R' Akiva - Foundation of the Oral Torah

(1) When the Holy One came to give the Torah to Moshe, he said over the order of the Readings, the Mishna, the aggadah and the Talmud as it says "And God spoke all these words..." (Shemot 20:1) - even what an experienced student would ask his teacher. The Holy One said to him go and "teach it to the Children of Israel..." (Devarim 31:19) Moshe replied 'Master of the world, you write it down for your children!' Gd said to him, 'I want to give it to them in writing, but it is revealed before me that in the future the nations of the world will rule over them and take it away from them. Then my children will be like the nations!' So Moshe said 'give them the Readings in written form and the aggadah, Mishna and Talmud orally.' "And the LORD said to Moses: Write down these..." (Shemot 34:27) this refers to the Readings, "...for in accordance with these..." (ibid.) refers to the Mishna and Talmud which make the distinction between Israel and the nations of the world.

Another explanation. "And He gave to Moshe..." (Shemot 31:18) R' Abahu said: all forty days that Moshe was on high, he was learning Torah and forgetting it. He said 'Master of the world, I have only forty days and I don't know a thing!' What did the Holy One do? When forty days were up, He gave Moshe the Torah as a gift, as it says "And He gave to Moshe..." Did Moshe learn the whole Torah? It is written “It is longer than the land and wider than the sea” (Iyov 11) and Moshe learned it in forty days?! Rather, the Holy One taught Moshe general principles (clalim), as it says "When He finished (k'chaloto) speaking with him..."

(6) ...And they will take for you a red cow - Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Hanina says, The Holy One blessed be he said to Moses: "to you I will reveal the reason for the red cow, but for others it will be a decree (without reason)", as Rav Huna says, "it is written (Psalms 75:3) "At the time I choose, I will give judgment righteously/equitably", and it is written (Zechariah 14:6), "And it will come to pass on that day there will not be light, yeqarot and qippa'on. It is written as "yiqpa'un" things which are hidden from you in this world, will be seen in the world to come, like the blind man who sees, as it is written "I will lead the blind by a road they did not know..." (Isaiah 42:16) It is also written there "...These are the promises - I kept them without fail." It does not say 'will keep,' but rather 'kept' because I already kept my promise to R' Akiva and his companions. Things which were not revealed to Moshe were revealed to R' Akiva and his companions. "His eyes behold every precious thing," (Job 28:10) this refers to R' Akiva and his companions...

(2) What were Akiva's beginnings? It is said: Up to the age of forty, he had not yet studied a thing. One time, while standing by the mouth of a well in Lydda, he inquired, "Who hollowed out this stone?" and was told, "Akiva, haven't you read that 'water wears away stone' (Job 14:19)? - it was water falling upon it constantly, day after day." At that, Rabbi Akiva asked himself: Is my mind harder than this stone? I will go and study at least one section of Torah. He went directly to a schoolhouse, and he and his son began reading from a child's tablet. Rabbi Akiva took hold of one end of the tablet, and his son of the other end. The teacher wrote down alef and bet for him, and he learned them; alef to tav, and he learned them; the book of Leviticus, and he learned it. He went on studying until he learned the whole Torah. Then he went and sat before Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua. "My masters," he said, "reveal the sense of Mishnah to me." When they told him one halakhah, he went off to reason with himself. This alef, he wondered, what was it written for? That bet - what was it written for? This teaching - what was it uttered for? He kept coming back, kept inquiring of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua, until he reduced his teachers to silence.

(5) ... R. Akiva says: It is written: "Drink waters from your pit." A pit, in the beginning, is unable to supply a drop of water of its own, containing, as it does, only what is put into it. So, a Torah scholar, in the beginning, has learned and reviewed only what his teacher has taught him. (Ibid.) "and flowing waters from your well": Just as a well flows living waters from all of its sides, so, disciples come and learn from him (the "flowing" Torah scholar). And thus is it written (Ibid. 16) "Your fountains will spread abroad." Words of Torah are compared to water. Just as water is life for the world, so, words of Torah, as it is written (Ibid. 4:22) "For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all of his flesh." And just as water raises a man from his uncleanliness, so, words of Torah raise a man from uncleanliness to cleanliness, as it is written (Psalms 19:10) "The fear of the L-rd is pure." And just as water restores a man's soul, so, words of Torah restore a man's soul from the path of evil to that of good, viz. (Ibid. 8) "The Torah of the L-rd is whole, restoring the soul." And just as water is free for the world, so words of Torah are free for the world, viz. (Isaiah 55:1) "Ho! all who thirst, go to the waters!" — But perhaps, just as water has no value, so Torah has no value; it is, therefore, written (Proverbs 3:15) "It is more precious than pearls, and all of your desires cannot be compared to it."

