Rabbi Akiva A Role Model For Adult Jewish Education

By RABBI ALON TOLWIN
The Talmud (tract Berachos 61a)
contains the following discussion
concerning understanding the
verses of the Shema. Rabbi Akiva
says that the words ". . . with all
your soul" means that even if the
performance of the mitzvah requires
giving up your life, you must do so.
The Talmud then continues to
illustrate his position with the
following. The Rabbis taught us that
once the government decreed that it
was prohibited for any Jew to study

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Torah. Pappas ben Yehuda once
found Rabbi Akiva, gathering and
teaching Jews publicly. Pappas
said to him, "Akiva, aren't you afraid
of the government?"
Rabbi Akiva replied, "Here's a
parable to explain my position. Our
present situation can be likened to a
fox who was walking on the river
bank and saw fish grouping
themselves and swimming from
place to place. The fox asked the
fish why they are acting so. The fish
explained that they were trying to
escape the nets that the fishermen
spread to catch them. The fox
invited them to join him on the land.
The fish answered with
wonderment, "That is not the
suggestion of a smart fox but rather
of a fool."
Rabbi Akiva continued to explain
that Torah is the Jewish natural
habitat. For the Jew to leave Torah
is like the fish to leave the water;
suicide.
It wasn't long until the Romans
caught Rabbi Akiva and
incarcerated him. Shortly thereafter,
Pappas ben Yehuda was also
imprisoned. He sighed, "Rabbi
Akiva, how gratified you must be, for
you are jailed for a just cause. Woe
is me, I'm incarcerated for my silly
matters."
The moment that Rabbi Akiva
was removed from his cell to be
executed coincided with the time to
recite the Shema. As the Romans
raked his flesh with combs of iron,
he was reaffirming his commitment
to the Almighty, to do all that is
demanded in the Torah. His
students watched in awe and asked,
"Rebbe, indeed, does our
commitment to God, Torah and
Mitzvot apply even under such
circumstances?"
There and then Rabbi Akiva
taught them, "My whole life was
spent anticipating a chance to fulfill
the verse, `. . and with all your
soul,' now that the moment has
come, should I ignore it?"
The Talmud continues that Rabbi
Akiva's soul left him as he
concluded the word "Echad," (God
Is One).
Who was this giant?
The Talmud conveys (Avos
d'Rebbe Nasan chapter 6) that
Rabbi Akiva, at 40, was a totally
ignorant person. Once, while sitting
by a well, he noticed how a certain
stone had been perforated by the
constant dripping of the water. He
reasoned to himself, "If stone which
is hard can be pierced by the
constant dripping of water, which is
soft, then surely the Torah, which is
compared to fire, a hard and
powerful force can pierce my heart

of flesh, and is soft!"
Several important insights can be
gleaned from this story. First, Rabbi
Akiva was not afraid of change. At
the age of 40 most of us live with a
sense of security, a feeling that
says, "Hey, you've made it this far!".
Rabbi Akiva did not share this
common and perhaps false sense of
expertise. He felt something was
missing from his life. We are told
that he was so confident in his
sense of need and in what it would
add to his life that he attended the
same "cheder" as the five-year-old
to learn "Aleph Beis."
With that recognition, and
commitment, he slowly and
consistently grew in wisdom, spirit
and deed. He was ultimately
recognized and accepted as the
spiritual leader of the Jewish
people.
Secondly, Rabbi Akiva had
confidence in his mind. He saw, he
reasoned and he acted. Thirdly and
perhaps most important, Rabbi
Akiva shows us that it is never too
late to embark on the road to

Jewish education. Contrary to
popular notions, it is adult education
that is the key to our survival. Just
like Rabbi Akiva, adults can listen,
see, reason and commit. We adults
are the role models that the next
generation will follow. Do as I say
and not as I do, when applied to the
perpetuation of Judaism is a loss.
The Rabbi Akivas are the 40
something year olds that have the
vision and strength to change and
impact the generation.
Perhaps that is what he was
teaching us with his words, ".
even if the Mitzvah requires giving
up your life." Maybe he means
giving up life as we tend to live it
now, in exchange for a life in which
we undertake the challenge of
growth, pitting ourselves against
ourselves in Torah study, to find
fulfillment and meaning in living as
an informed Jew.

Rabbi Tolwin is educational director
of the Detroit branch of Aish
Ha Torah.

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