurah and chesed exist throughout history.[l] They are represented by Rabbi Akiva’s teachers, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. Rabbi Eliezer was a “sealed cistern that never lost a drop.” He advocated pure tradition. Thus, he corresponds to gevurah. Rebbe Yehoshua, who advocated the more creative involvement of the Sages in re-deriving the laws, was like an overflowing spring, which corresponds to chesed.

Chesed and gevurah blend in a harmonious fusion to create “beauty,” tiferet.

Avraham’s son, Yitzchak, embodied judgment, and Yaacov was the balance of Avraham and Yitzchak. Thus, Yaakov is associated with tiferet.

Similarly, as the student of both Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva was a perfect balance of lovingkindness and judgment, old and new, tradition and innovation. He too represented tiferet. And “Akiva” is an Aramaic variation of the name “Yaacov.”

Rabbi Akiva was the father of the Mishnah, the Torah as we know it today [question: unclear]. It could not be too much to the right or too much to the left. It had to be balanced. Judgment cannot exist without lovingkindness, and vice versa. There must be tiferet. It draws judgment from the left and lovingkindness from the right. And in blending these two traits, it sweetens the judgment.[li]

Rabbi Akiva’s Contradictory Perspectives

(Gittin) During this period, Rabbi Akiva and Turnus Rufus, the Roman general governor of Judea (130-132 CE), engaged in a number of debates, which Rabbi Akiva won. Turnus Rufus’s wife decided to defeat Rabbi Akiva by enticing him into sinful behavior. When she met him, he spat, then laughed, and then cried. He spat when he thought of the lowly source of her beauty, he laughed when he saw that she was destined to convert to Judaism and become his wife (after Rochel died), and he cried when he saw that the grave would claim her beauty.

This was another instance in which Rabbi Akiva was able to encompass contradictory emotions and thoughts, crying and laughing at the same time, just as he could simultaneously see Hashem and man’s perspectives.[lii] [liii]

Going South after Beitar Massacre

After the Roman massacre in Beitar, the world was desolate of Torah.

At that time, Rabbi Akiva traveled to “our rabbis in the south” to teach them.

Despite the overwhelming devastation, Rabbi Akiva started again in his old age to teach new students. “In the morning, plant your seed, and in the evening, do not rest your hand” (Ecclesiastes 11:6). A person never knows which part of his life will be successful: his younger or his older years. Rabbi Akiva derived from this that even if a person learned and taught Torah in his youth, he should continue to do so when he grows older.

Midrash Eichah explains that “the south” refers to the region south of Chevron and tells that its population did not participate in the rebellion of Bar Kochba. (Archeologists have recently found a letter from Bar Kochba to these citizens of the south in which he admonishes them: “People of Ein Gedi! How can you just sit there and enjoy the view and the waterfalls when your brethren are fighting a war for you?”) [question: why is this relevant here?]

There, Rabbi Akiva taught Torah to five rabbis of note: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai, Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua.[liv] [lv] [lvi] [lvii]

Rabbi Akiva told these rabbis that the time had come to canonize the oral Torah. And they recorded in various forms the tradition that he transmitted to them. Thus, the Talmud teaches that “an anonymous mishnah presents the view of Rabbi Meir. An anonymous tosefta presents the view of Rabbi Nehemiah. An anonymous Sifra presents the view of Rabbi Yehudah. An anonymous Sifrei presents the view of Rabbi Shimon. And they are all in accordance with the view of Rabbi Akiva” (Sanhedrin 86a).[lviii] [lix] In addition, Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua too was a teacher of Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi and Rabbi Yossi was the general author of Seder Hadorot.[lx] The most central of these traditions was that passed on from Rabbi Akiva to Rabbi Meir, who transmitted it to Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, who in turn composed the Mishnah. Thus, Rabbi Akiva was the father of the father of the Oral Torah.

With this, Rabbi Akiva closed the door on dispute. He enabled a unified version of the oral Torah.

Rabbi Akiva taught these rabbis not to make the mistake of treating each other with disrespect. He told them: “My children, don’t act like my first students did. Be happy for each other.” And he taught them about the Redemption.[lxi] [lxii]

Rabbi Akiva then persuaded them to move north in order to help rebuild the Jewish people by teaching Torah.[lxiii]

Rabbi Akiva grew so renowned that when a person would meet him, he would say, “You are known from one end of the world to the other” (Yevamot 16a). One of the commentators states that the numerical value of this phrase in Hebrew is 564, which corresponds to the number of times that Rabbi Akiva is mentioned in the Talmud. We learn seven things from some of the Sages, ten from others and 564 from Rabbi Akiva. Our Torah comes through Rabbi Akiva. The halachah is in accordance with his teaching.

Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava in the South

Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava had already given the rabbis of the South ordination.[lxiv]

What, then, did Rabbi Akiva transmit to them? Moreover, why is Rabbi Akiva known as the father of the oral Torah? Perhaps Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava should get this title. [question: what is the answer to this question?]

After Rabbi Akiva came to the south, these five rabbis met with Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava, who gave them ordination [question: this contradicts what is written above].

Hadrianic Decrees after Bar Kochba

135-138 CE

Following Bar Kochba’s defeat, Hadrian intensified his anti-Semitic decrees. The Jewish people were banned from keeping Shabbat, performing circumcision and learning Torah. Hadrian commanded that the Sanhedrin in Yavneh be closed. He decreed that anybody who gave ordination—which was essential for the continuation of the Sanhedrin—would be killed, anybody who received ordination would be killed, and a city where ordination was given would destroyed as well as the surrounding 2000 cubits.

This was a time of famine, starvation, and displacement.

Hadrian publicly killed rebels such as Rabbi Akiva in order to break the spirit of the Jewish people, and most of the Ten Martyrs—of whom Rabbi Akiva was one—were killed during this time.

Seeking the Meaning of Suffering: A Trip into the Pardes

135 CE

Jerusalem’s destruction was accompanied by famines and plagues; myriads of people were tortured and killed in ways that are worse than those described in the Torah’s rebuke (Leviticus 26-27). The Jews in the land of Israel experienced an unprecedented amount of suffering and hardship.

At that time, Rabbi Akiva led three of the greatest Sages of the generation—Ben Zoma, Ben Azzai and Acher (Elisha ben Avuya)—on a spiritual quest (Chagigah 14b) to find the answer to the question, “Why do the righteous suffer?”[lxv] How could it be that good people, who had only done the will of their Creator, were in such intense pain?

Each of these Sages delved into the matter with his unique energy: Rabbi Akiva drew upon his [question: what?], Ben Azzai drew upon his piety, Ben Zoma drew upon his wisdom, and Acher drew upon his [question: what?]).

This exercise was painful, because when a person is trying to comprehend suffering, he necessarily experiences the suffering.

Before they began, Rabbi Akiva cautioned them, “We will come upon stones of pure marble. When you see them, do not say, ‘This is only water.’” That is to say, they should not be misled by the surface appearance of anything they encountered.

These Sages then “entered the pardes” (the “orchard”). (This word is the origin of “paradise.”)

This pardes is a spiritual realm where a person may witness some of Hashem’s ways.

More specifically, according to the Gemara’s description, they saw real phenomena [question: unclear].

According to the Ramban, they entered into a [question: shared?] spiritual trance.

The Arizal says that they entered into a deep state of understanding [question: unclear?] based on the study of kabbalah, which is called pardes because the word is an acronym for the four levels of Torah study: peshat (simple meaning), remez (allusion), derush (homiletics) and sod (secret—i.e., kabbalah). According to the Arizal, the pardes is a spiritual realm, filled with paradoxes.

Reb Tzadok of Lublin explains that this experience was one of understanding as opposed to seeing. [question: unclear?]

Only Rabbi Akiva “entered in peace and emerged in peace.” Everyone else suffered disastrous results.

Ben Azzai “glimpsed and died.”[lxvi] A person who approaches the concept of the righteous who suffer must do so with a completely wholesome soul. Otherwise, his knowledge contradicts all other components of his mind and heart [question: unclear]. Ben Azzai was so completely spiritual and separated from the physicality of the world that he could not bring things down[lxvii] from a spiritual dimension to a physical dimension [question: unclear]—and so he died.

Ben Zoma “glimpsed and lost his mind.”[lxviii] Like Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma was unable to fully understand why the righteous suffer. He could not handle the conflict between heaven and earth.[lxix]

Acher (Elisha ben Avuya) “cut down the shoots”—meaning that he lost his faith.[lxx] [lxxi] [lxxii] [lxxiii] [lxxiv] [1] [lxxv] [lxxvi] [lxxvii] [1] [lxxviii] [lxxix] When a person sees evil, it is not uncommon for him to lose his faith, because he cannot reconcile everything that he knows about Hashem with the evil he is witnessing. Elisha reached the conclusion that there is no connection between this world and heaven.[lxxx] The tragedies he had witnessed[lxxxi] led him to believe that this world is unfair and disorderly.[lxxxii] [lxxxiii] [lxxxiv] [lxxxv] [lxxxvi]

Only Rabbi Akiva remained unharmed during this spiritual expedition. Rabbi Akiva was able to connect the seemingly contradictory elements of heaven and earth. Only he was on the level of complete wholeness, and so only he was able to both enter and exit the pardes in peace.

Rabbi Akiva was a master of both the spiritual and the physical. He was akin to a ladder set in the ground reaching up to the heavens.[lxxxvii]

Rabbi Akiva’s response to this vision was that whatever Hashem does is for the good. There are heavenly traits of compassion and judgment—but there is only one God.

The reactions of Rabbi Akiva, Ben Zoma and Ben Azzai were all holy. They were like the rays of light refracted through a prism. Even Acher’s reaction—which was a deep sense of sin [question: unclear?]—was somewhat holy.[question: unclear][lxxxviii] The four Sages came out differently because they went into the situation differently.[lxxxix] [xc] [xci]

The Beginning of a New Era

[xcii]Our Sages teach that history is divided into three periods, each lasting 2,000 years (Avodah Zarah [source?]).

The first period was one of confused “void and chaos,”[xciii] a developmental process involving Divinely-inspired human participation in which civilization developed to the point that our world could be called a world.[xciv] That world was secular, non-sacred—in Hebrew, chol. Chol also means “sand.” One cannot do much with sand, and the little that can be done falls apart.

Avraham began the period of the second 2,000 years, the “period of Torah.” He was born in the year 1948, and he began teaching monotheism when he was 52 years old, in the year 2,000. This period included the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai and concluded with the redaction of the Mishnah by Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi in the year 4,000 (according to Rav Saadiah Gaon) 3880 [question: two contradictory dates?].

Rabbi Akiva lived at the end of that period and the dawn of the third period, “the period of Moshiach.”

After there is a world and Torah, another 2,000 years are required for the world to prepare for the era of the Moshiach,[xcv] an era of peace, in which God’s Presence of sovereignty are brought all the way down to earth.[xcvi]

Just as the world is a developmental process, so too is Torah. The Torah is an evolutionary process.

If Avraham Avinu went to sit down with Moshe Rabbeinu and Rabbi Akiva, they would be fascinated with each other but they would have nothing to talk about. Rabbi Akiva had a more developed level of understanding than did Moshe Rabbeinu—who, in turn, had a more developed level of understanding than did Avraham Avinu.

The Gemara teaches that each generation is smaller than its predecessor. But on the other hand, the amount of scholarship and knowledge today is unprecedented.[xcvii] And in that sense, the generations are ascending.[xcviii]

Moshe’s Vision of Rabbi Akiva

When Moshe rose to the heights, he found the Holy One, blessed be He, sitting and tying crowns to the letters [of the Torah].

[Moshe] said to [God], “Master of the world, who is stopping You [from expressing Yourself plainly]?”

[Hashem] told [Moshe], “There will be a man in the future, at the end of a number of generations, named Akiva ben Yosef, who will expound heaps of halachot on every point.”

[Moshe] said to [God], “Master of the world, let me see him.”

[God] said to him, “Step back.”

[Moshe] went and sat at the end of eight rows [in the study hall, among the less accomplished scholars], and he did not understand what [Rabbi Akiva and the other sages] were saying, and he grew upset.

When Rabbi Akiva came to a particular point, his students asked him, “Rabbi, how do you know that?”

He told them, “It is a halachah that came to Moshe from Sinai.”

