ל"ג בעומר תלמידי רבי עקיבא

ר"ע אומר למד תורה בילדותו ילמוד תורה בזקנותו היו לו תלמידים בילדותו יהיו לו תלמידים בזקנותו שנא' בבקר זרע את זרעך וגו' אמרו שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים היו לו לרבי עקיבא מגבת עד אנטיפרס וכולן מתו בפרק אחד מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה והיה העולם שמם עד שבא ר"ע אצל רבותינו שבדרום ושנאה להם ר"מ ור' יהודה ור' יוסי ורבי שמעון ורבי אלעזר בן שמוע והם הם העמידו תורה אותה שעה תנא כולם מתו מפסח ועד עצרת

Yevamot 62b

Grandchildren are considered like children. This indicates that if one’s children have passed away, he has fulfilled the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply only if they had children of their own, as they are considered like his own children. The Gemara responds: When that baraita is taught it is with regard to completing the required number of children, e.g., if he had only a son, but his son had a daughter, he has fulfilled the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply. The Gemara raises an objection to the opinion of Rav Huna from another baraita: Grandchildren are considered like children. If one of a man’s children died or was discovered to be a eunuch, the father has not fulfilled the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply. This directly contradicts Rav Huna’s statement that one fulfills the mitzva even if his children die. The Gemara concludes: The refutation of the opinion of Rav Huna is indeed a conclusive refutation. § It was taught in the baraita that grandchildren are considered like children. Abaye thought to say that if one’s children die, he fulfills the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply through grandchildren, provided a son was born to his son and a daughter to his daughter, and all the more so if a son was born to his daughter, as his grandchildren take the place of his children in these cases. However, if a daughter was born to his son, no, she cannot take the place of her father. Rava said to him: We require merely fulfillment of the verse: “He formed it to be inhabited,” and there is fulfillment in this case, as the earth is inhabited by his descendants. The Gemara comments: In any event, everyone agrees that if one has two grandchildren from one child, no, he has not fulfilled the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply, even if he has both a grandson and a granddaughter. The Gemara asks: And has he not? Didn’t the Rabbis say to Rav Sheshet: Marry a woman and have sons, as you have not yet fathered any sons, and Rav Sheshet said to them: The sons of my daughter are my sons? This indicates that one can fulfill the mitzva through grandchildren even if he did not have a son and daughter of his own. The Gemara answers: There, Rav Sheshet was merely putting them off. The real reason he did not want to get remarried was because Rav Sheshet became impotent from Rav Huna’s discourse. Rav Huna’s discourses were so lengthy that Rav Sheshet became impotent after waiting for so long without relieving himself. Rabba said to Rava bar Mari: From where is this matter that the Sages stated derived, that grandchildren are considered like children? If we say it is derived from the fact that it is written in Laban’s speech to Jacob: “The daughters are my daughters and the children are my children” (Genesis 31:43), which indicates that Jacob’s children were also considered to be the children of their grandfather Laban, if that is so, does the continuation of Laban’s statement: “And the flocks are my flocks” (Genesis 31:43), indicate that so too, Jacob’s flocks were considered as belonging to Laban? Rather, Laban was saying that you, Jacob, acquired them from me. Here too, with regard to the children, Laban was saying: You acquired them from me, i.e., it is only due to me that you have children. Rather, the proof is from here: “And afterward Hezron went in to the daughter of Machir, the father of Gilead…and she bore him Segub” (I Chronicles 2:21), and it is written: “Out of Machir came down governors” (Judges 5:14), and it is written: “Judah is my governor” (Psalms 60:9). Consequently, the governors, who were from the tribe of Judah, were also called the sons of Machir, who was from the tribe of Manasseh. This must be because they were the children of Machir’s daughter and Hezron, indicating that grandchildren are considered like children. § The Gemara comments: The mishna is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua. As it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehoshua says: If a man married a woman in his youth, and she passed away, he should marry another woman in his old age. If he had children in his youth, he should have more children in his old age, as it is stated: “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). This verse indicates that a man should continue having children even after he has fulfilled the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply. 