During these days of the Omer we honor the memory of the sages of the Mishnaic period — that is, the rabbis who survived the destruction of the Bet haMikdash and the cruel occupation of the Roman Empire, which devoted itself to the annihilation of the Jewish people. We especially remember figures such as Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and Rabbi Akiva.
ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF YABNE
Although he only learned to read at the age of 40, once Rabbi Akiva began his meteoric intellectual and spiritual rise, he never stopped. But he had to be patient. After six years of constant effort and with the unwavering encouragement of Rachel, his wife, Akiva (we call him this and not “Rabbi” Akiva because he had not yet received rabbinic ordination, or semikha) was ready for advanced rabbinic studies. In those times, around the year 80 or 90 of the common era, the most prestigious rabbinic academy was located in Yabne. This city had been designated as a refuge for the Jews after the destruction of the Bet haMikdash. It was founded in the year 67 of the common era by Raban Yochanan ben Zakai and became the center of continuity of Jewish life after the tragic destruction of Jerusalem.
In addition to being an academy, Yabne was also the seat of the new Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court of Justice, the highest authority on matters of Jewish law. After the death of its founder, the leadership of Yabne fell to two respected rabbis, disciples of Raban Yochanan ben Zakai: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkenos and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya. The doors of the Yeshiva were open to all and there was no charge for studies. However, when Akiva wanted to enroll, he encountered a difficulty: he was very poor and had to support his family — his wife and a young son, Yehoshua — and in order to study formally, not as a listener, in the Yeshiva, it was necessary to have financial means. Why? Because the most distinguished rabbinic academy of the Jewish people demanded from its students total dedication and absolute freedom from material concerns. Such a level of commitment could not be expected from someone with the responsibility of supporting a family.
Rachel, the wife who had discovered his genius and his extraordinary intellectual talents, the woman who had given up everything to marry him in the hope that he would become a Sage of the Torah, made the decision to move with her son for a few years to another city, so that her husband could devote himself completely to study. It was a great sacrifice for the couple, but both knew that it was the only possibility. Akiva was finally admitted to Yabne. However, when he tried to study directly with the great masters, they did not accept him because, although he was brilliant, he was not yet sufficiently prepared in knowledge. Very generously, Rabbi Eliezer offered him the chance to study with one of his most outstanding students: Rabbi Tarfon, who in time became a colleague of Rabbi Akiva.
HOW DID RABBI AKIVA SUPPORT HIMSELF?
Like Hillel haZaken, Rabbi Akiva earned his living by chopping wood. Half of it he sold, and the other half he used for cooking, warming himself from the cold, and, in his own words, “as illumination” to study Torah at night, using the light of the fire. Rabbi Tarfon, who was very wealthy and increasingly valued his prodigious student, offered him on several occasions to support him financially so that he could stop working and devote himself even more to study. But Akiva rejected the offer, perhaps to avoid benefiting materially from the study of Torah.
Eventually, Rabbi Tarfon offered him money to invest. Rabbi Akiva accepted. But instead of doing what was customary at that time — buying land and putting someone to work it in order to later divide the produce between landowner and laborer — Rabbi Akiva distributed the money among the poorest students he knew. When a few months later, Rabbi Tarfon asked him whether he had already invested the money, Rabbi Akiva answered that he had. “Can you show me the deed?” asked Tarfon. Then Akiva opened the book of Psalms and showed him the verse that he considered his “deed”: Psalm 112:9, which describes his great investment: “He distributes and gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”
HIS FIRST TEACHERS
At first, like every young student, Rabbi Akiva was more “passionate” than “wise,” and in all halakhic debates he took the strictest, least flexible position. However, little by little, his genius matured and his name and reputation began to spread. In addition to studying with Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Akiva approached an important rabbi named Nachum of Gimzo (also known as Gam Zu). Rab Nachum had developed a sophisticated method of biblical interpretation, based on the premise that the Torah is an infinite text, like its Author. Therefore, he held that the prepositions, articles, and pronouns of the biblical text could not be understood as simple grammatical elements, but rather had to carry additional meanings.
Nachum focused on the Hebrew preposition “et” — which in English corresponds roughly to a marker of the direct object, the most common in the Hebrew language — and proposed a very creative theory: this preposition comes to add meaning (ribbui), to expand the biblical message. For years, Rab Nachum devoted himself to analyzing one by one the 9,228 times that this word appears in the Torah, to demonstrate that his theory was valid (see examples below).
THE INTELLECTUAL INTEGRITY OF RAB NACHUM
Nachum’s methodology fascinated Rabbi Akiva and deeply shaped his attitude toward the biblical text. However, Akiva took the method even further. The biblical text is — like its Author — infinite, and therefore not only the prepositions must be “interpreted” (lidrosh), but every element of the text. According to this logic, nothing in the Torah is superfluous: every word, every letter, every space between letters, even the calligraphic ornaments called tagim that appear on certain Hebrew letters, contain meaning and must be interpreted by the Sages as legitimate teachings.
It was in the realm of theology that Nachum encountered an obstacle. In Devarim 10:20, the text says: את ה׳ אלקיך תירא — “You shall fear ה׳, your God.” To be consistent with his methodology, Nachum had to explain what the word “et” adds here. Does it teach that reverential fear toward God should extend to the angels or to powerful natural forces? Such an interpretation would be unacceptable, since it would compare the respect due to God with that given to other entities, which approaches idolatry or at the very least constitutes a lack of reverence toward God.
Then, in an admirable gesture of intellectual honesty and deep love for God, Rab Nachum declared something like this: “It is impossible — and offensive — to compare the honor due to God with the respect given to any other entity, physical or metaphysical. Therefore, my system of interpretation is refuted, and I declare it concluded!” Rab Nachum also told himself that, just as God would value his attempt to demonstrate that methodology, He would also credit him for abandoning it upon discovering that it could lead to an inappropriate idea.
THE CREATIVITY OF RABBI AKIVA
It was then that his student, Rabbi Akiva, stepped in and proposed an alternative interpretation to preserve the validity of the method. Akiva said that in this verse, the preposition “et” comes to include the Talmide Chakhamim, that is, the sages of the Torah. To honor those who dedicate their lives to the study and teaching of the Torah is a way of honoring God. To Rab Nachum’s delight, Rabbi Akiva had shown that the system did not need to be discarded.
Rabbi Akiva continued to study with Rab Nachum for 22 years. Even when his teacher was already elderly and could no longer attend the Yeshiva, Rabbi Akiva would visit him periodically to tell him everything that was being debated and studied at the academy of Yabne.
CLASSIC EXAMPLES OF RIBBUI AND MI’UT
Two well-known examples illustrate Rab Nachum’s methodology.
Genesis 1:1 – “Bereshit bara Elokim et hashamaim ve’et haarets” Literally: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” According to Nachum, the first “et” expands the concept of “heavens” to include the entire universe: the solar system, the stars, the planets, and so on. The second “et” suggests that “the earth” already contained within itself all the necessary elements — atoms — to develop and give rise to life.
Exodus 20:12 – “Kabbed et avikha ve’et imekha” “Honor your father and your mother.” According to Nachum, the two “et” indicate that respect must also extend to other older relatives, such as parents-in-law or older siblings.