[When Moshe heard that,] his mind was put at rest. He returned to the Holy One, blessed be He and told Him, “Master of the world, if you have such a person, why do You give the Torah through me?”

[God] told him, “Silence! Thus did it arise in My thought.”

[Moshe] told [God], “Master of the universe, You showed me his Torah. Now show me his reward.”

[God] told him, “Step back.”

[Moshe] stepped back, and he saw that [the Romans] were raking [Rabbi Akiva’s] flesh. He said to [God], “Master of the universe, “Is this his Torah and this his reward?”

[God] told him, “Silence! Thus did it arise in My thought.”

Menachot 29b

When Moshe stood on Mt. Sinai, in a way he was starting a religion with the Torah. He wanted to know what would result from this religion.

God therefore immersed him in a vision in which he walked into Rabbi Akiva’s classroom. Rabbi Akiva was teaching Torah to thousands of students—and Moshe did not comprehend anything.

Shocked, Moshe protested to God that it would have made more sense if he and Rabbi Akiva switched places. But then Moshe heard Rabbi Akiva tell his students that the halachah he was teaching them was derived from a tradition transmitted to Moshe on Mount Sinai, and with that Moshe was comforted.

The Torah that Moshe had transmitted had been developed in the coming generations. Now Rabbi Akiva, as a sophisticated master of Torah, taught Torah in a way that was even beyond Moshe’s comprehension. Although Rabbi Akiva was not the prophet that Moshe was, “a sage is superior to a prophet” (Bava Batra 12a). Rabbi Akiva was able to create something that Moshe Rabbeinu himself did not understand.[xcix]

In order to show Moshe Rabbi Akiva’s reward, Hashem could have shown him the world-to-come or the wonderful moments in Rabbi Akiva’s life when he taught his 24,000 students Torah. However, Hashem chose to show Moshe Rabbi Akiva’s death. How is dying a violent death a reward for this teaching? [question: what is the answer?]

Hashem showed Moshe Rabbi Akiva and not someone else such as Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi. In this vision, Rabbi Akiva was teaching his students how to learn halachah from the shapes of the letters. Moshe Rabbeinu realized that he did not even understand the alef bet![c]

With Moshe, Hashem began the transmission of the Torah from top to bottom. That corresponds to “judgment,” gevurah. But as time progressed, the Sages grew more actively and creatively involved, even deriving the laws through logic. And this type of learning, which is bottom to top, corresponds to “compassion,” chesed. God intended this second stage from the very beginning. It too is “halachah given to Moshe at Sinai.” Moshe saw this, and that is why he was comforted.[ci]

Everything Was Given at Mt. Sinai

A verse states, “We will recall your love, [more fragrant] than wine” (Song of Songs 1:4). The Midrash asks how can it be that a human body, which normally produces milk, will bring forth wine? [question: unclear] The Midrash interprets this verse as referring to Rabbi Akiva, who was able to bring forth the deepest details of the Torah. The Hebrew word for “wine” has the numerical value of 70, equal to that of sod, “secret.”

This is because, according to Rabbi Akiva (Zevachim), all of the Torah’s laws and details, even things that Moshe himself didn’t fully comprehend, were given on Mt. Sinai. The revelation was complete. Thus, it is right to derive the deepest meanings from the verses. At Mt. Sinai, Hashem gave us the ability to explore and understand the Torah’s most heavenly and mystical elements.

Many of Rabbi Akiva’s colleagues disagreed with him, some of them vehemently.

Thus, Rabbi Yishmael states that the revelation at Mt. Sinai was limited. Hashem gave us the general rules and the tools with which to extrapolate the mitzvot and halachot.[cii] This is a human process unconnected to the Revelation. Although it is Torah and it is God’s will, it isn’t from Sinai. The Torah is thus supposed to be understood on an earthly level.

This disagreement is reflected in a number of aggadic disputes.

For instance, Rabbi Akiva interpreted the phrase, “over them, the flying creatures of heaven dwell” (Psalms 104:12), as referring to angels flying over the Temple. Rabbi Yishmael stated that it simply refers to birds, and he rebuked Rabbi Akiva: “Stop these words and go learn the laws of ritual impurity”—Rabbi Akiva should not spend his time on angels but return to the realm of earthly halachot.

In the Mechilta deRashbi, Rabbi Akiva explained the phrase, “all the people saw the voices” (Exodus 20:15) as meaning that at Mt. Sinai the Jews saw the sounds. They saw what normally cannot be seen, because the revelation was all-compassing. In the Mechilta, however, Rabbi Yishmael explained this phrase to apply to things that human beings can see and hear.

Elsewhere (Yuma 75b), Rabbi Akiva interpreted the verse, “Men ate the bread of the mighty” (Psalms 78:25), as meaning that the manna was the bread of the “mighty.” When Rabbi Yishmael heard this interpretation, he protested, “Akiva, you are mistaken! Angels don’t eat and drink! Rather, the word abirim, ‘mighty,’ is related to eivarim, ‘limbs.’ The manna was absorbed entirely by the people’s limbs so that there was no need for any digestion.”

Another such argument concerns a contradiction between two verses ([question: source?]): one states that Hashem has one throne, whereas another describes two thrones.

Rabbi Akiva explained that one throne is for Hashem and the other for King David (Moshiach).

Rabbi Yossi Haglili challenged him: “Akiva, how long will you treat the Divine Presence as profane? Rather, one chair is for justice and the other for mercy.” Even after Rabbi Akiva accepted Rabbi Yossi’s position, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria told him, “Akiva, stop these words and go learn the laws of ritual impurity.”

Rabbi Akiva saw the words of the Torah in a fundamentally different way than did his colleagues. His eyes pierced ordinary reality to gaze much more deeply and mystically.[ciii]

Thus, in a halachic context he could see that even something that is unclean from the outside can be pure on a deeper level. Consequently, he stated that although a corpse emanates the highest level of uncleanness, the corpse itself is not unclean. By extrapolation, we must not confuse a man’s actions with who he is.[civ] [cv] [cvi] Moreover, one can even purify the impure—a teaching that constituted Rabbi Akiva’s legacy. [cvii]

Tragedies in Rabbi Akiva’s Life

Rabbi Akiva was no stranger to tragedy. He witnessed the destruction of the Temple and the murder of countless Jews. His 24,000 followers died. His son died in his lifetime. [question: tell more?] He saw Bar Kochba, his Moshiach, die along with so many others in Beitar.[cviii] [cix] [question: what’s the point?]

Rabbi Akiva Was Nasi in Usha

(Horayot) The first nasi in Usha was Rabbi Akiva [question: after he went to the South?]. Apparently he only held this post for a short while.[cx] [cxi][cxii] [question: I thought that Rabban Gamliel was nasi?]

In Usha, the Sanhedrin was tasked with guiding the Jewish people. The Gemara records various decrees dealing with issues such as agunahs (grass widows), poverty and property law.[cxiii] [cxiv]

According to Rambam, in Usha Rabbi Akiva transmitted the tradition as unified Torah to the next generation.[ question: I thought he did this with the five rabbis in the south]

Teaching Torah in Public

[cxv]Rabbi Akiva tended to teach in the Cardo, in Jerusalem.[cxvi] [question: when?]

Rabbi Akiva Studied Torah Publicly

132 CE

Rabbi Akiva defied the Hadrianic decrees, which prescribed death for studying Torah, and taught thousands of students, [question: many of whom?] were killed by the Romans.

Rabbi Akiva taught that “everything is foreseen, yet freedom of choice is given” (Pirkei Avot 3:19).

Rabbi Akiva knew that he was destined to be killed in sanctification of God’s Name. That was “foreseen.” The question was whether he would actively and bravely embrace that. “Freedom of choice is given.” He had all his life to prepare for his end, and he didn’t shy away from it.

The Rambam comments, “It is very fitting that Rabbi Akiva said this [mishnah].” That is because Rabbi Akiva could embrace both sides of this seeming contradiction. He could see things from Hashem’s point of view and from the human point of view.[cxvii] [cxviii] [cxix]

In his Igeret Teiman, Rambam says that unlike the Greeks, who don’t believe that God has any knowledge, and unlike the Moslems, who deny that men have any power of their own, the Jews believe that Hashem is in charge and that we are responsible for our choices.

Rabbi Akiva’s Martyrdom

Eventually Rabbi Akiva was caught teaching Torah in Usha.[cxx] The Romans took him to the nearby Roman city of Caesarea, where they executed him by raking his flesh with hot combs.

As they did so, he recited the Shema.

His students asked him: “Rebbe, to this extent?”

Rabbi Akiva answered that all his life he had yearned to fulfill the mitzvah of giving up one’s life to sanctify God’s name.

Rabbi Akiva left this world extending the word Echad, “one.” He was 120 years old. Rabbi Akiva recited the Shema because the whole point of his life was the oneness of God.[cxxi] For Rabbi Akiva, the “One” was always extended. He could synthesize the seemingly contradictory sides of a paradox. He could laugh and cry simultaneously.

This Too Is for the Good

Post 135 CE

Rabbi Akiva exemplified the teaching that he had received from his teacher, Nachum Ish Gamzu [question: why haven’t we heard of him until now?], that one must remember regarding any difficult situation that “this too is for the good”: that there is good in the bad. Even something as terrible as the[cxxii] destruction of the Temple[cxxiii] and the associated killing of a few million Jews resulted in much good; it has to be good, because it came from Hashem.

And that applies to people as well. Nobody is completely bad and nobody is completely good. Everyone has a mixture of good and bad points.[cxxiv] [cxxv] [cxxvi] [cxxvii] [cxxviii] [cxxix] [cxxx] [cxxxi] [cxxxii]

Rabbi Akiva was not just a great scholar. His importance lay in the fact that he led a restoration of the Jewish people after Jerusalem was destroyed.

From the time that the Jews had entered the land of Israel, they had been a Temple-centered religion.

The Temple’s destruction could have meant the end of the Jewish people. Rabbi Akiva said that Judaism is no longer so much about the Temple but about the Jews and the Torah [question: but this was Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai’s approach when he surre ndered Jerusalem, a decision with which Rabbi Akiva disagreed].[cxxxiii][cxxxiv] [cxxxv] [cxxxvi]

[i] Reb Meir lived in Tevaria, the old city of Tevaria.

[ii] Hashem creates a certain change agent—for instance, a person who has

leadership skills and a tremendous amount of strength, which he can use for good or for evil.

[iii] When water falls on a rock, it seemingly does nothing. However, after a few centuries a hole is noticeable. Every drop is eroding the stone. It is very gradual.

[iv] Rabbi Akiva saw that even though one cannot tell any difference in the rock as the water is falling, after years of this happening there is a hole. Every single drop contributed to the hole.

[v] He learnt that there is a concept of a historical process and a bigger picture.

[vi] Pirkei Avos begins by saying that “Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua.” Then it says “Yehoshua to the Elders, the Elders to the Neviim, and the Neviim mesruah, transmitted it to the Anshei Keneset Hagedolah.” Why is the word “transmitted” mentioned a second time? There was a dramatic change in how the Mesorah was transmitted.

It started as a top-down process, from heaven to earth.

After the first Temple was destroyed, Sages such as Ezra became more involved in recreating and rediscovering the Mesorah.

Another juncture occurred when the Sages forgot whether to bring the Pesach sacrifice on Shabbat. They asked for someone who could remember the Halachah, and Hillel used 7 of the 13 hermeneutical principles to show that it was permitted. This was an important change because he showed that when the Halachah is forgotten, it can be rediscovered through the 13 hermeneutical methods, which are also Halachah leMoshe meSinai.

[vii] An important juncture in the transmission of the Torah occurred when, after the second Temple was destroyed, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai moved the center of Torah learning to Yavneh. That involved a conflict between Eliezer ben Hyrkanis and Yehoshua, between the tradition that Eliezer represented and the derived law that Yehoshua represented. When these two came in conflict, the Sages chose to go with the derived law.

[viii] At each of these stages, the Sages became more involved, and the process became more bottom up rather than top down. This has a different type of holiness that comes from our greater involvement in the process.

[ix] The Gemara later recounts that Yochanon ben Zakkai on his deathbed was crying. He said, “I see I have two paths in front of me – Gehenim and Gan Eden – and I don’t know which way I am heading.”

[x] Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri was saying that Rabbi Akiva was able to accept criticism because they accepted him. Once he was accepted, everything can be said, and Rabbi Akiva loved them for this.[?]