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 by way of example 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. Although Rabbi Akiva’s earlier students did not survive, his later disciples were able to transmit the Torah to future generations. With regard to the twelve thousand pairs of Rabbi Akiva’s students, the Gemara adds: 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. Rav Mattana said: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua, who said that one must attempt to have more children even if he has already fulfilled the mitzva to be fruitful and multiply. § Apropos the discussion with regard to the mitzva to have children, the Gemara cites statements about marriage in general. Rabbi Tanḥum said that Rabbi Ḥanilai said: Any man who does not have a wife is left without joy, without blessing, without goodness. He proceeds to quote verses to support each part of his statement. He is without joy, as it is written: “And you shall rejoice, you and your household” (Deuteronomy 14:26), which indicates that the a man is in a joyful state only when he is with his household, i.e., his wife. He is without blessing, as it is written: “To cause a blessing to rest in your house” (Ezekiel 44:30), which indicates that blessing comes through one’s house, i.e., one’s wife. He is without goodness, as it is written: “It is not good that man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18), i.e., without a wife. In the West, Eretz Yisrael, they say: One who lives without a wife is left without Torah, and without a wall of protection. He is without Torah, as it is written: “Is it that I have no help in me, and that sound wisdom is driven from me?” (Job 6:13), indicating that one who does not have a wife lacks sound wisdom, i.e., Torah. He is without a wall, as it is written: “A woman shall go round a man” (Jeremiah 31:21), similar to a protective wall. Rava bar Ulla said: One who does not have a wife is left without peace, as it is written: “And you shall know that your tent is in peace; and you shall visit your habitation and shall miss nothing” (Job 5:24). This indicates that a man has peace only when he has a tent, i.e., a wife. On the same verse, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Whoever knows that his wife fears Heaven and she desires him, and he does not visit her, i.e., have intercourse with her, is called a sinner, as it is stated: And you shall know that your tent is in peace; and you shall visit your habitation. And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: A man is obligated to visit his wife for the purpose of having intercourse when he is about to depart on a journey, as it is stated: “And you shall know that your tent is in peace, etc.” The Gemara asks: Is this last statement derived from here? It is derived from there: “And your desire shall be to your husband” (Genesis 3:16), which teaches that a wife desires her husband when he is about to depart on a journey. Rav Yosef said: The additional derivation cited by Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi is necessary only near the time of her set pattern, i.e., when she expects to begin experiencing menstrual bleeding. Although the Sages generally prohibited intercourse at this time due to a concern that the couple might have intercourse after she begins bleeding, if he is about to depart on a journey he must have intercourse with her. The Gemara asks: And how much before the expected onset of menstrual bleeding is considered near the time of her set pattern? Rava said: An interval of time, i.e., half a daily cycle, either a day or a night. The Gemara comments: And this statement that a man must have intercourse with his wife before he departs on a journey applies only if he is traveling for an optional matter, but if he is traveling in order to attend to a matter pertaining to a mitzva, he is not required to have intercourse with his wife so that he not become preoccupied and neglect the mitzva. § The Sages taught: One who loves his wife as he loves himself, and who honors her more than himself, and who instructs his sons and daughters in an upright path, and who marries them off near the time when they reach maturity, about him the verse states: And you shall know that your tent is in peace. As a result of his actions, there will be peace in his home, as it will be devoid of quarrel and sin. One who loves his neighbors, and who draws his relatives close, and who marries the daughter of his sister, a woman he knows and is fond of as a family relative and not only as a wife,

סנהדרין פ״ו א:ג׳

לא ס"ד דאמר ר' יוחנן סתם מתני' ר' מאיר סתם תוספתא ר' נחמיה סתם ספרא רבי יהודה סתם ספרי ר"ש וכולהו אליבא דר"ע:

Sanhedrin 86a:3

The Gemara responds: That should not enter your mind, as the unattributed baraita that was cited is a passage from the halakhic midrash on the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy entitled Sifrei, and Rabbi Yoḥanan says: An unattributed mishna is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Meir; an unattributed baraita in the Tosefta is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Neḥemya; an unattributed baraita in the Sifra, the halakhic midrash on the book of Leviticus, is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda; and an unattributed baraita in the Sifrei is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Shimon. And all of these are in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Akiva, as all the Sages mentioned were his disciples. Therefore, it is unlikely that an unattributed baraita from the Sifrei would run counter to the opinion of Rabbi Shimon.

