Universal Truths: Jewish Roots, Week Four: Rabbi Akiva

[dorchadas]

The last night of class and I'm kind of sad about it. I'll be at Mishkan for meditation on Wednesday nights anyway, and I really liked having the chance to learn with everyone. I hope they do more of these.

This class was either going to be about prayer, or about Rabbi Akiva, and the rabbi chose Rabbi Akiva.

• "It's always bothered me that someone would come out with a point of view and get followers for two hundred years-" "Or two thousand years."


• Personal writing (התבודדות‎ hitbodedut but in writing) with prompt "Okay G-d, here's my issue"


• Nothing to blame--many gods, not sure whose problems they are. G-d is not omnipotent or omniscient


• Rabbi Akiva, learned Torah at 40. Great sage. Inspired to learn by water falling on stone and slowly wearing away


• Died, martyred by Romans. Died with Shema on his lips.


• G-d like water and rock, influence gets into you even if not a character in story


• Forty years old? Maybe he was just "old" metaphorically


• "They said to him", who is they? They know Tanakh and he doesn't?


• Moses sees G-d tying crowns on text of Torah, asks why. Taken to Rabbi Akiva's house of study, doesn't understand anything the rabbi says until a student asks how he knows the answers he's giving and Akiva says "It was taught by Moses at Sinai"



"Rabbi Yehuda, quoting Rav, said: `When Moses ascended (to receive the Torah), he found God sitting and tying crowns to the letters (adding crowns to the Torah's letters). He asked, "Master of the Universe, for whom are You delaying the Torah's granting on Mount Sinai (for whom are you adding these crowns)?" God replied: "A person who will appear a few generations from now and who will be called Akiva, son of Joseph. He will explain each and every thorn on these letters and will generate mountains of laws from them." Moses said: "Master of the universe, please let me see him." God answered: "Walk backward." Moses went and sat in the eighth row of benches (in Rabbi Akiva's academy). He could not understand what the others were saying. His strength dwindled (he felt weak due to his sadness over not understanding anything). When Rabbi Akiva reached an item (a certain item), his students (Rabbi Akiva's students) asked their teacher: "Rabbi, how did you reach that conclusion?" He answered: "(The source of my statement is that) Moses received this law at Mount Sinai and passed it on to succeeding generations." He (Moses) felt relieved (because he heard Rabbi Akiva citing him). Moses reappeared before God and said, "Master of the Universe, if you have such an individual (as Akiva), why are you giving the Torah to me?" God retorted: "Silence! That is my decision."



• Akiva's martyrdom, G-d caused it? Or responded to it with the crowns incident?


• מחשבה maḥshavah, "thought" or "intention"? Active or passive?


• Or maybe no connection--bad things happen but you didn't do anything to deserve them. "Look what happened to Rabbi Akiva!"


• Why do we want to blame ourselves?


• "Shut up!" שתוק shtoq is harsh


• Torah is the reward. So powerful that teaching it led the Romans to martyr Rabbi a Akiva


• "With all your soul," and so Akiva welcomed his martyrdom


• Akiva recites "One," but the Romans were polytheists. Slap in the face? 👋🏻


• Why voice from Heaven? "G-d isn't mad at Rabbi Akiva"


• Moses sees the end of the vision and it's Moses speaking from Heaven‽


• "We want answers to our questions all the time, and we think we have the right questions!"


• If all is one, are bad things also a connection to others?