[xi] 67-79 CE

Vespasian (conquered Galil, coast of Judea and Transjordan in 67-68; Roman emperor 69-79 CE, d. 79 CE) and Hadrian publicly tortured the Ten Martyrs. The Sages tried to survive, teach Torah, save people’s lives and shelter them from the Hadrianic decrees.

[xii] [50?-138 CE]

At this time, Vespasian and Hadrian publicly tortured and killed the Ten Martyrs.

[xiii] This was the third time that Rabban Gamliel had made an example of Yehoshua. In another incident, there was a dispute over which of two days Rosh Chodosh Tishrei was. The main issue was when Yom Kippur would fall, and Rabban Gamliel insisted that Yehoshua come to him on the day that Yehoshua’s Yom Kippur occurred carrying food and a wallet full of money.

[xiv] The Sages were elitists.

[xv] Thus, when Rabbi Shimon Gamliel opened up his yeshiva in Yavneh, he posted guards to keep out anyone whose outside was not the same as his inside. As a result, the ordinary people hated them.

[xvi] Rabban Gamliel asked Rabbi Yehoshua for forgiveness. At first Rabbi Yehoshua did not want to forgive Rabban Gamliel, but when the Nasi mentioned his family legacy and his forefather Hillel, Rabbi Yehoshua relented and forgave him.

[xvii] Only at the very end of the story does the Gemara tell us who this student was who asked this question which started this whole incident. It was no one else but Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

Rabbi Shimon at this time was a young man. It seems from the various sources that he was still unmarried and just a student among the leaders of the generation.

[xviii] That was why Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Nassan wanted to have Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel removed and have themselves, who were greater Torah sages, put into the positions of Nasi and Av Beis Din.

[xix] Neither Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Nosson had any claim to any royal lineage. But that wasn’t important for the yeshivah. But for sovereignty, a real Davidic king was needed.

That was why Rabbi Akiva supported Bar Kochba, who was a mighty warrior, worthy of being a real king.

[xx] Rav Tzodok asks an interesting question. Almost all the Yom Tovem have specific dates. Pesach is on the 14th of Nisan, Rosh Hashonah is on the 1st of Tishrei, and so on with Yom Kippur and Succos. Then why isn’t there a specific date specified for Shavuous. Why doesn’t the Torah say that the Torah was given on the 7th of Sivan? Rav Tzodok answers because the Torah wasn’t given on the 7th of Sivan. The Torah existed before the creation of the world, and it is continued to be given to his very day. Chidushim that a young student comes up with today is part of the ever continuing giving of the Torah. It’s true that on Shavuous there was a tremendous Gilui, revelation of Torah, greater than ever took place before or since. But the process in an ever continuing process. And our involvement, as Rabbi Akiva showed, enables a different kind, and perhaps even a greater kind, of Kedushah to emerge, because it comes from our involvement.

And the proof is that we are here, learning Torah. If we had to depend only on Mesorah, it would have been almost impossible as we had to survive pogroms and holocausts. It’s through our ever involvement and re-deriving of the Mesorah that the Mesorah has remained alive and fresh.

3:17 – Rabbi Akiva said: Mockery and levity accustom a man to immorality. The transmitted Oral Torah is a protective fence around the Torah; tithes are a protective fence for wealth; vows are a protective fence for abstinence; a protective fence for wisdom is silence.

3:18 – He used to say, Beloved is man, for he was created in G’ds image; it is indicative of a greater love that it was made known to him that he was created in G’d’s image…Beloved are the people Israel, for they are described as children of Hashem….Beloved are the people Israel, for a cherished utensil was given to them…

[xxi] The first Mishnah deals with “Sur mei Ra”, the bad things that one needs to separate from. The second Mishnah deals with “Osei Tov”, the things that we should be drawn to and cherish. The purpose of the fences here are to protect what is inside the fence. It is interesting that Rabbi Akiva speaks against levity, because in the Gemara Rabbi Akiva is often seen laughing. When he saw the ruins of the Temple, the others were crying, and he was laughing. When he saw the wife of a Roman general, it said he laughed.

In the previous two mishnahs, Rabbi Akiva first talked about fences that we need to erect to protect us from things that are harmful. That is ‘Sur mei rah’. The next Mishnah talked about the three levels that Hashem bestowed gifts to mankind: to all people, to Jews, and to Talmidei Chachimim. That represents ‘Osei Tov’.

It’s important that people first do ‘Sur mei rah’ before “Osei tov,’ because they have to first remove themselves from what is bad before they can attach themselves to what is good. To give an analogy, let’s say that a farmer was going to get married, and he went to a tailor for a suit. The tailor said, “I have four ready-made suits that are your size, you can go in the back and try them on.” After an hour, the tailor went in the back, wondering what was taking so long. The farmer said, “I’ve been trying on the four suits, but they don’t seem to fit.” The tailor said, “That’s because you first have to take of your sheepskin coat.”

It’s very tempting for people to first try to do the Osey Tov – to join Kabbalah centers to reach the highest levels – but they forget that they first have to separate themselves from that which is negative, which is “Sur Mei Ra.”

[xxii] The second Mishnah outlines the three levels of Rabbi Akiva. He is a descendent of Sisera Harasha. Even though Sisera was a Rasha, he was a human being, and I believe that all Poskim poskin that everyone is created Betzelem Elokim, in the image of G-d, and deserve respect as such. At the next level, Rabbi Akvia’s father was a Ger, and that made Rabbi Akiva a Jew, which is the second category of the Mishnah. And then of course Rabbi Akiva was a Talmud Chachum, the third level of the Mishnah.

Many of the Mishnahs in Pirkei begin: Hu Haya Omair, “He used to say.” The Malbim (?) says that this means “He was…and that is why he said.” This saying represents a fundamental teaching because of who he was, and this is something he was known to say often.

Seven times the Gemara says that Rabbi Akiva laughed.

[xxiii] • See Be’er HaGola ( ) on the Gemara ( ) in which Rebbe Yossi and Rabbi Akiva argue about dayyanut—Rabbi Akiva says that when two litigants appear in front of a judge, EMET must be determined. Rebbe Yossi favors “peshara.” (The word “peshara” probably does NOT mean “compromise.” The “pesher ha’davar” is the simple explanation of something.) This is connected with the concept of “elu v’elu divrei Elokim hayim”-that each side does indeed advocate something that is true and real.

[xxiv] See 1st Mishna in 6th chapter of Pesachim. Argument between Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and Rebbe Yehoshua ben Chanania about whether or not secondary things can be done on Shabbat for the korban Pesach. Rabbi Akiva gets involved and ultimately triumphs. R Eliezer ben Hyrcanus is not pleased, feels betrayed by his student. See the Yerushalmi Pesachim 42a-Rabbi Akiva sat by R Eliezer ben Hyrcanus for 13 years “v’lo haya yodea bo”- R Eliezer ben Hyrcanus paid no attention to him. When Rabbi Akiva effectively responds, for the first time, against R Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, then Rebbe Yehoshua ben Chanania says: “tze na ata v’hilachem bo”-go out and make “war”=you are now capable of fighting the “milchemta d’Torah.” See ( ) which says: Akiva who defeated me with shechita, will meet his end by shechita. This reminds us of the Menachot 29 as well as Sanhedrin 68a-Rabbi Akiva-your death will be “kasha m’kulam.”

[xxv] • See Be’er HaGola ( ) on the Gemara ( ) in which Rebbe Yossi and Rabbi Akiva argue about dayyanut—Rabbi Akiva says that when two litigants appear in front of a judge, EMET must be determined. Rebbe Yossi favors “peshara.” (The word “peshara” probably does NOT mean “compromise.” The “pesher ha’davar” is the simple explanation of something.) This is connected with the concept of “elu v’elu divrei Elokim hayim”-that each side does indeed advocate something that is true and real.

[xxvi] See 1st Mishna in 6th chapter of Pesachim. Argument between Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and Rebbe Yehoshua ben Chanania about whether or not secondary things can be done on Shabbat for the korban Pesach. Rabbi Akiva gets involved and ultimately triumphs. R Eliezer ben Hyrcanus is not pleased, feels betrayed by his student. See the Yerushalmi Pesachim 42a-Rabbi Akiva sat by R Eliezer ben Hyrcanus for 13 years “v’lo haya yodea bo”- R Eliezer ben Hyrcanus paid no attention to him. When Rabbi Akiva effectively responds, for the first time, against R Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, then Rebbe Yehoshua ben Chanania says: “tze na ata v’hilachem bo”-go out and make “war”=you are now capable of fighting the “milchemta d’Torah.” See ( ) which says: Akiva who defeated me with shechita, will meet his end by shechita. This reminds us of the Menachot 29 as well as Sanhedrin 68a-Rabbi Akiva-your death will be “kasha m’kulam.”

[xxvii] Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, being one of Rabbi Akiva’s students, moved with him to Benei Brak.

[xxviii] One of the most famous students of Rabbi Akiva was Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the father of Kabbalah and the Zohar, whose life is clouded in mystery.

A Gemara in Kesuvos and the Midrash tell how Rabbi Shimon and his friend Rabbi Chanina ben Chachinai both started learning for a twelve year cycle in Rabbi Akiva’s yeshiva in Benei Brak.

[xxix] Rabbi Shimon stayed in touch with his family, whereas Rabbi Chanina did not. At the end of the twelve year period, Rabbi Chanina received a letter from his wife stating that his daughter was now of marriageable age he should return home to look for a husband for her. Rabbi Chanina at first did not respond. He only returned after Rabbi Akiva, with Divine inspiration, announced that anyone who has a daughter at home to marry off should go home.

When Rabbi Chanina came to his hometown, many of the streets had been rearranged, and he couldn’t find his way home. He went to the well, where he saw his daughter. They did not recognize each other, but he heard people refer to her by name (either as Bat Chanina or as Bat Chachinai), and he followed her home. He entered his house unexpectedly. So startling his wife she fell to her death in shock. Rabbi Chanina prayed on her bealf, arguing before God that she had waited for him for so long and supported his learning—and could this be her reward? Miraculously, his wife was returned to life.

When Rabbi Shimon he heard this, he proclaimed that a man should never enter any house, even his own, suddenly and unexpectedly.

[xxx] Alternatively: The group heard a loud celebration in Aram, which was 120 mil away. Aram is where the Tigris and the Euphrates meet, which may be Iraq.

[xxxi] [and at first Rabbi Akiva too cried]

[xxxii] (note the same word that Rabbi Akiva used in the Mishnah – Tzafua)

[xxxiii] And I see that we are moving on and there will be a redemption soon. Isaiah says that he brings two witnesses: Uriah, who prophesied that the first Destruction was coming, and Zechariah, who prophesied that people would once again live in Jerusalem. When I saw that the first prophecy came true, I knew that the second prophesy would also come true.”

First Rabbi Akiva quoted a verse from Isaiah that compares Uriya Hakohen, who lived during the first Temple, to Zechariya, who lived at the beginning of the second Temple. Uriya was prophesizing about the upcoming destruction of the Temple, whereas Zechariya was talking about the Redemption and the rebuilding of the Temple.

[xxxiv] What is the meaning of crying and laughter?

Crying is also interesting; it is a strange thing. Freud dedicated half of a book to this. And there is much discussion on the neurology and physiology of crying and laughing.

Laughing is a very strange phenomenon: a person loses control over his body and starts to make strange noises. People enjoy laughing. They pay money to laugh.

[xxxv] (That is why, more generally, he used to say, “All is for the good.”)

[xxxvi] “Then our mouths will be filled with song” (Psalms). In the time of the Moshiach, our mouths will be filled with laughter. But until then, the Gemara says, we can laugh but not fully. Rabbi Akiva was saying that we can laugh until [?] we see the big picture, but our mouths will only be filled with laughter once the picture is completed.

[xxxvii] [Rabbi Akiva and Giving Rebuke

(Arachin 16):

[The Torah teaches, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your fellow” (Leviticus 19:17). Rebuke must be an expression of care for one’s fellow-Jew. But how can it be performed properly?]

Rabbi Tarfon, a contemporary of Rabbi Akiva, said, “I would be very much surprised to discover anyone alive in this generation who knows how to give reproof. If a person tells somebody else to remove a sliver from between his teeth, the other person responds, ‘First you remove the beam from between your eyes.’”