קוהלת רבה י״א:ו׳:א׳

וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֲלָפִים תַּלְמִידִים הָיוּ לִי מִגְּבַת וְעַד אַנְטִיפְרַס וְכֻלָּן מֵתוּ בְּחַיַּי בֵּין פֶּסַח לַעֲצֶרֶת, וּבַסּוֹף הֶעֱמִידוּ לִי שִׁבְעָה, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: רַבִּי יְהוּדָה, וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה, וְרַבִּי מֵאִיר, וְרַבִּי יוֹסֵי, וְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחָאי, וְרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בְּנוֹ שֶׁל רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַגְּלִילִי, וְרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן הַסַּנְדְּלָר. אָמַר לָהֶם הָרִאשׁוֹנִים לֹא מֵתוּ אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָיְתָה עֵינֵיהֶם צָרָה בַּתּוֹרָה זֶה לָזֶה, אַתֶּם לֹא תִהְיוּ כֵן, מִיָּד עָמְדוּ וּמִלְּאוּ כָּל אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל תּוֹרָה.

Kohelet Rabbah 11:6:1

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חיד"א טוב עין סימן יח אות פז:
מה שעושים שמחה בל"ג בעומר, אפשר דרבי עקיבא היה כלל גדול בתורה [מוסר התורה] ולימדה לכ"ד אלף תלמידים ומתו ונשאר העולם שמם, ויום ל"ג התחיל לשנות לרשב"י ורבי מאיר ורבי יוסי וכו' שתחזור התורה ולכך עושים שמחה.

אגרות קודש
המסופר על רבנו עקיבא, אחד מגדולי התנאים, ומעמודי התורה שבעל פה שלנו, שמספרים חכמינו ז"ל אודותו, אשר ארבעים שנה הי' מלמד משפיע ומחנך ונשיא, והי' לו ארבעה ועשרים אלף תלמידים, תלמידים בערכו, זאת אומרת שלפי מצב ידיעותיהם ואופיים, רב ומשפיע שלהם צריך הי' להיות בממדי איש כרבי עקיבא, ומפני סיבה הנה מתו כולם ר"ל ועלולה היתה התורה שתשתכח מישראל, והעמיד רבי עקיבא חמשה תלמידים, והם החזירו את כל התורה שבעל פה והפיצוה בישראל בזמנם ובדורם, ונמסרה דור אחר דור עד שבאה אלינו ולבנינו ולבני בנינו עד עולם.
- פשוט שאין תורתנו ספר סיפורים בעלמא, כי אם תורה כמשמעה לשון הוראה, אשר כל ענין שבה, מלמד הוא ומורה דרך לכל אחד ואחת, וביחוד סיפור הנ"ל הוא מופת חי אשר על האדם לנצל כשרונותיו בכל האפשרי, ואיזה תופעה שלא תפגע בו בעבודתו זו, איננו רשאי שתפעול עליו איזה נמיכת רוח, ואפילו אם הוא ח"ו על דרך האמור לעיל, אשר עמל של כמה שנים אבד בתוהו, כפי הנדמה לעיני בשר, עליו להמשיך במרץ ובשמחה בעבודתו הקדושה, וסוף כל סוף בודאי יצליח, אף שאפשר על דרך האמור לעיל שבמספר גדול לא הצליח או שלא עשו פרי, הרי שבכמות קטנה יצליח הצלחה מופלגה, שתמלא את כל החסרון ותשביע רצונו בעד כל העמל אשר עמל, וכלשון הכתוב המובא על ידי חכמינו ז"ל בסיפור הנ"ל, בבקר זרע זרעך ולערב אל תנח ידיך, כי אינך יודע איזה מהם יוכשר.

