How can we tell that this is Shabbos?

Hi,

[Yes, the following requires some commentary...]

"Wicked Turnus Rufus also asked this question of Rabbi Akiva: Why is one day different from other days? He replied: Why are you different from other men?

"He replied: Because my master [Caesar] wishes it. [Rabbi Akiva:] The same is true for Shabbat; my Master wishes it.

"Turnus Rufus said: This is what I mean to ask: Who says that today is Shabbat? Rabbi Akiva replied: The Sabatyon River proves it [for it rests on Shabbat], the baal ov proves it [speaking to the dead is not effective on Shabbat], and your father's grave proves it for it does not produce smoke on Shabbat.

"He replied: You have disgraced him, you have shamed him, you have cursed him!"

(Talmud, Sanhedrin 65b)

Have a great day,

Mordechai

48 Ways: #21 - Minimizing frivolity

Hi,

Pirkei Avot 6:5 teaches that Torah is acquired in 48 ways, which it lists for us. The twenty-first of the 48 is miut s'chok, reducing frivolity - the pursuit of fun without inherent value.

The Talmud tends to characterize s'chok as frivolity, as opposed to simchah, which is a state of happiness; see Shabbat 30b about G-d being manifest upon a person who is engaged in joy of a mitzvah, but not in s'chok, and Rabbi Akiva's criticism of s'chok v'kalut rosh, frivolity and light-headedness, in Pirkei Avot 3:13.

There is much more to say on Judaism and fun, but we are taught here that one who spends his time on frivolity will not succeed in Torah scholarship.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Succession

Hi,

"When Rabbi Akiva died, Rebbe was born. When Rebbe died, Rav Yehudah was born. When Rav Yehudah died, Rava was born. Whn Rava died, Rav Ashi was born.

"This teaches you that a righteous person does not pass away until an equally righteous person has been created, as the verse says, 'And the Sun shone, and [only after there was a new Sun shining] the Sun set.'"

(Talmud, Kiddushin 72b)

[The idea is that Gd watches out for us, and does not leave us without resources.]

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Sensitivity to the community's needs

Hi,

"When R' Akiva prayed with the community, he would shorten the time he used for the amidah and end it, so as not to strain the community [who waited for him to finish before proceeding]."

(Talmud, Berachot 31a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

It is Torah, and I must learn it

Hi,

"Rabbi Akiva said: I once followed Rabbi Yehoshua into the bathroom and learned three lessons from him...

"Ben Azai asked: How could you be so brazen as to do this to your
teacher?!

"Rabbi Akiva explained: This is Torah, and I must learn it."

(Talmud, Berachot 62a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Rabbi Akiva and Ben Kalba Savua

Hi,

"R’ Akiva was a shepherd for Ben Kalba Savua. His daughter saw that R’ Akiva was tzanua and good, and she asked him, 'If would accept kiddushin from you, would you go to yeshiva?' He replied, 'Yes.'

"They eloped secretly, and she sent him to yeshiva. Her father heard, evicted her from his home and vowed that she could not benefit from his property.

"R’ Akiva went and sat in yeshiva for twelve years. When he returned, he brought with him twelve thousand students. He heard an elderly man say to her, 'How long will you remain in living widowhood?' To which she replied, 'If he would listen to me, he would stay another twelve years!'

"R’ Akiva said, 'I am doing this with permission!' He returned and sat in yeshiva for another twelve years.

"When he returned, he brought 24,000 students with him. His wife heard and went out to greet him... When she reached him, she fell on her face and kissed his foot. His attendants pushed her away, but he said, 'Leave her be; mine and yours are hers.'

"Her father heard that a great man had come to the city, and he said, 'I will go to him, and perhaps he will nullify my vow.' He came to R' Akiva. R' Akiva asked him, 'Did you intend this vow even if he would become a great man?' To which he replied, 'Even if he would learn one chapter, or one halachah!'

"R' Akiva said, 'I am he.' Ben Kalba Savua fell on his face and kissed his foot and gave him half of his assets."