This saying is commonly attributed to the founder of Christianity: “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).

When a person is criticized, he in turn criticizes the person correcting him.

This proverb requires explanation. It makes sense to tell somebody that he has a sliver in his teeth. However, it does not make sense for that person to respond that the first person has a beam in his eye.

Are the Jewish and Christian versions of this saying similar in meaning?

Rabbi Tarfon is saying that the practical problem with giving rebuke is that people cannot accept criticism unless the person giving it is absolutely perfect. Therefore, Rabbi Tarfon was asking: “Who is the holy sort of person in our generation who can give effective criticism?”

The Christian version is saying that as long as a person is imperfect he is not allowed to criticize anybody. Only someone who is perfect may criticize others.

This was a new rule that was invented by Jesus. It is in keeping with the New Testament story that tells that when people were about to stone a woman, Jesus protested: “Let the person who has no sins cast the first stone.” This was an invention of Jesus. There is no such halachah that if someone is deserving of death the executioner has to be a saint.

According to the Christian version, the commandment that “you shall surely rebuke your fellow Jew” ([?]) is archaic history, because there is no longer anyone worthy of giving criticism.

Rabbi Tarfon, on the other hand, is saying that people have a psychological problem that makes it impossible for them to accept criticism. Because they will deflect it back to the person giving the criticism, it will be ineffective. The only person who can criticize effectively is someone who is blameless, in whom nobody will be able to find any sort of inconsistency or weakness.

If one throws the mitzvah of rebuke out the window, one lowers the whole level of the people, because no one is ever allowed to help anyone else.

Rabbi Tarfon is saying that a person should work on his character so that he can be perfect. However, the Christian version is saying that if a person is in any way imperfect he is disqualified from criticizing anyone else.

According to halachah, the reason not to give rebuke is a practical issue, and does not deny a person’s right to do so.

What does it mean if a person tells his child, “I don’t want you speaking badly about others,” even if the parent himself does so? The parent is saying, “This is not about me or you. This is from Hashem.” He is really telling his children, “I really want you to be better than I am.”

How could it be that if a parent speaks badly about others he loses the right to rebuke his child? This is not humility. It is smug, an inverted arrogance.

The words “a beam from your eyes” mean that a person is blinded and that he needs to remove his blindfold and look at matters properly.

The Gemara continues:

Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria responded to Rabbi Tarfon, “Perhaps it is not that no one can give rebuke. Rather, it is that no one can accept rebuke.” These are two sides of the same coin, but they express a different idea. The point is not that a person is not in a position to criticize. Rather, as human beings we cannot accept criticism. Even if the one giving the rebuke would be perfect, the recipient would have a hard time accepting the rebuke.

Rabbi Akiva suggested that there may be people capable of accepting rebuke, but nobody knows how to give rebuke.

Although the mitzvah of rebuke is still applicable, people do not know how to accept it.

Giving rebuke is a skill that everyone is required to learn.

The Hebrew word for “rebuke,” hochiach, also means “prove.”

When a person offers rebuke [impassionately] by reporting what he sees, then this becomes a [disinterested] analysis about the behavior under discussion.

From a psychospiritual vantagepoint, it is always better for a person to realize something on his own.

The Tannaim are teaching that no one has the ability to accept direct criticism. However, everyone does have the ability to engage in a discussion. If something about a person’s behavior is demonstrated to him, prove to him, his ego is not violated.

The verse, “Do not rebuke a fool. Rebuke a wise person” ([?]), may be understood to mean, Do not treat a person as a fool. Rather, appeal to his intelligence. The verse continues, “You shall not bear sin because of him” ([?]). Rashi explains this to mean that while in the course of criticizing someone a person should not embarrass him. Rebuke is not meant to be [a personal condemnation]. Rather, it is supposed to bring a person to a proper realization.

The Chofetz Chaim explains the verse, “You shall rebuke—prove—your fellow,” to mean that a person giving rebuke must demonstrate and “prove” that person’s greatness. In order to do this, the person giving rebuke must find the beauty in the other person. That opens up the other person’s soul, and a conversation can ensue.]

[xxxviii] Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon, and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai resisted and fought back, and wanted to bring back the presence of the Shechinah that had been in the Temple. When the Shechinah is among the Jews, they are protected.

This was a time when God hid His face, and many Jewish leaders responded by trying to bring back God’s Presence.

Rabbi Chaninah tried to do this by connecting with sovereignty. As the Arizal says, sovereignty is Shechinah, and Shechinah is Malchus.

Rabbi Chaninah Ben Tradyon focused on learning in public with the Torah at his chest to bring the Shechinah.

And Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai focused on a third approach: to make our tables into an altar by transforming the ordinary act of eating into an act of holiness: bringing the Shechinah by transforming the physical into the spiritual, as was done on the altar.

[xxxix] Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s approach is demonstrated by the Gemara in Messechet Shabbos. At a meeting of the Sages, Rabbi Yehudah stood up and praised the Romans: “The Romans have done a great deal of good. They’ve built markets, baths, and bridges.” Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai then stood up and responded, “They’ve done it only for themselves. They built the markets only for immorality, the baths only for their physical pleasure, and the bridges only to collect tolls.” The Romans heard of Rabbi Shimon’s response, and he had to flee.

[xl] In the 1920’s whenever the Jews went to daven at the Kotel, the Arabs made it very difficult for them. In 1928 this matter came before the British, who wrote a White paper called, “The Problem of the Western Wall.” The British concluded that the Arabs own the area of the Western Wall, but the Jews have a right to pray there. However, the British said that the Jews must not blow a Shofar there, because that would antagonize the Arabs. So on Rosh Hashana, the question arose, what should we do? It was a major dispute among the Gedolim of the time. Rabbi Sonnenfeld and others said that we should cooperate with the British, and not risk antagonizing the Arabs. But Rabbi Kook at the Kotel on Rosh Hashana in 1928 blew the Shofar.

I wrote a series of pamphlets for the OU called the Pardes project. In one of them I quote Rabbi Kahane, referring to a time when many of us on Sundays would demonstrate at the Russian embassy to free Soviet Jewry, an activity advocated by Rabbi Kahane and opposed by many Gedolim. In the pamphlet I quote Rabbi Kahane: “Once, when I visited the Mir Yeshiva in Brooklyn where I had learned for 12 years, the Rosh Yeshiva took my hand, and said to me, ‘Your demonstrations are killing Soviet Jews.’ I responded, ‘Have you ever said Tehilim, or declared a fast day, for Soviet Jews?’ He kept holding my hand and repeated, “You are killing Soviet Jews.”

When I went to high school in Crown Heights, Meir Kahane was our youth group leader. At that time, Jews were being mugged on Shabbos. When Jews said to the muggers that they didn’t carry money on Shabbos, they were beaten up. So a Rabbi in the neighborhood stated that Jews should carry a few dollars on Shabbos, so that if they were mugged, they could give the mugger the money and run. I remember Meir Kahane coming into our youth group, saying, “We should carry money? Rather, we should carry knives and nunchucks.”

[xli] 130-132 CE

The Gemara relates (Avodah Zarah 18):

Rabbi Yose ben Kisma, a contemporary of Rabbi Akiva, was one of the greatest rabbis of his time. He opposed Rabbi Akiva’s manner of opposing the Romans. He thought that the Jews should instead engage in negotiations with the Romans.

When Rabbi Yose ben Kisma was on his deathbed in the times of the Hadrianic decrees, Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon went to visit him.

Rabbi Yose ben Kisma said: “Chanina, my brother, do you not realize that Hashem put the Romans in charge? My proof is that they destroyed the Temple. So why are you fighting against Hashem?”

Rabbi Yose ben Kisma continued: “I hear that you study Torah in public and you teach Torah in public as you hold a Torah scroll on your lap. Why are you breaking the Roman law against teaching Torah, when heaven has decreed the presence of the Romans, and we should obey their laws?”

Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon replied, “Hashem will help us.”

Rabbi Yose ben Kisma said, “I am talking sense, and you answer me that Hashem will help us. Why are you giving me a stupid answer to an intelligent question? I would be very much surprised if both you and your Torah were not burnt at the stake!”

As a student of Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon held that a person should be Torah-oriented and give up his life for the Torah, whereas Rabbi Yose ben Kisma who held that the Jews should be in dialogue with Romans.

Rabbi Yose ben Kisma died shortly thereafter. Roman generals and government officials attended his funeral and eulogized him.

[xlii] On the way back from the funeral (which was on the Mount of Olives), they passed by Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon, who was sitting in what we know as the Cardo, teaching Torah to thousands of students, with a Torah scroll on his lap.

They immediately arrested him and wrapped him in his Torah scroll. They put sponges between the Torah scroll and him and they lit him on fire before front of his students, and they brought more wool and soaked it in water to put on his heart so that he should not die quickly.

On the same day, the Romans gave so much respect to Rabbi Yose ben Kisma and killed Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon.

The Romans forced the whole family to come to the execution.

His daughter said: “Abba! I cannot believe that I am seeing you like this!”

Rabbi Chanina answered his daughter, “If I would be alone, it would be difficult for me. But now I am dying with my Torah. He who protects the shame of the Torah will protect my shame too.”

This daughter was Beruriah, the wife of Rebbe Meir. She looked at him and said, “I do not understand what is happening,” and he answered was it was ok because he is am dying with the Torah.

His students said to him: “Rebbe, what do you see?” Rashi comments that they looked at his face and realized that he was seeing some sort of vision.

He said to them: “I see the Torah scroll is burning and the letters of the Torah are flying in the air.”

They said to him: “Open your mouth and let the fire enter into you so that you will die faster!”

He said to them: “I am not allowed to expedite my death, and He who gave me life will take my life when He is ready.”

The executioner said to Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon, “If I add wood to the fire and remove the woolen sponges from your heart, will you bring me with you to the world-to-come?”

He said: “Yes.”

The executioner replied: “Swear to me.”

Rabbi Chanina swore.

The executioner increased the flame and took off the sponges, and Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon died.

Then the Roman jumped into the fire and killed himself.

A heavenly voice proclaimed that they both were accepdted into the world-to-come.

It seems that the executioner rode into world-to-come on Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon’s coattails. However, the surprise is that Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon himself entered the world-to-come, because in a sense he caused his own death and, although he was a great tzaddik, he was endangering all those around him.

[xliii] these Baryonim, who were religious Jews, actually tried to assassinate Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. They put a dagger into where they thought he was, thinking they would kill him.

Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was the teacher of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva was the teacher of Rebbi Meir. Rebbi Meir was the teacher of Rebbe Yehudah Hanasi.

The sefirot of tiferet, yesod and malchut are all connected with Moshiach. Yesod corresponds to Yosef HaTzaddik, Moshiach ben Yosef, and Malchut corresponds to Malchut Beit David.

[xliv] The original question of the student rabbi was steeped in Kabbalah. Maariv, the evening prayer, corresponds to Yaacov Avinu, which is also known as the Prayer of the Redemption. Rabbi Shimon’s question was: Is the Redemption obligatory? Is it something we need to discuss, pursue and think about, or is it voluntary? It isn’t something we need to worry about. Is the halachah in accord with Rabbi Yishmael or in accord with Rabbi Akiva?

[xlv] The Vilna Gaon quotes the whole verse stated by Balaam (Numbers 24:17): “A star has issued from Jacob, and a shooting star has risen from Israel.” He says that these the two phrases indicate that Moshiach will come in two stages. “A star has issued from Jacob” refers to the first stage of Moshiach ben Yosef. “A shevet has risen from Israel,” refers to the second stage of Moshiach ben Dovid.

Moshiach ben Yosef can be someone who doesn’t perform miracles, just as Yosef in the Chumash saved the Jewish people through natural means.

The word for “star,” kochav, can divided into two parts. The first two letters have the numerical value of 26, and thus refer to Hashem’s name, which has the same numerical value. And the second two letters, which have the numerical value of 22, refer to the 22 letters of the alphabet, from which the natural world was made. This implies that Moshiach ben Yosef will not come to power through miracles and will not perform miracles. The numerical value of kochav plus that of shevet (“shooting star”) is 358, equal to the numerical value of “Moshiach.” And the numerical value of the name Yosef, 156, is equal to that of “Zion.”

