Drops of Water — The Story of Rabbi Akiba

AT THE AGE OF 40, .4A-7,64 was STILL AN /G -
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS .

Friday, August 27, 1965-15

THE HIGH HOLIDAY
PRAYER BOOK

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THE GREATEST SCHOLAR /N /s,e4EL.. THEN
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Edited and Translated

By Ben Zion Bokser

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STU DENTS NUMBERED

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This cartoon is reproduced from "A Picture Parade of Jewish History" by Morris Epstein, pub-
lished by Shengold Publishers, New York, by special arrangement with the author and publishers.

Explaining the car to o n, Dr.
Epstein wrote:
Akiba Ben Joseph. who began
to study as a grown man those
things which any child knew,
would one day be the gr eat est
scholar in the scholars' city of
Yavneh.
His years of study meant years
of painful separation from his dear
wife. Rachel did not complain, but
worked harder than ever to sup-
port their family, while she nour-
ished the hope that some day her
husband would be a brilliant sage
in Israel.
It is said that when Akiba re-

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turned home he was followed by
thousands of pupils. His wife came
out to meet him. His students had
never seen her and did not know
who she was. Thinking she was a
rude stranger, they tried to push
her aside. But Rabbi Akiba wel-
comed her and said to his stu-
dents: "Be gracious to her. Your
wisdom, as well as mine, is due to
her." And in reward for Rachel's
sacrifices, he presented her with
a golden crown engraved with a
picture of Jerusalem.
Akiba, who lived about 50 to 135
;.E., was to play the double role
of rabbi and rebel. He gathered
and arranged the teachings of
many earlier rabbis. Each acad-
emy of learning had added laws
when they were needed. Akiba
divided all Jewish law into six
large areas. In doing so, he pre-
pared the way for the huge task
of compiling the Mishnah, a labor
to be completed by Judah Ha-Nasi.
His brilliance was matched by
his modesty. He said, "Always take
a place lower thn you deserve
until you are asked to occupy a
higher one. It is better to be asked
to come up than to be told to step
down."
Rabbi Akiba journed to Arabia
and Asia and North Africa, meet-
ing with his people in exile. Dur-
ing all this time, he cherished the
dream that his beloved Judea
would one day throw off the yoke
of foreign rule. When Bar Kochba
presented himself and said he was
ready to rise against the cruel
Romans, Rabbi Akiba became an
inspired rebel.
The rebellion did not succeed
and the Romans avenged them-
selves by striking at the heart of
Jewish life. They forbade the prac-
tice of all Jewish customs. Old and
weary, Akiba defied the Romans
and continued to teach the Torah.
He knew that teachers were being
hunted down for passing on to
their students the Torah's lessons.
He knew that rabbis were being
thrown into chains for ordaining
their pupils as rabbis.
The blow fell. Ten scholars were
chosen by the Roman Emperor
Hadrian to lee put to death for dis-
obeying the imperial order. One
of them was Rabbi Akiba. He was
about 80 when he went fearlessly

to the stake. As he was being
tortured, he proclaimed the
Shema: "Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord
our God, the Lord is One." These
were his last words.
In the centuries that followed,
the name of Akiba became a
synonym for bravery and
martyrdom.

A Superb new Translation with commentary. Many prayers
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