R' Akiva said any who lifts themselves up above the words of Torah is like a carcass tossed by the roadside, everyone passing by puts their hand over their nose, keeps their distance and hurried on, as it says "If you have been scandalously arrogant, if you have been a schemer, then clap your hand to your mouth." (Proverbs 30:32)

(1) "I would lead you, I would bring you..." (Shir Hashirim 8:2) I would bring you from the upper spheres to the lower. "I would bring you to the house of my mother..." This is Sinai. R' Berachia said: why do we call Sinai 'my mother's house'? Because there Am Yisrael was made as a day old baby. "...of her who taught me..." commandments and good deeds. "I would let you drink of the spiced wine..." These are the great mishnas, like the mishna of R' Chiya Raba, the mishna of R' Hoshaya and Bar Kapara and the mishna of R' Akiva...

He called R' Akiva a full storehouse. What was Rabbi Akiva like? A worker who goes out with his basket. He finds wheat - he puts it in, barley - he puts it in, spelt - he puts it in, beans - he puts it in, lentils - he puts it in. When he arrives home he sorts out the wheat by itself, barley by itself, spelt by itself, beans by themselves, lentils by themselves. So did Rabbi Akiva; he arranged the Torah rings by rings.

Rabbi Yoḥanan says: An unattributed mishna is Rabbi Meir; an unattributed Tosefta is Rabbi Neḥemya; an unattributed baraita in the Sifra, is Rabbi Yehuda; and an unattributed baraita in the Sifrei is Rabbi Shimon. And all of these are in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Akiva,

As the Master said: While Rabbi Akiva was dying, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was born; while Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was dying, Rav Yehuda was born; while Rav Yehuda was dying, Rava was born; while Rava was dying, Rav Ashi was born. This teaches you that a righteous person does not leave the world before an equally righteous person is created, as it is stated: “The sun also rises and the sun also sets” (Ecclesiastes 1:5).

R' Shimon bar Yochai taught: R' Akiva explained the verse "a star (kochav) comes forth from Yaakov" as Kosiba comes forth from Yaakov. When R' Akiva would see Bar Kosiba he would declare 'this is the king messiah!' R' Yochanan ben Torta said to him: Akiva grass will grow from your cheeks and still the son David will not have come!

Rabbi Akiva says that the verse should be understood as follows: If one studied Torah in his youth he should study more Torah in his old age; if he had students in his youth he should have additional students in his old age, as it is stated: “In the morning sow your seed, etc.” They said that Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students in an area of land that stretched from Gevat to Antipatris in Judea, and they all died in one period of time, because they did not treat each other with respect. And the world was desolate of Torah until Rabbi Akiva came to our Rabbis in the South and taught his Torah to them. This second group of disciples consisted of Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua. And these are the very ones who upheld the study of Torah at that time. It is taught that all of them died in the period from Passover until Shavuot. Rav Ḥama bar Abba said, and some say it was Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Avin: They all died a bad death. The Gemara inquires: What is it that is called a bad death? Rav Naḥman said: Diphtheria.

R' Akiva gave himself over to execution after R' Yosi ben Kisma died. R' Chanina ben Tradiyon was also killed and wisdom diminished after they passed. R' Akiva raised up many students, but a religious persecution waged against his students...

...at one time the wicked kingdom of Rome issued decrees of religious persecution against the Jewish people with the aim of abolishing the chain of ordination and the authority of the Sages. They said that anyone who ordains judges will be killed, and anyone who is ordained will be killed, and the city in which they ordain the judges will be destroyed, and the areas around the boundary of the city in which they ordain judges will be uprooted. What did Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava do? He went and sat between two large mountains, and between two large cities, and between two Shabbat boundaries: Between Usha and Shefaram, and there he ordained five Elders, namely: Rabbi Meir, and Rabbi Yehuda, and Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Yosei, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua. And Rav Avya adds that Rabbi Neḥemya also. When their enemies discovered them, Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava said: My sons, run for your lives. They said to him: Our teacher, and what will be with you? He said to them: I am cast before them like a stone that cannot be overturned; The Roman soldiers did not move from there until they had inserted three hundred iron spears [lulniot] into his body, making his body appear like a sieve pierced with many holes.

From the time when Rabbi Akiva died, the powerful arm of Torah, ceased, and the fountains of wisdom were sealed.

Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and tying crowns on the letters of the Torah. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, who is preventing You from giving the Torah without these additions? God said to him: There is a man who is destined to be born after several generations, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name; he is destined to derive from each and every thorn of these crowns mounds upon mounds of halakhot. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, show him to me. God said to him: Return behind you. Moses went and sat at the end of the eighth row in Rabbi Akiva’s study hall and did not understand what they were saying. Moses’ strength waned, as he thought his Torah knowledge was deficient. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at the discussion of one matter, his students said to him: My teacher, from where do you derive this? Rabbi Akiva said to them: It is a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at ease. Moses returned and came before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said before Him: Master of the Universe, You have a man as great as this and yet You still choose to give the Torah through me. Why? God said to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me. Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, You have shown me Rabbi Akiva’s Torah, now show me his reward. God said to him: Return to where you were. Moses went back and saw that they were weighing Rabbi Akiva’s flesh in a butcher shop [bemakkulin]. Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, this is Torah and this is its reward? God said to him: Be silent; this intention arose before Me.