The Vilna Gaon then refers to a passage in Berachot that quotes Shmuel, who was known as an expert on astronomy and medicine, saying, “I know the system of the stars as well as I know the system of my streets in Nehardia,” which was not a large town. But, he added, “I don’t know what a shevet, a shooting star, is.” A shooting star is not part of the regular system of the stars, so it is hard to know where it will come from and where it will go to.

In other words, the Vilna Gaon is saying that Moshiach ben Yosef will be part of the natural non-miraculous order of things, like the system of stars, whereas Moshiach ben Dovid will be more like a shooting star outside the system.

[xlvi]

132 CE

Many Jews had already left the land of Israel.

[xlvii] Part 1 – Living in the right time – Yechiel Weisz

The Gemara in Meilah describes a time when the Romans prohibited observance of Shabbos and Bris Milah. The Romans had finally caught on, and realized that destroying the Temple hadn’t worked, so they were trying to squelch Judaism. The Gemara says that a Jew cut of most of his hair – Rashi says leaving only a pony tail – in order to disguise himself as a Roman. Then he met with the Romans, telling them, “If you let the Jews have a Bris Milah, they’ll be weaker. If you let them close their stores on Shabbos, they’ll have less money.” The Romans realized that he was too clever, that he must be a Jew in disguise, so it didn’t work.

Then some suggested that they send Shimon Bar Yochai to talk to the Romans. But they were afraid, because they knew Rabbi Shimon would tell the Romans to their face like it is. Then all of a sudden, in Rome the Kasar’s daughter became possessed of a Dybik. The Dybik kept repeating, “I’ll only leave on the order of Shimon Bar Yochai.” They looked for Shimon Bar Yochai who came and ordered the Dybik out of the girl’s body. The Kasar was so grateful, that he said told Shimon Bar Yochai that he could go into the storehouse and take out anything he liked. The Gemara in Yuma describes that when he went in, he saw the Kalim that had been taken from the Temple, including the Menorah, and the Peroches that still had the blood from Yom Kippur in it. He could have taken these out, and we would have had the Kalim of the Temple with us again. But instead, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai found the document on which was written the Hadrianic decrees. He had been one of the main people whose intransigence had been responsible for the Hadrianic decrees. He took the document out, and tore it up. So his acts of defiance had contributed to the Hadrianic decrees, and now he was able to end the Hadrianic decrees.

[xlviii]

“Rabbi Elazar Hamodai says: A person who defiles the holy sacrifices, and who disgraces the festivals and who shames the face of his fellow in public, and who violates the covenant of Abraham our father, peace be upon him, and who shows a face of the Torah that is not in accord with halacha—even though he has Torah and good deeds, he has no portion in the world to come” (Pirkei Avot 3:11).

The shared element behind all of these examples is the concept that in many cases the holiness of something is not evident, and then we must be especially careful to respect its holiness.

The first case discusses the desecration of objects that have been designated as sacred. It is easy to dedicate something to the Temple. One just points to it and makes a declaration. The object looks just as it did before, only now it has holiness.

The second case talks about disgracing festivals. The commentaries say that this is talking about Chol Hamoed, the intermediary days of Pesach and Sukkot. It is easy to treat Chol Hamoed like a weekday, to work and act as though it is not holy. Precisely because it looks like an ordinary day we must be extra careful to respect its holiness.

The third case mentions humiliating someone in public. When a person is embarrassed, his face turns white, as the blood drain from his face. Causing that to happen is the equivalent of killing him. The Talmud states that a person should rather throw himself into a fiery furnace than embarrass someone else in public. That is because each person is an image of God, full of holiness.

The fourth case refers to undergoing an operation to undo the effects of circumcision, something that Hellenistic men did in Talmudic times. But the commentators add that this refers as well to a person denying that he is a Jew—even if he does so in order to save his life. This respects the holiness of the Jewish people.

And the last item is about perverting the Torah contrary to the Halachah. This denigrates the holiness of the Torah.

All of these examples tie in directly into the dispute between Elazar Hamodai and his nephew Bar Kochba, and possibly with Rabbi Akiva.

Bar Kochba claimed that once he was declared Moshiach he did not have to request Hashem’s compassion. Moshiach—and, according to the Vilna Gaon, Moshiach ben Yosef[?]—is part of the natural order of things, like the system of the stars. This stage of Moshiach works according to the rules of nature, without miracles.

In this Mishnah, Elazar Hamodai lists five things that look ordinary but which has a dimension of holiness that a person must not overlook.

Similarly, although this first stage of Moshiach can come about by natural means and look ordinary, a person is missing the point if he doesn’t see its spiritual and holy aspect, which is what is essential in it. It is precisely because Moshiach ben Yoseph can look like an ordinary person that we must be especially careful to regard him as having a very high intrinsic level of holiness.

This is a dispute that remains to this day: namely, how much holiness does Moshiach ben Yosef—the first and natural stage of Moshiach—have?

[xlix] The Arizal in Sha’ar Hagilgulim writes that the 24,000 students who died were reincarnations of the 24,000 members of the tribe of Shimon who died during the plague of the daughters of Moab. They atoned for their sins.

[l] The same dynamic existed with Moshe and Aaron. Moshe was judgment and Aaron was lovingkindness.

[li] (That is is why Hasidic rebbes clap their hands when they daven.)

[lii] The second Mishnah outlines the three levels of Rabbi Akiva. He is a descendent of Sisera Harasha. Even though Sisera was a Rasha, he was a human being, and I believe that all Poskim poskin that everyone is created Betzelem Elokim, in the image of G-d, and deserve respect as such. At the next level, Rabbi Akvia’s father was a Ger, and that made Rabbi Akiva a Jew, which is the second category of the Mishnah. And then of course Rabbi Akiva was a Talmud Chachum, the third level of the Mishnah.

Seven times the Gemara says that Rabbi Akiva laughed.

[liii] Rabbi Meir climbed all the way up into the perspective of Shamayim, before any contradictions occur. That was how he was able to learn from Alisha ben Avuya, because he saw things from a viewpoint before dichotomies occur between good and bad. But the Gemara says that his colleagues did not understand Rabbi Meir, and the Halachah is not like him.

[liv] Rabbi Akiva taught Rabbi Meir the concept of—at least theoretically—demonstrating ritually unclean substances to be ritually clean and unkosher substances to be kosher.

[lv] [There is a major disagreement between the Rambam and the Raavad regarding items that the Torah designates as holy—for instance, a Torah scroll, the Land of Israel or even holy people. Are they intrinsically holy or are they only a means of attaining holiness?

The Rambam held that no physical object is intrinsically holy. A Torah scroll is holy only because we use it to learn Torah. Similarly, Tosafot state that the stones of the Land of Israel are only tools towards holiness. The Rambam was very concerned about attributing intrinsic holiness to material objects out of fear that people may come to worship them. Indeed, attributing Godliness to people was one of the principal problems presented by the early Christians. Of course, that can lead to idolatry.

On the other hand, the Raavad believed that some objects are intrinsically holy, and that even people can become intrinsically holy.

[lvi] At this point in his life, Rabbi Meir could not understand how it was that Rabbi Akiva declared the impure pure and the pure impure (Rashi on Sotah 20a), and so he went to learn from Rabbi Yishmael.

[lvii] Rabbi Shimon was one of these rabbis. Apparently, he did not join the rebellion of his master, Rabbi Akiva, and instead moved south. It seems that Rabbi Shimon felt that something was wrong with the rebellion. He felt that the problem of people not treating each other respectfully would prevent the Redemption from coming.

[lviii] [Thus, Rabbi Akiva is known as the father of the father of the Mishnah. The general author of the Mishnah is Rabbi Meir, and an anonymous Mishnah is generally in accord with the view of Rabbi Meir.]

[lix] [Rabbi Meir earned his living as a scribe. While he was with Rabbi Akiva, he used to add Kankantum, which is polarized acid, to his ink.]

[lx] The Gemara in Sotah 20a tells that initially Rabbi Meir went to learn from Rabbi Akiva, but he left that yeshiva because he didn’t understand Rabbi Akiva. Rashi explains that Rabbi Meir didn’t understand the way that Rabbi Akiva would declare the contamined pure and vice versa. And so Rabbi Meir left to learn from Rabbi Yishmael.

[lxi] Rabbi Akiva’s students came from the area from Akko (or according to one version a place called Gevat to Antipras, which is just north of Jerusalem. So Rabbi Akiva’s “army” was located in the north. [?]

[lxii] Rabbi Meir was one of these Rabbanim. Rabbi Meir settled in Usha with the Sanhedrin which had since relocated there from Yavneh.

[lxiii] Rabbi Meir first learned at Yavneh. Then he moved to the south, to the “rabbis of the south.” Then later in his life he was elected to be the chacham of Usha.

[lxiv] 140 CE

Rabbi Yehudah found a spot between Usha and Shfaram, a place between the 2,000 cubits of each city. He chose this place so not to endanger any city. There he met up with the rabbis of the south just after they moved north, and he gave them ordination. They fled immediately afterwards, and Rabbi Yehudah stalled the incoming troops of the Romans. Rabbi Yehudah was caught and killed as one of the ten martyrs.

[lxv] This question has plagued generations of people. To ignore the question is to be in denial. It was a difficult challenge to have so much suffering and then say how thankful they were to wake up in the morning.

[lxvi] The verse says of him, “How difficult it is in the eyes of Hashem when His righteous people die.”

[lxvii] Therefore, Rabbi Akiva told him, “You expound well, but you do not perform well,” meaning that

[lxviii] The verse says of him, “If you find some honey, do not overdo it, because you will end up making yourself sick.”

[lxix] [Angels are a fact of life in Judaism, they are found all over the Torah. Angels shake our faith because they complicate matters for us. A person wants to talk directly to Hashem. He is not interested in any intermediary. But that being said, angels are mentioned in the prayer service texts. Matters are particularly complicated when they angels power. We cannot explain why God set up the world the way He did: why He needs angels or, for that matter, people.]

[Hashem placed angels in the higher worlds and people in our world. In a way, we are angels as well, messengers of Hashem.]

[lxx] The verse says of him, “Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin” (Proverbs).

[lxxi] On that spiritual expedition, the Sages saw an angel called Metatron sitting and writing, deciding the merits of the nation of Israel.

There are different kinds of angels, chief among whom is Metatron (this name seems to be a Greek word, similar to “matron”). He is on such a high level that even those Kabbalists who mistakenly taught people how to pray to angels or invoke certain benefits from angels would not dare do so with Metatron. The numerical value of this name is 314, which is the same as that of the name of God meaning “Almighty.”

[lxxii] Almost every reference to an angel in Tanach is to Metatron. For instance, Rashi explains that Yaakov’s statement that “the angel that redeemed me from all evil he will bless the youths” refers to Metatron. In Parshios Shemos, Vaeira and Yisro, Hashem’s statement, “I will send My angel before you,” refers to Metatron (Ramban). And when Yehoshua told an angel, “If you will help me go into the land of Israel, I am with you,” he was addressing Metatron.

[lxxiii] Although ordinarily angels in heaven must stand, God gave Metatron permission to sit.

[lxxiv] [and write the merits of the Jewish people]

[lxxv] Standing shows subservience before one’s master, whereas the act of sitting creates certain equality with one’s normative superior. So why was Metatron sitting?

Maybe, thought Elisha ben Avuya, there is a duality in the heavens, with two co-equal powers in charge. This provides an answer to the question of how both good and evil can exist, for it posits two forces: a god of good and a god of evil.

[lxxvi] Metatron was given permission to erase any merit that Acher might have.

[lxxvii] At that moment, a heavenly voice proclaimed that although a verse states that everybody can repent, this excludes Acher.

[lxxviii] Hearing this, Acher said, “Since I have no chance of getting into the world-to-come, I will enjoy this world as much as possible.”

[lxxix] Acher went into the pardes with an already shaken faith. He expected that anyone acting properly on earth should receive blessings [why is that a shaken faith?]. However, instead of seeing good people enjoying blessings, he saw them being tortured and killed. He thus did not see any connection between Heaven and Earth, and so he concluded that what is going on here is independent of Hashem, that there is no connection between Hashem and this cruel world. In his view, the Roman occupation and all that it entailed was not from Hashem.

Elisha ben Avuya was not able to reconcile this world and the world-to-come. In his view, Metatron runs this world.

[lxxx] He had been taught to expect that learning brings down a fire from heaven to this world.