(Talmud, Ketuvot 62b-63a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Crowns on the Letters

Hi,

"Rav Yehudah said, citing Rav: When Moshe ascended to heaven, he found Gd sitting and tying crowns to the letters. He said, ‘Master of the Universe, who forces You to do this?’

"Gd replied: There will be a man named Akiva ben Yosef, at the end of many generations, who will analyze each point to teach mountains and mountains of laws."

(Talmud, Menachot 29b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Why Shabbat is different

Hi,

"Roman governor Turnus Rufus asked R' Akiva: Why is Shabbat any different from any other day?

"R' Akiva responded: Why are you any different from any other person? (Just as people invest you with special status, so too people invest Shabbat with special status.)

"Turnus Rufus replied: I am different because my master (the Caesar) declared me different!

"R' Akiva responded: For Shabbat, too, the Master declared it different!"

(Talmud, Shabbat 65b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Consideration for others

Hi,

"Rabbi Akiva instructed his son, Rabbi Yehoshua: Never enter your own home suddenly (lest you surprise someone), and certainly not your friend's home."

(Talmud, Pesachim 112a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Learning not to complain

Hi,

"In the fall, Rachel and Rabbi Akiva slept in a straw storage area, and she picked straw from his beard. He told her, 'If I had it, I would give you a Yerushalayim shel zahav [a beautiful gold ornament with the horizon of Jerusalem]!'

"Eliyahu haNavi came and appeared as a person and called at the gate, saying, 'Give me a little straw, for my wife has given birth and we have nothing on which she could lie.' R’ Akiva told his wife, 'See, this man even lacks straw!'"

(Talmud, Nedarim 50a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Poverty of Rabbi Akiva and Rachel

Hi,

"Each day R’ Akiva would bring a bundle of wood. Half he would sell to support himself, and the other half he would use for his own needs. His neighbors complained, saying to him, ‘Akiva! You have destroyed us with smoke! Sell the wood to us, and purchase oil with the money and study by the light of a lamp!’

"He replied, ‘I meet many needs with the wood; I use part to study, part to warm myself and part on which to sleep.’

"R’ Akiva will make paupers liable for judgment, for when they are asked [by Gd], ‘Why did you not learn Torah’ and they reply, ‘Because we were poor,’ they will be told, ‘R’ Akiva was exceptionally poor and destitute!’ And when they say, ‘We had children,’ they will be told, ‘R’ Akiva had sons and daughters.’ But they will say: It is because of the merit of his wife Rachel.

"R’ Akiva went to study Torah when he was forty years old. After thirteen years he taught Torah publicly.

"They said: He did not pass away until he had tables of silver and gold, and he ascended to his bed with ladders of gold. His wife had tunics and a "City of Gold" ornament. His students said: Our master, you have embarrassed us with what you have made for her! R’ Akiva replied: She endured great pain with me, for Torah."

(Avot d'Rabbi Natan 6:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The love of teaching Torah

Hi,

Rabbi Akiva made the following comment while jailed by the Romans for the crime of teaching today; he was eventually brutally murdered by his jailers. At one point, Rabbi Akiva refused to teach his student, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, but he explained:

"My son! More than the calf wishes to drink, the cow wishes to nurse!"

(Talmud, Pesachim 112a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Study and Action

Hi,

"This question was asked before Rabbi Tarfon and the sages: Is study greater, or is action greater?

"Rabbi Tarfon spoke up and said: Action is greater.

"Rabbi Akiva spoke up and said: Study is greater.

"All of them spoke up and said: Study is greater, for it leads to action."

(Talmud, Kiddushin 40b)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The importance of visiting [examining] the sick

Hi,

"Rabbi Akiva proclaimed: One who does not examine the ill is spilling their blood."

(Talmud, Nedarim 40a)

To explain - Rabbi Akiva's comment came after an incident in which he visited an ill student and found that the student was not receiving proper care. When Rabbi Akiva came, the care was upgraded and the student recovered.

Note: The term in Hebrew for visiting the sick is 'bikur cholim,' but the actual translation of those words is 'examining the sick,' because this is the essence of the visit, along with praying for the sick person's welfare.

Have a great day,
Mordechai