Parsha Halacha

Parsha Halacha – Parshat Shemini - Shabbat Mevorchim Chodesh Iyyar

The Students of Rabbi Akiva

Sponsored by Robert & Pessia Frankel. Co-sponsored by Mrs. Debbie Btesh in memory of her father, Meir Ben Baruch

Parsha Halacha is underwritten by a grant from Dr. Stephen and Bella Brenner and Dr. Morton Borg in loving memory of Stephen's father, Shmuel Tzvi ben Pinchas, and Bella's and Morton's parents, Avraham ben Yitzchak and Leah bas HaRav Sholom Zev HaCohen

To sponsor or subscribe, please email rabbicitron@hotmail.com

Click here for a printable version of my article

I asked Chat GPT (a deeper version) to write a similar article.

You can read it here for comparison's sake. Let me know if you spot the inaccuracies in their article

Parshat Shemini tells about the death of Nadav and Avihu who passed away on the day of the consecration of the Mishkan.^[1] This is a segue for us to discuss the tragic death of the students of Rabbi Akiva which occurred at this time of the year, between Pesach and Shavuot.

12,000 Pairs of Students

The Talmud says,^[2] “Rabbi Akiva had 12,000 pairs^[3] of students from Gevat until Antifras, and they all died in one period of time because they didn’t treat each other with respect. The world was then desolate until he (Rabbi Akiva) came to our sages in the south and taught the Torah to them. These five disciples were Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamu’a.^[4] They upheld the Torah at that time.”

The Talmud concludes that they all passed away between Pesach and Shavuot^[5] and that they all died from the “bad” (i.e., painful) death of Askera (Diphtheria).

Why Pairs?

The Ben Ish Chai explains that Rabbi Akiva noticed that his students weren’t respectful towards each other. To try and remedy this, he paired them up in a such a way that there was one greater student and one lesser student in each pair, with the hope that the lesser students would recognize and learn to respect the superior student. (This idea didn’t help.)

Why at One Time?

According to the Iyun Yakov, they all died at one time in order to show that they died as a punishment for their sins, for if their death was to atone for the sins of their generation, they would have died gradually (so that people could get the hint and do Teshuvah). 

This is why the world was desolate after their passing. Although usually G-d doesn’t take the life of a tzadik until a replacement is born, in this case they died prematurely.

Between Pesach and Shavuot

According to the Maharal,^[6] the time between Pesach and Shavuot is a time when we show respect to the Torah by counting towards the day of the giving of the Torah on Shavuot and spiritually preparing for it. Therefore, when instead of respecting the Torah, the students of Rabbi Akiva disrespected it (by not treating their fellow Torah scholars properly), they were judged more harshly.

The Maharsha points out that generally the time between Pesach and Shavout is considered a healthy time.^[7] As such, their sudden death at that time indicated that it was a Divine punishment and not a natural occurrence. 

Disrespectful to the Torah

According to the Maharsha, by showing disrespect to their colleagues who were Torah scholars, these students were disrespecting the Torah, which is the source of our life.^[8]Thus they became disconnected to their life source and perished. 

How Is It Possible?

The Shem Mishmuel^[9] questions how the students of the great Rabbi Akiva could have a lack of respect for each other. He explains that usually one shows respect to someone else because he realizes that every person has at least one positive quality which makes him unique and deserving of respect. Despite this, different limbs in the same body don’t need to show respect for each other (despite the fact that each limb has a unique function) because they are part of one entity. The students of Rabbi Akiva felt so unified that they didn’t need to show basic courtesy to one another as they (felt like they) were actually one entity.

In truth, one must maintain one’s own identity and respect everyone else’s identity while at the same time feeling unified with each other.

Introverted

According to Rabbi Yerachmi’el Tzvi of Shedlitz,^[10] each of the students had his own path in Torah and in Divine service and he didn’t share that path with the others.^[11]This is considered a lack of respect, because if they truly cared about each other, they would have tried to share their perspective with the others.