[lxxxi] such as the dog carrying the tongue of Chispus, the boy falling from the tree, and the Roman oppression,

[lxxxii] Therefore, he concluded that there must be a force of good and likewise a force of evil.

[lxxxiii] He went on to become an apostate. He was one of the early Christians who believed that Satan has the power to thwart God’s will, God forbid. With this staggering conclusion, Acher interpreted the concept of of why the righteous suffer.

[lxxxiv] He cut the roots of the metaphorical trees that go from earth to heaven. He could not connect what was happening in this world–to make sense from heaven’s perspective.

Elisha lived during one of the most difficult times in Jewish History. He himself witnessed many tragic incidents, the Asara Harugei Malchus to name but one.

[lxxxv] [The question of why the righteous suffer is the most plaguing question in all of religious life. Our response is that the name Hashem refers to the trait of compassion and the name of Elokim refers to the trait of judgment, but God is one.]

[When Acher concluded that there are two powers, God threw Metatron out of the room, and Metatron was punished. He was punished because he did not stand up upon seeing a human being. One is not supposed to sit down before humans.]

Elisha ben Avuya’s reaction to this was that this was the first time an angel was involved. Until now, everything was all about “Hashem is one” and “there is none other than He.”. Here he saw Metatron sitting and writing the merits of the nation of Israel.

[lxxxvi] Discovering why the righteous suffer was Elisha ben Avuya’s passion. Why should he suffer if he is doing good things? And if he is suffering, why is he doing good things? If a person is practicing yiddishkeit only for reward, if the reward is not there, then there is no yiddishkeit. This was the mindset that Elisha ben Avuya had upon entering the pardes. He was in it for this world. Why was he only able to focus on this world? The Gemara traces it back to his bris, meaning his original educational upbringing.

[lxxxvii] Ben Azzai remarked, “Compared to me, all the Sages of Israel are like a garlic peel—except for this bald one” (i.e., Rabbi Akiva). This should not be taken as disparaging the Sages. Rather, the explanation is that the garlic peel protects the garlic. Likewise, the Sages protect the Torah of Ben Azzai by keeping it down to earth. Ben Azzai understood that his Torah was all spiritual. Therefore, he needed the Sages to add a physical dimension to it.

[lxxxviii] Similarly, in the generation that went through the Holocaust, some people left Torah, and others became more religious as a result of their suffering, some lost their ability to think clearly and some died.]

The question of why the righteous suffer was Elisha ben Avuya’s passion (Chagigah 14b).

Everybody has the same experiences and they all have completely different reactions to it, and they are all holy reactions to it. Except for Acher, who chose wrong, even that was somewhat of a holy reaction, it was not so simple, and it was a much deeper sense of aveira. This is exactly the message, like a prism, which can shine in so many different ways, directions and colors, and that is Judaism.

[lxxxix] In my own childhood, when everyone in my parents’ generation had gone through the Holocaust, everyone in shul was a survivor. One person left yiddishkeit, he questioned what he saw, another said that he became stronger as a result of his suffering and became even more religious. Some went crazy, they lost their ability to think clearly, and then there were those who died.

This reminds me of the Pardes, although incomparable in magnitude. It is similar in that it was an exercise that was painful, because when one is trying to figure out suffering, one is confronting the suffering, and that is the same confrontation that one has when one is in a concentration camp.

People came out different because they went into the situation differently. When I was a rabbi of a synagogue in Buffalo, NY, all of whose members were Holocaust survivors, there were many arguments. These were tough people. They had to be tough to survive.

[xc] Similarly, the personalities and lives of the people who gave us Judaism are multi-faceted. In Talmudic disputes, one sees something that appears to be simple but then one sees two completely different ways of looking at the same thing, so much so that not only does a person not know what is right and wrong, there is no right and wrong. The problem with this is that when there is doubt, there is no bottom line. In such case, the halachic system tells us what to do.

[xci] This was the conversation piece of the Rabbis of the Talmud and probably the entirety of the Jewish people for at least 150 years.

[xcii] According to many historians, there are 168 missing years, so we are in 5940. However, the traditional view is that we are in the year 5772.

[xciii] We have countries and arguments that divide a family until there are wars, which create territories, just as the Tower of Babel created languages.

[xciv] Hashem has many worlds and a very complex system. The kabbalah is all about this complex system. On one level, Hashem does things by Himself. On another level, the great angels are doing things, and on another level, different angels are working. On our level, people are supposed to be repairing the world. We are the angels of this world. We are supposed to do whatever is necessary on both physical and spiritual levels in order for the world to work.

[xcv] Everything that happened in the last 1772 years, everything that we are experiencing and seeing now is all part of the 2,000 years of development for the messianic days. If Moshiach comes early, it is akin to giving birth in the eighth month. It is not the right time, and the world will still need some incubation.

[xcvi] All of technology, from the telephone to the space shuttle, is about Moshiach. Our ability to instantly be able to talk to anyone in the world is messianic. The Torah is spreading with the internet. The internet is an example of all the good and all the bad in one kernel. It cannot simply be pushed away. It has to be developed and used properly and responsibly.

[xcvii] Rav Chaim Volozhin said about his teacher, the Vilna Gaon, “He cannot be inferior to Abaye and Rava.”

[xcviii] The Romans’ Fear of Rebellion

The Romans’ greatest fear was rebellion. They had lost thousands of legions against Rabbi Akiva and Bar Kochba, and again in Masada, and even more around the walls of Jerusalem and [during the?] 200-year Chashmonaim era.

The Romans were always trying to squash any trace of rebellion.

It was Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi’s philosophy that at times it is important to be friends with the Romans. Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi compromised with the Romans by making the commitment that the Jews would discontinue their rebelliousness. Therefore, he deleted the entire Chanukah story from the Mishnah, because he did not want the Romans to think that the Jews were rebelling. Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi turned us from a people of rebellion to a people of peace.

[xcix] Similarly, it could be that Avraham Avinu would not understand Moshe Rabbeinu. This does not mean that Moshe was more important than Avraham. Rather, he was at a more sophisticated stage of development.

[c] The midrash says that Hashem began by creating the world with the fruit of judgment. But the world could not survive that, so Hashem added compassion (Rashi on Genesis 1:1).

[ci] Once a person who was learning a book that the Baal Hatanya had written visited the Baal Hatanya. The Baal Hatanya pointed to something in the book and asked, “Do you know what this sentence means?” The visitor responded, “But you yourself wrote it.” The Baal Hatanya said, “This was a gift from Hashem, and now I have to understand it just like everyone else.”

[cii] Rabbi Akiva says that there is only one general principle: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

[ciii] Even though Stam Mishnah is Rabbi Meir, nevertheless when he is quoted in a Dispute, the Halachah is never like him.

What is so interesting about this Gemara is that Rabbi Meir himself was famous for this ability to be metaher hatameh. The Gemara in Eiruvin clearly says that the reason why the Halachah is never like Rabbi Meir is precisely because Rabbi Meir’s colleagues did not understand him, because he was metaher hatameh. It seems like that Rabbi Meir learned this from Rabbi Akiva himself. The Gemara in Eiruvin says further that Rabbi Meir had a student, Sumchos, who was able to give 48 reasons why something was pure and 48 reasons why something was impure. Even though this is quite a noteworthy feet, it is fundamentally different than that of his Rebbi. Where his Rebbi would be able to be metaher hatameh, Sumchos would be able to prove that something was pure or impure by giving 48 reasons. However, the Gemara there says further that there was a certain veteran student in Yavneh who was able to purify a Sheretz with 150 reasons. Meaning, this student was also able to bring proofs and reasons why something which is impure would be pure. Ravina, in that Gemara, tells us of one way how one would be able to be metaher hatameh, namely through a Kal Vachomer. If a snake, who has the ability to kill, and therefore create Tuma, but he himself is not Tameh, certainly a simple Sheretz, who does not have the ability to kill, should not have intrinsic Tumah.

It is important to note that Ravina brought one of the 13 Middos of Rabbi Yishmael as a way to be metaher hatameh. As if to say, that we don’t need to be in Rabbi Akiva’s camp to be able to do so, even within the camp of Rabbi Yishmael this was possible.

The Maharal explains that there are 50 levels of understanding. Of course there is only one Peshat. But in Remez, Drash and Sod there are 50 ways each how to learn: 50 ways of Remez why something should be this way and 50 ways of Remez why something should be the other, and so, too by Drasha and Sod.

When Moshe Rabbeinu was receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai, he was only able to understand the Torah on 49 levels and when he gave the Torah over to the Jews, another level got lost. Hence the number 48 and 49 which we find here. Interestingly enough, there was one veteran and unnamed student in Yavneh who was able to understand it in 150 different ways; meaning 150 reasons why it could be pure and 150 reasons why it could be impure. These 150 represent the 50 of Remez, 50 of Drash and the 50 of Sod. It should be noted that this student is quoted anonymously; perhaps this student is no other than Rabbi Meir, who, as we have learned was often quoted anonymously.

Indeed, in Pirkei Avos we find the famous saying: וב שיש המב אלא,ןקנקב לכתסת לא, don’t look at the vessel, but rather at what is in it. The word Kankan can be understood as saying 150,נק נק & 150. True, there are 150 ways to see something this way and 150 ways how to look at it that way, so don’t judge a vessel by what it might look like. You must look at it deeper. Rabbi Meir is the author of that Mishnah. Rabbi Meir was famous for not judging a book by its cover. His own Rebbi was known to us as Acher, the other guy. After Elisha ben Avuya became a heretic, and he was given the name Acher, nobody wanted to get close to him. Nobody accept Rabbi Meir. Only Rabbi Meir continued to learn from Acher. He was able to be metaher hatameh, to use something impure for purity; learn Torah from Elisha ben Avuya. Side by side to that Mishnah of the Kankan is the ONLY time that Elisha ben Avuya is quoted as a Tanna saying words of Torah by his actual name, a little hint that Rabbi Meir was talking about his Rebbi when he said not to judge a vessel but to check a little deeper.

Rabbi Meir learned this ideology already from Rabbi Akiva. At first he didn’t understand him but in the end, he, too subscribed to this idea of being metaher hatameh.

The Gemara in Sanhedrin even states that only those which potentially could be metaher hatameh are allowed to be included into the Sanhedrin. What is the greatness of being metaher hatameh?

[civ] A person throws away the inside of a date and only keeps the inside of a nut. A person’s outer actions must be differentiated from each other. But the inside of a pomegranate is also a mixture.

[cv] Even though this argument may seem to be academic, there is at least one halachic ramification. Rav Yitzchak Elchanan Spector writes that since the majority of cemeteries are of non-Jews, and non-Jewish cemeteries are not impure, a Cohen may fly over a cemetery. Even though there is a halachic axiom that “everything stationary is decided half and half” and we do not follow the majority when the objects are stationary, since we accept the view of Rabbi Akiva that a corpse is not in itself impure, it cannot said to be “set in place.”

[cvi] c. 170 CE

For over 40 years Hadrian did not let the Jews bury the fallen people in Beitar. Only after the next Nasi, Rabbi Yehudah, befriended Caesar Antoninus were the decrees cancelled. Antoninus then permitted the burial of the dead. Miraculously, the Gemara tells us, they found them intact and not decomposed! This was the reason that the Sages composed the fourth blessing (“He Who is good and does good”).

[cvii] and what he gave over to Rabbi Meir. There is a major disagreement between the greatest Jewish thinkers and philosophers. Between the Rambam and the Raavad. Namely, when we have holy items in this world, i.e.: a Torah scroll, the Land of Israel or even holy people, are they intrinsically holy or are they “only” means to get to holiness. The Rambam famously held that there is no actual physical things in this world which are intrinsically holy. A Torah scroll is only holy, because we use it to learn Torah, to serve Hashem with it. Tosafos wonders why great people kissed the stones of the Land of Israel, when the stones aren’t actually holy. They are only vessels, tools towards holiness. On the other hand, many great Jewish thinkers felt that Hashem left us actual things which are intrinsically holy. And even people can become intrinsically holy. One can understand the problem with this school of thought. The Rambam was very worried about giving material things actual holiness, for fear that one may get to worshipping these very items. Indeed, Godliness in people is one of the main problems with the early Christians. These early Christians were called Minim in Chazal. These Minim held that God can be found in people. Of course, that can obviously lead and has led to actual Avodah Zarah.

