Excerpted from a Ma’amar by the Tolna Rebbe שליט"א
The Sefas Emes זיע"א (Eikev, 5656, ד"ה והיה) cites his grandfather, the Chiddushei Ha’Rim, as commenting that the opening words of Parshas Eikev – והיה עקב – allude to the great tanna, Rabbi Akiva (עקי בא). The next word – תשמעון, the Sefas Emes adds, alludes to Rabbi Shimon (שמעון) bar Yochai. The Sefas Emes explains that Rabbi Akiva’s expertise in difficult subjects such as נגעים and אהלות (laws involving ritual impurity), and Rabbi Shimon’s expertise in Aggadah (homiletical teachings) have, in the Sefas Emes’ words, “illuminated the eyes of Yisrael in Torah” until the עקב (“heel”), referring to the end of our exile and onset of our final redemption. Meaning, it is the merit of these two sacred tanna’im, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Shimon, that has sustained us and allowed us to survive this bitter exile, until the very end, when we have fallen to the lowest spiritual levels.
The exceptional greatness of Rabbi Akiva is expressed by the Midrash (Tanchuma, Chukas 24) which comments, דברים שלא נגלו למשה נגלו לרבי עקיבא – “Things that were not revealed to Moshe were revealed to Rabbi Akiva.” The Midrash applies to Rabbi Akiva the pasuk (Iyov 28:10), וכל יקר ראתה עינו – “His eye has seen all that is precious,” referring to the full depth and profundity of the Torah. As for his disciple, Rabbi Shimon, the Gemara (Sukka 45b) cites Rabbi Shimon as avowing that his merit sufficed to absolve the entire world from punishment since the time of his birth. And it is in their great merit that Am Yisrael in the last generation, upon having fallen to the lowest depths, will achieve redemption. This is the allusion of והיה עקב תשמעון.
Chazal (Avos De’Rabbi Nasan, 6) tell that Rabbi Akiva did not even know how to read until the age of forty. When he was forty years old, he was shown how flowing water can, over the course of many years, soften and even chisel stone – and he then realized that the words of Torah had the capacity to “soften” and penetrate his heart. He thus decided to begin learning. He and his young son went to a schoolteacher and asked to learn. Rabbi Akiva learned the letter alef, followed by the letter beis, and continued learning until he mastered the entire Torah.
Reflecting on this story, we realize that it was not only Rabbi Akiva’s extraordinary humility and self-sacrifice, learning the alphabet together with small schoolchildren at the age of forty, which resulted in his ascendency to the greatest heights of Torah achievement, to the level of וכל יקר ראתה עינו. His success must be attributed also to that schoolteacher. If that teacher had sent Rabbi Akiva away, telling him that it’s improper for an ignorant adult like him to learn together with young children, and that his presence might adversely affect the students – as would presumably happen today in any of our schools – then Rabbi Akiva would have sought a different teacher, and then another, and would have eventually given up. The Torah world would have then suffered an irreplaceable loss. It turns out that all of Rabbi Akiva’s Torah was attained not only due to his unparalleled mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice), but also thanks to that schoolteacher who warmly welcomed him and allowed him to join his class. We cannot even imagine the great merit of that teacher, who reaps the rewards until this very day, each time we learn Rabbi Akiva’s Torah. And the children, too, who agreed to allow Rabbi Akiva to learn with them, have great merits for which they are undoubtedly receiving rewards.
In light of the aforementioned teaching of the Chiddushei Ha’Rim and Sefas Emes, it emerges that the Torah and kedusha of Rabbi Akiva and his great student, Rabbi Shimon, which sustains Am Yisrael at the lowest points of exile, is all in the merit of that anonymous teacher. It is because of this teacher, who embraced Rabbi Akiva, taught him and encouraged him, that we received the great Rabbi Akiva, and his outstanding student, Rabbi Shimon, whose merits we depend on during this long exile, and assure our final redemption.
This shows us the importance of the role of every educator, the impact he can have by embracing and encouraging his students. Each and every one of us – particularly parents and educators – must recognize the awesome responsibility that we bear, how our actions have the power to sustain the entire world, and, Heaven forbid, to destroy it. Through every expression of love and warmth toward children and students, the entire world is sustained, until the end of all generations. This is the time for us to strengthen ourselves in this regard, so that we will be worthy of seeing our final redemption in the merit of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Shimon, במהרה בימינו, אמן.
In memory of Sidney Teichman, אלכסנדר סנדר דניאל בן שמואל ז"ל, a close chasid of the Rebbe שליט"א