An Example

Rabbi Avraham Meir Israel (of Romania and New York, 1913 - 1995) cites^[12] the following story in the Talmud^[13] which illustrates that the students of Rabbi Akiva weren’t respectful towards each other.

“One of the students of Rabbi Akiva fell ill, and the sages (his colleagues) didn’t visit him. Rabbi Akiva visited him and instructed his students to care for him. After they swept and sprinkled water on the (dirt) floor before the sick student, he recovered. The student said to Rabbi Akiva: ‘My teacher, you revived me.’” This means that other than Rabbi Akiva’s personal visit, the other students were not bothering to visit their sick colleague.

Why Diphtheria?

The Maharsha explains that, due to their negative attitude towards each other, these students also gossiped about each other. The Talmud says^[14] that the punishment for gossip (lashon hara) is death by diphtheria. (The death is similar to the sin as both involve the throat.)

Why a “Bad” Death?

The Ben Ish Chai explains that diphtheria is considered a bad death since due to the swelling of the throat one can’t speak before passing and is unable to communicate with his loved ones at that critical time.

Why Death?

The Ben Ish Chai adds that they were punished with death, not for disrespecting each other per se, but for the Chillul Hashem (desecration of G-d’s name) that this caused. That is considered the worst sin of all.^[15]

Too Intense

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains^[16] that each of the students of Rabbi Akiva served G-d in intensely and in a unique way. Each of them was so convinced that his path was the correct one that they were honestly unable to respect the others whose service of G-d was inferior in their eyes. In terms of the intensity of their approach, these earlier students had an advantage over the later students of Rabbi Akiva who were easy going and self-effacing.^[17]

^

May we merit to honor each other and the Torah and live long lives!

[1] Leviticus, chapter 10.

[2] Yevamot 62b.

[3] According to Bereishit Rabbah 61:3, there were 12,000 students in total.

The Yalkut HaMe’iri points out that in Nedarim 50a the Talmud says that Rabbi Akiva had 24,000 pairs of students, which would equal 48,000 in total.

[4] The Aruch LeNer points out that these five students were ordained by Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava (Sanhedrin 14a) and that some add Rabbi Nechemiah to that list. He questions why Rabbi Nechemia isn’t listed here since the Talmud (Sanhedrin 83a) says that he was the author of the Tosefta and that he followed the opinions of Rabbi Akiva in those rulings. He suggests that Rabbi Nechemiah followed Rabbi Akiva’s rulings but didn’t learn from him directly.

Bereishit Rabbah (ibid, cited in Petach Einayim by the Chida) adds two more student:; Rabbi Yochanan HaSandlar and Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov.

[5] According to a Midrash cited in Pirush Rabbi Avraham Min Hahar, they died between Pesach and Lag Ba’Omer. Similarly, the Me’iri quotes an oral tradition of the Ge’onim that they stopped dying on Lag Ba’Omer. He concludes that this is the basis to not fast on Lag Ba’Omer and to not get married between Pesach and Lag Ba’Omer.

[6] Netivot Olam, Netiv HaTorah 12.

[7] See Shabbat 147b that all medicines are effective between Pesach and Shavuot.

[8] See Deuteronomy 30:20 and in many places,

[9] Emor, Lag Ba’Omer, quoted in the Kaftor VaFerach on the Metivta Shas.

[10] Quoted in Margaliyot HaYam by Rabbi Aharon Perlow.

[11] See Bereishit Rabbah ibid, that Rabbi Akiva told his later students that the earlier ones died because they were stingy with each other. This can mean stingy regarding sharing their teachings.

[12] In Yalkut HaMe’iri (New York, 1978).

[13] Nedarim 40a,

[14] Shabbat 33a.

[15] See Yoma 86a.

[16] Likutei Sichot vol. 7 page 126.

[17] This explains the language of the Talmud that makes it sound like the earlier and later students of Rabbi Akiva each had an advantage over the other, as the Talmud applies the following verse to Rabbi Akiva and his students: “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both alike shall be good” (Ecclesiastes 11:6).

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and a Chodesh Tov!