The commentaries explain that the Daled turning into a Reish or a Reish turning into a Daled is referring to two specific Pesukim in the Torah. In the Shema we say: ….Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad. God forbid that Daled would turn into a Reish, we would now have the idea of duality in the Shema itself! Or in the Pasuk in the Ten Commandments: Lo Sishtachave Le’el Acher. Do not worship a different God. If that word would be Echad, then the Pasuk would be forbidding us to worship Hashem. Rabbi Meir, as we know, continued to learn from his teacher, Acher. Rabbi Yishmael challenged him; do you really know what you are doing? Do you realize that you are learning from Acher! Elisha ben Avuya, Acher, was called by Chazal a Min. Meaning, he, too believed somewhat in the idea of duality.

Rabbi Yishmael told Rabbi Meir that learning from an Acher is so dangerous, just by switching from a Daled to Reish. On this point, Rabbi Meir said that he was well versed in the Torah; he knows what he is doing. As we discussed in a previous class, Rabbi Meir was able to throw out the bad and keep the good. He knew how to learn from Elisha, from Acher without learning and getting influenced by him.

When the Jews left Mizraim, they asked Hashem, Hayesh Hashem Bekirbeinu Im Ayin, is the God within us or not. The deeper understanding of this question they raised is this very topic. They were wondering about the extent of their beings, of their place in serving Hashem. Are we, the Jewish Nation, intrinsically holy, or not. Is Hashem inside of us, or not.

Immediately, after they voiced these questions, Amalek attacked them. Rav Kook explains that Amalek, as we know, represents doubt, evil. And Rav Kook takes it to the next level that every one of us has Amalek inside of us, and we need to be able to erase it. That the reason why Rabbi Yishmael did not allow Kankantum inside the ink, is because the Torah and the parchment represent the Jewish person, his soul. A person, who does Aveiros, needs to be able to rid himself of this evil which has permeated his soul. When Adam committed the sin, the Aveirah of the Eitz Hadaas, evil consumed him. Evil has been made part of man. And it is our job, the job of mankind to erase this Amalek and to cleans ourselves of this evil. Rabbi Meir maintained that the soul of man never got permeated by evil. Something which is good can never be mad. Sure, his actions might be bad and therefore he might be called a Rasha, but his soul, what he is, can never turn into something evil. Indeed, in Rabbi Meir’s Torah scroll the words Kosnas Or, which means the garments of leather, which Hashem made for Adam after he sinned, was spelled with an Alef by Kosnas. רוא תנתוכ instead of רוע תנתוכ. Garments of Fire, instead of Garments of leather. With an Ayin, the understanding is that Hashem made them proper garments. It may be that רוע meant skin and that the traditional way of learning the Pasuk is that before the sin, Adams skin was transparent and now it Hashem made his skin opaque. In the language of Kabbalah one might say that Adam now had a Klippa surrounding him. Klippa, which means, peel, refers to a outer crust of Tumah, which must be removed in order to be pure. Rav Kook explains that Rabbi Meir, like his Rebbi, held that even after Adam sinned, his soul remained pristine and untouched. Whatever garment Hashem made for him, it left his soul clean and pure. Hashem gave him Garments of fire, whatever that may mean, but he left Adam’s soul, what he is, untouched.

Rabbi Meir had three teachers – Rabbi Akiva, Alisha ben Avuya, and Ishmael Kohain Godol. Rabbi Akiva recognized this state before Tov and Ra became separated, and said “Everything is for the good.” One of Rabbi Akiva’s teachers was Nachum Ish Gamzu, who went even one step further, and said, “Gamzu le Tova”, everything IS good. If you climb up the ladder past the division of Tov and Ra, you can see that they have a common source, before there is a separation between good and bad

Acher was the Gadol HaDor; he was the greatest teacher, Rebbe and tzaddik in the entire generation other than Rabbi Akiva, and he was a friend of Rabbi Akiva. If you drive up the 90, with the Kineret on your left and the countryside on the right, that was the territory of Elisha ben Avuya, he had some 60 different Yeshivos there. He was the Rebbe of the area, the one that everybody consulted on difficult issues. Rabbi Akiva was more concentrated in the Lod – Jerusalem area.

Let us focus on Elisha ben Avuya, he was the one who walked into this Pardes, and lost his faith. The truth is, there are different places in the Gemara that talk about this, and this was a conversation piece, as many people followed him and lost their faith as well.

the Gemara says, that Elisha be Avuya was sitting in these beautiful plantation to the left of route 90, between Tzefas and Tevaria., he was studying Torah, and he saw a father send his son to climb a tree and do the mitzvah of Shiluach HaKen, and he watches the kid do the mitzvah and fall down and die. Elisha ben Avuya thought to himself “he is doing two mitzvos, Kibud Av and Shiluach HaKen; these are the only 2 mitzvos where it says that you will have longevity upon doing the mitzvah.” This can shake ones faith. The Gemara says that when he saw this הער תוברתל האצי he went of the derech.

The Gemara says another story he was roaming in Jerusalem and one of the last of the ten martyrs was Chutzpis HaMeturgeman, who was the one who would say over the shiur, he was killed by the Romans, and they viciously carved out his tongue and threw it to the dogs. The dog grabbed the tongue and is running through the streets and passed Elisha ben Avuya. Elisha looked at this scene and said “a tongue of gold, how can it possibly be in the mouth of a dog!?” The Gemara says that when he saw this הער תוברתל האצי he went of the derech.

In a way it was the same thing, probably what is going on is that the Rabbis of the next generation are trying to figure out what happened to Elisha ben Avuya.

We have now a context and an idea of what happened to Elisha ben Avuya. Reb Meir continued to learn from him, not only that, it seems from the Gemara that he continued to believe in him. He believed that deep inside he was good. For example, The Gemara relates another story about Elisha ben Avuya. One year, Yom Kippur fell out on Shabbos and Elisha ben Avuya was not keeping Shabbos or Yom Kippur, and he was riding on his horse on Har HaBayis, Reb Meir was running after him asking him questions. I heard from Rav Soloveitchik Zt’l at one of his great lectures at yeshiva university, “if Elisha ben Avuya did not want to keep Shabbos or Yom Kippur and he wanted to go horseback riding, aren’t there other trails? Why would he go davka in the holiest place?” Rav Soloveitchik said “to me it seems that his outer self, did not want Shabbos or Yom Kippur but his neshama was pulling him to the Makom Hamikdash, and this was something that was warring inside of him!” Reb Meir, with his koach to see things for what it really is, not just on the surface, saw in Elisha ben Avuya good things that others couldn’t see, no matter how bad he was.

We have a very complicated web of thicket that somehow leads to Hashem; we have a challenge, which Rabbi Akiva had. Rabbi Akiva’s response was דיבע בטל אנמחר דיבעד המ לכ whatever Hashem does is for good, it is a difficult thing to say as all your friends are being killed, and he was the first in history to say this. When the Romans were killing Rabbi Akiva, he said the עמש; he was the first to do that. The reason why עמש was his dying words as opposed to anything else is because the whole point of Rabbi Akiva was Monotheism of the oneness of God. There is Hashem and Elokeinu; Din and Rachamim, however, that it is all one. There is only one God.

way around. Yaacov Avinu was so down and depressed that his son got “killed”, and suddenly Yosef appeared. The same way one might think when he is all the way down, you think when you are so high up, this cannot be the same God, the same God cannot give me the same ups and downs! However, the answer is דחא ‘ה it is all one God.

The Arizal says, at times when teaching a child how to walk, you hold the child’s hand and then, if you want to see if he can walk you let go for a minute, sometimes the kid falls, but it doesn’t mean that his parents abandoned him, it is a test. Sometimes, it is davka, after such a comforting wonderful time, that there is a test. However, the roller coasters of life work, it does not always work exactly the way we want it to work. The practical response to all of it is that of Rabbi Akiva and Yaacov Avinu of דחא ‘ה.

It is individual, unique and out-standing people like Moshe Rabbeinu, Rabbi Akiva, Rambam, Hirsch and so many others whom have made everything the way it is supposed to be. Any greatness that any of us can achieve is by not worrying about the system. However, if you just buck the system then for what are you achieving greatness?

[cviii] Rebbe Meir lived after the destruction of the second Temple, that is where we need to put ourselves. He was the teacher of Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi who compiled the Mishnah. He was a student of Rabbi Akiva, who already saw the destruction of the second Temple.

[cix] When Yitzchak looked at Esav, he saw the type of a nation that would come from Esav would produce a teacher whom Hashem himself would testify would be the greatest teacher in the whole generation, and that is where his bracha was going,, To Reb Meir and others like Reb Meir, it was not just Reb Meir.

Rabbi Akiva came from a Roman family59, Shmaya and Avtalyon who were the teachers of Hillel and Shammai came from Roman families60. Reb Chananya ben tardyon who was killed by the Romans when he was wrapped in a Torah scroll and the letters went up to Shomayim61; he was a roman from a roman family62. These were all converts or children of converts, that according to the Arizal it was all of these great people that Yitzchak saw when he looked at Esav. And he said that he wants to give his bracha in that direction. These are the people that are going to be לארשי יניע ריאמ these are somehow the people that are going to enlighten and illuminate the Jewish people.

I think, and here is the Radical part, that it might have looked better. What would happen is, then the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Persians and all the bnei Esav they would have had the blessing of Yitzchak. The problem is that then we would no longer be the chosen people. They would be the chosen people. But, the world at large might have looked better and somehow this kind of personality or genetic thing of what Romans are, which is maybe like Esav we see him as in ךברח לא היחת with the sword. That seems to have been able to produce a Rabbi Akiva and a Reb Meir and so many of the great people that not just taught us, but actually gave up their lives for Hashem and for the Torah. There is a certain irony here, that it is hard to understand what Yitzchak was thinking; but, once you say he was looking at a very deep type of a potential, maybe on a very simple level, maybe the children that we look at and we say oh this is a bad one, maybe that child has more potential in a certain way than the child who is the goodie-goodie perfect child. Difficult, hard to take care of, but somehow, could be there is a bigger potential.

Rabbi Akiva, Shmaya and Avtalyon amongst others from the greatest of men in our history are what Yitzchak saw when he wanted to bless Esav. When the Torah says Yitzchak was blind, the Zohar explains that this does not mean literally that he was blind, Rather that he was not able to see anything bad anymore, and he was only able to see the good.

We find a fascinating conversation between Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yishmael. When he moved to Rabbi Yishmael’s yeshiva, Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Meir was his profession was. And he answered him that he was a scribe. Rabbi Yishmael warned him that this kind of job is a very sensitive one, for if he adds one word or omits one word he is endangering the whole world! Rabbi Meir answered him that he had a special ingredient to the ink, Kankantum. On that Rabbi Yishmael said that adding Kankantum is prohibited, for it says in the Torah by the Sotah that one must be able to erase the Torah, and by adding this acid, the ink becomes permanent.

Obviously, there is more to this conversation. The Gemara explains that Rabbi Meir told Rabbi Yishmael that he knew very well how to spell the words of the Torah and that he shouldn’t worry about any extra letters or any missing letters. And perhaps you are worried that a small fly might sit on the small bridge of the letter Daled, and then fly away taking that piece of ink with it and turning the Daled into a Reish? I have a solution for that problem as well, the Kankantum. The Kankantum makes the ink permanent on impact with the parchment and even if a fly sits on this fresh ink, it cannot erase anything.

[cx] Rabbi Meir settled in Usha, where the Sanhedrin was located after it had moved there from Yavneh.

[cxi] [In Usha,] Rabbi Meir again learned from Rabbi Akiva and this time he understood the reasons behind the mitzvot—why one thing is impure and another pure [question: unclear].

[cxii] The Gemara says that after he learned Gemara Gamrei [?] from Rabbi Yishmael he went to Rabbi Akiva, where he Sovrei Savreh [?]. Rashi explains this to mean that he [?]

[cxiv] Then later in his life he was elected to be the “Chacham” of Usha.

[cxv] Rabbi Akiva’s main ally in the alliance <?> with Bar Kochba was Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon. Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon was one of those who taught Torah in public.

[cxvi] Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon was outside Jerusalem[?], and taught there.

Thousands of people came to learn Torah with each of them in public, even though the punishment for doing so was death.

The Romans finally arrested Rabbi Chanina ben Teradyon (Avodah Zarah 17b-18).

They asked him, “Why did you engage in Torah study?” At this moment, he realized that his life depended on his answer. He could have given many answers, but he gave the one answer that the Romans did not want to hear: “Hashem has told us to.” This is not to say that the Romans were fighting against Hashem, but that [they knew that] this Godliness gave the Jews the power to rebel. He knew that this reply would bring him death, but that that was a part of the rebellion and as such weakened the Romans[?].

[cxvii] Yigal, that we say every morning, summarizes the 13 principles of faith of the Rambam. Two of its verses deal directly with this:

“He scrutinizes and knows our hidden most secrets; He perceives a matter’s outcome at its inception. He recompenses man with kindness according to his deed, He places evil on the wicked according to his wickedness.”

[cxviii] For example, let us say that a person earns $100,000 a year, and thus wants to give his $10,000 as ma’aser (tithing). One way to do so would be to write a check for $10,000 on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and give it to someone who distributes charity to disburse as he sees fit. Alternatively, over the course of the coming year he could give one dollar to each of the people who come to his door. The Rambam rules that it is better to give a dollar 10,000 times than it is to give it all at once because every time a person gives charity it changes him for the better.

In this case, there is a dialectic between Hashem’s point of view and our point of view. Hashem may see that it may be more effective to give a few strategically placed gifts to those who need it the most. But from our point of view, our task is to change ourselves. As the mishnah says, “Everything depends on the abundance of good deeds.” Therefore, we should give a small amount of charity many times, because that maximizes the extent to which we can improve ourselves.

[cxix] The word used in this mishnah for “foreseen” is tzofeh, which means “to see from a very high perspective.” Let’s say that you’re on top of a tall mountain, and you see two armies ready to confront each other in battle. You can see one group of soldiers hiding behind some trees and hills preparing for an ambush, and another group about to stumble into the trap. This doesn’t detract from the fact that both groups have free will. You can see what will happen, but they are still free to do whatever they choose.

[cxx] When Rabbi Akiva was in jail, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai went outside his cell and told him, “Teach me Torah.” Rabbi Akiva refused, saying that, even though he wanted to teach him just as a cow wants to nurse its calf, it would put Rabbi Shimon’s life in danger.

Rabbi Shimon responded that if Rabbi Akiva didn’t teach him, he would report himself [?] to Yochai, his father, who was either a Roman or a friend of the Romans, so that he would end up in just as much danger. Rabbi Shimon said, “If the cow doesn’t nurse its calf, it’s the calf that dies.” So Rabbi Akiva agreed, and he taught Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai five things.

[cxxi] Why was Rabbi Akiva’s violent death called a reward? Because he was still going against the grain, he was going against the strict reliance on tradition that Rabbi Eliezer wanted him to adhere to.

[cxxii] We cannot talk about the Holocaust, as it is too close. We are more comfortable talking about the

[cxxiii] We cannot talk about the Holocaust, as it is too close. We are more comfortable talking about the

[cxxiv] Rabbi Meir learned this ideology of purifying the unclean from his teacher, Rabbi Akiva. Anybody who touches a corpse is unclean. But the corpse itself is not unclean. Rabbi Meir applied this idea to the Sheretz. The Sheretz itself might not be impure at all. If a person touches the Sheretz he will be impure. However, the Sheretz itself might not be impure. Even though this argument seems to be academic, we have found one halachic ramification. Rav Yitzchak Elchanan Spector, when discussing if Kohanim may fly in airplanes over cemeteries, writes that since the majority of cemeteries contain the bodies of non-Jews, and non-Jewish cemeteries are not unclean, a cohen may fly over a cemetery. Although there is a halachic principle that Kol kavua kemechtza al mechtza, we don’t go with the majority when the objects are stationary, nevertheless, since we hold like Rabbi Akiva, and the corpse isn’t unclean at all, there is no Kavua.[?]

Rabbi Meir first went to learn from Rabbi Akiva. When he couldn’t understand him, he went to learn from Rabbi Yishmael. The Gemara in Sota tells us that Rabbi Meir was a scribe and that while he was learning from Rabbi Akiva he used to add Kankantum, (note the similarity between this word and the word Kankan, vessel) which is polarized acid, to his ink, and Rabbi Akiva seemingly had no problem with him doing so.

[cxxv] Elisha ben Avuya’s only equal in Torah was Rabbi Akiva

[cxxvi] [He lived during the time of the Hadrianic decrees.]

[cxxvii] He lived west of Tevaria.

[cxxviii] The Mishnah was Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, who was one year after the death of Hadrian.

With the death of Hadrian, as was with all Roman emperors, his decrees ended. This gave Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi a new opportunity to renegotiate with the Romans.

[cxxix] Yavneh II

The following argument between Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Shimon occurred when the Sanhedrin returned to Yavneh [following the relaxation of the Hadrianic decrees [?]]—i.e., Yavneh II.

(Berachot 35b) A verse says, “You shall harvest your produce.” On the other hand, the Torah says that “the Torah scroll shall not leave your mouth”—i.e., a person should never cease earning Torah. How can these two verses be reconciled?

Rabbi Yishmael says that the Torah wants a person to lead a normal life, to work when necessary and learn Torah when he can.

Rabbi Shimon disagrees, arguing that in that case a person won’t find any time to learn at all. Rather, the Torah is talking about two different periods. One is a period when the Jews are not acting the Torah way and therefore they will have to do their own work and, in addition, they will be forced to live under an occupying nation and have to work for them. But in a time when the Jews did not treat each other respectfully and they did not do God’s will, they cannot have that blessing. The second is a time of redemption, when the nations of the world will do our work. Rabbi Shimon maintained that the ideal way to live, the way that Hashem intended for us to live in a Moshiach era, is indeed, “this Torah scroll shall not leave your mouth.”

This verse comes from the rebuke in Ki Savo. The Ramban elaborates how those verses prophetically describe the times of Rabbi Shimon—namely, the Hadrianic decrees.

Rabbi Shimon believed, as he was taught by Rabbi Akiva, that there will be a Messianic time and there is a place to work for that.

However, Rabbi Shimon moved south because he saw that the times he was living in were the times of “and you will gather your grain”: a person will still have to work for his bread.

Rabbi Yishmael’s idea that the world runs its natural course is also mentioned in Bava Basra 60b. Rabbi Yishmael said that after the destruction of the second Temple, ideally the Sages should have instituted a decree forbidding meat and wine. However, decrees that the public will not be able to keep should not be issued. Similarly, with the enforcement of the Hadrianic decrees, people should have stopped marrying and having children. However, the rabbis determined that it was better not to make the Jews aware of that, because they would not have heeded this. It is better the Jews transgressed this halachah unintentionally than willingly.

Rabbi Yishmael felt that the redemption was not and should not be on our agenda. We need to mourn over the past. The future is not our business.

Rabbi Shimon disagreed. True, the rebellion of Bar Kochba may not have been the Redemption. But when the time is right, when people do God’s will, the Redemption will come. He was forward thinking.

[cxxx] 138 CE

Even though Rabbi Akiva lost the battle, Hashem made this miracle to show that not all was in vain.

The Gemara tells that Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi was born when Rabbi Akiva died. The Arizal explains that Yavneh was Chesed and Rabbi Akiva was Gevurah[?]. Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi brought it all together with Tiferes, harmony. Bringing strength and kindness together, the harmony of the two, is the proper way for a person to live his life.

[cxxxi] As a rabbi, sometimes I have to tell people they are doing something wrong. This is very difficult, because they do not want to hear it.

[cxxxii] In his older years, the Chofetz Chaim traveled around Europe selling his Mishnah Berurah. Once, when he was eating in an inn, he noticed a rough man who was acting in a vulgar manner. The Chofetz Chaim asked the innkeeper who the man was. The nervous innkeeper advised the Chofetz Chaim to leave the man alone, but the Chofetz Chaim pressed him for details. The innkeeper said that he was a Cantonist, a child who had been drafted into the Russian army for 25 years’ service and had no knowledge of his Jewish heritage. The Chofetz Chaim sat down next to the man and asked him if he was Jewish. When the man responded that he was, the Chofetz Chaim said, “This is an unbelievable thing. I was told that you were taken into Czar Nicholas’ army. There you were ridiculed and despised for being Jewish. In addition, you had no education, you had no connection to family or community. Yet when I ask you if you are Jewish you say yes. Somehow you have not lost your soul.” The Chofetz Chaim said, “In this, you should be my teacher.” This man was taken aback. He had been expecting criticism. However, the Chofetz Chaim chose to tell him how he inspired him. The man followed the Chofetz Chaim back to Radin and became his student.

The Chofetz Chaim understood how to reach someone’s soul, that if he finds something beautiful about a person he has tremendous power, because once the person understands that he is not telling him off<?>, he will embrace him.

[cxxxiii] After Rabbi Akiva’s Death

After Hadrian died in 138 CE, many of his decrees were either cancelled or relaxed.

After Rabbi Akiva was killed by the Romans, the presidency and leadership of the Sanhedrin reverted to the Gamliel family.

Now, Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, a son of Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh, took over leadership of the Sanhedrin in Usha. Now, Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, a son of Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh, took over leadership as nasi of the Sanhedrin in Usha.

Hadrian Died 138 CE

Hadrian died on July 10th 138 CE (which occurred on the fast day of Shiva Assar Betamuz). Gradually the decrees were loosened and the Sanhedrin was allowed to move back to Yavneh.

[cxxxiv] Romans Fear Jewish Rebellion

138 CE

The Romans became so allergic to rebellion that even after Hadrian died and things became more peaceful, there was still a great deal of worry that the Jews would rebel again.

[cxxxv] Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi

139 CE ?

The Mishnah was composed by Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, who was [?] one year after the death of Hadrian.

139 CE

With the death of Hadrian, as was the case with all Roman emperors, his decrees ended. This gave Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi a new opportunity to renegotiate with the Romans. His Roman was Antoninus.

Once again, the zealots rose from the ashes and said that one is not allowed to negotiate with the Romans.

Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi received the Mishnah from Rabbi Meir, who in turn received it from Rabbi Akiva, who received it from Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai.

Rabbi Meir and His Zealot Enemies

When Rabbi Yehudah and Antoninus were in the middle of negotiations, the zealots were always trying to cause trouble for Rabbi Meir.

The rabbis were trying to make peace with the Romans, while thousands of zealots opposed any form of dialogue with them.

The zealots were afraid that if the Jews compromised with the Romans, they would eventually assimilate.

The Romans feared rebellion most of all. They had lost thousands of legions in the rebellion led by Rabbi Akiva and Bar Kochba. In Masada, the Romans lost thousands, and around the walls of Jerusalem and during the 200-year Chashmonaim era, they lost even more.

Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi assured the Romans that the Jews would discontinue their rebelliousness. Therefore, the Mishnah does not discuss Chanukah, since when Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi revised it, he deleted the Chanukah story, which celebrates a rebellion. Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi turned the Jews from a people of rebellion to a people of peace. His view was that at times it is important to be friends with the Romans.

[cxxxvi] To laugh in the face of the Destruction as Rabbi Akiva did and to be able to pray for people to repent—that was the way a student of Rabbi Meir should have conducted himself.[cxxxvi][cxxxvi]

According to some, Unkelos was a nephew or a grandson of Titus. Titus was the butcher who destroyed the second Temple. Unkelos came and taught Torah to the whole world.

Shemaya and Avtalyon were the leaders of the generation and the teachers of Hillel and Shammai, from which the entire Talmud Bavli evolved. They themselves were both converts, the children of Sancheriv, the Assyrian king who attempted to destroy all of Israel.

The Gemara relates a tradition: “Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: At the time that Moshe rose up to the heights….”

Rav was one of the greatest Roshei Yeshiva in the history of the Babylonian Talmud. He taught that when Moshe ascended to the heights on Mt. Sinai, he communicated with God on the highest level that a human being has ever reached. When he went up on high, he had a prophecy.

Rebbe Meir was the Rebbe of Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, the redactor of the Mishnah.

Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai

Rebbe Eliezer ben Hyrkanus Rebbe Yehoshua

Rabbi Akiva | Rebbe Meir

Rebbe Yehudah Hanasi

The short Midrash of letters of rabbi akiva on the tagin and ziyunin of the large and small letters (1) (1)

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Rabbi Akiva on the Tagin and Ziyunin

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