אבות דרבי נתן ו׳:ב׳

מה היה תחלתו של רבי עקיבא. אמרו בן ארבעים שנה היה ולא שנה כלום. פעם אחת היה עומד על פי הבאר אמר מי חקק אבן זו אמרו לא המים שתדיר [נופלים] עליה בכל יום אמרו [לו] עקיבא אי אתה קורא אבנים שחקו מים. מיד היה רבי עקיבא דן קל וחומר בעצמו מה רך פסל את הקשה דברי תורה שקשה כברזל על אחת כמה וכמה שיחקקו את לבי שהוא בשר ודם. מיד חזר ללמוד תורה. הלך הוא ובנו וישבו אצל מלמדי תינוקות א״ל רבי למדני תורה אחז רבי עקיבא בראש הלוח ובנו בראש הלוח כתב לו אלף בית ולמדה . (אלף תיו ולמדה תורת כהנים ולמדה). היה לומד והולך עד שלמד כל התורה כולה הלך וישב לפני רבי אליעזר ולפני ר׳ יהושע אמר להם רבותי פתחו לי טעם משנה כיון שאמר לו הלכה אחת הלך וישב לו בינו לבין עצמו אמר (אלף זו למה נכתבה בית זו למה נכתבה) דבר זה למה נאמר חזר ושאלן והעמידן בדברים. רבי שמעון בן אלעזר אומר אמשול לך משל למה הדבר דומה לסתת שהיה מסתת בהרים פעם אחת נטל קרדומו בידו והלך וישב על ההר והיה מכה ממנו צרורות דקות ובאו בני אדם ואמרו לו מה אתה עושה. אמר להם הרי אני עוקר ומטילו בתוך הירדן אמרו לו אי אתה יכול לעקור את כל ההר היה מסתת והולך עד שהגיע אצל סלע גדול נכנס תחתיו סתרו ועקרו והטילו אל הירדן ואמר לו אין זה מקומך אלא מקום זה. כך עשה להם רבי עקיבא לרבי אליעזר ורבי יהושע. אמר לו רבי טרפון עקיבא עליך הכתוב אומר (איוב כח) מבכי נהרות חבש ותעלומה יוציא אור דברים המסותרים מבני אדם הוציאם רבי עקיבא לאורה. בכל יום ויום היה מביא חבילה של עצים חציה מוכר ומתפרנס וחציה מתקשט בה עמדו עליו שכניו ואמרו לו עקיבא אבדתנו בעשן מכור אותן לנו וטול שמן בדמיהן ושנה לאור הנר אמר להם הרבה ספוקים אני מסתפק בהן אחד שאני שונה בהן ואחד שאני מתחמם כנגדן ואחד שאני יכול לישן [בהם] עתיד רבי עקיבא לחייב את כל העניים בדין שאם אומר להם מפני מה לא למדתם [והם אמרו מפני] שעניים היינו אומרים להם והלא רבי עקיבא עני ביתר ומדולדל היה [והם אמרו מפני טפינו אומרים להם והלא רבי עקיבא] היו לו בנים ובנות (אלא אומרים להם מפני) שזכתה רחל אשתו. בן מ׳ שנה הלך ללמוד תורה סוף שלש עשרה שנה לימד תורה ברבים אמרו לא נפטר מן העולם עד שהיו לו שולחנות של כסף ושל זהב ועד שעלה למטתו בסולמות של זהב. היתה אשתו יוצאה בקרדמין ובעיר של זהב אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי ביישתנו ממה שעשית לה אמר להם הרבה צער נצטערה עמי בתורה:

Avot DeRabbi Natan 6:2

Become dirty in the dust of their feet. How so? When a Torah scholar enters the city, do not say: I don’t need him. Instead, go to him. And do not sit next to him on a bed, or on a chair, or on a bench. Rather, sit before him on the ground, and accept upon yourself every word that comes from his mouth with fear and reverence, trembling and sweating, just as our forefathers accepted what they heard at Mount Sinai with fear and reverence, trembling and sweating.
Another explanation: Become dirty in the dust of their feet: This refers to Rabbi Eliezer; And drink in their words thirstily: This refers to Rabbi Akiva.
What were the origins of Rabbi Akiva? They say that he was forty years old and had still not learned anything. Once, he was standing at the mouth of a well and he said: Who carved a hole in this stone? They said to him: It is from the water, which constantly [falls] on it, day after day. And they said: Akiva, don't you know this from the verse (Job 14:19), “Water erodes stones”? Rabbi Akiva immediately applied this, all the more so, to himself. He said: If something soft can carve something hard, then all the more so, the words of Torah, which are like steel, can engrave themselves on my heart, which is but flesh and blood. He immediately went to start studying Torah. He went with his son and they sat down by the schoolteachers. He said to one: Rabbi, teach me Torah! He then took hold of one end of the tablet, and his son took hold of the other end. The teacher wrote down aleph and beit for him, and he learned them (aleph to tav, and he learned them; the book of Leviticus, and he learned it). And 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, open up the sense of the Mishnah to me. When they told him one law, he went off and sat down to work it out for himself. (This aleph – what was it written for? That beit – what was it written for?) Why was this thing said? He kept coming back, and kept asking them, until he reduced his teachers to silence. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: I will give you a parable to tell you what this was like: Like a stonecutter who was hacking away at the mountains. One time he took his pickaxe in his hand, and went and sat on top of the mountain, and began to chip small stones away from it. Some people came by and asked him: What are you doing? He said to them: I am going to uproot the mountain and throw it into the Jordan! They said to him: You cannot uproot the entire mountain! But he kept hacking away, until he came to a big boulder. So he wedged himself underneath it, pried it loose, and threw it into the Jordan. And he said to it: Your place is not here, but there! This is what Rabbi Akiva did to Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Tarfon. Rabbi Tarfon said to him: Akiva, it is about you that the verse says (Job 28:11), “He stops up the streams so that hidden things may be brought to light.” For Rabbi Akiva has brought to light things which are kept hidden from human beings.
Every day, he would bring a bundle of sticks, half of which he would sell to support himself and half he would use for kindling. His neighbors came and said to him: Akiva, you are choking us with all this smoke. Sell it all to us instead, and then buy oil with the money, and study by the light of a candle. He said to them: But I take care of many of my needs with it. I study [by its light]. I warm myself [by its fire]. And then I can [make it into a bed and] sleep on it.
All the poor will one day be judged against Rabbi Akiva, for if one says to them: Why did you never study? [And they say: Because] we were poor! then we will say to them: But wasn’t Rabbi Akiva even poorer, completely impoverished? [And if they say: It is because of our babies, we will say: But didn’t Rabbi Akiva] have sons and daughters as well? (But they will say: It is because) he merited to have his wife Rachel [to help him].
He was forty years old when he went to study Torah, and after thirteen years, he was teaching Torah to the masses. It was said that he did not leave the world until he had tables full of silver and gold, and he could go up to his bed on golden ladders. His wife would go out in a fancy gown and with golden jewelry with an engraving of Jerusalem on it.¹See Shabbat 59a. His students said: Rabbi, you are embarrassing us with what you have done for her. He said to them: She suffered greatly with me for the sake of Torah.

אבודרהם, פסח, מנהגי ימי הספירה

ויש מקומות שנוהגין לישא אשה ולהסתפר מל"ג לעומר ואילך שאומרי' שאז פסקו מלמות. וכן כת' אבן הירחי ששמע בשם הר' זרחיה הלוי שמצא כתוב בספר ישן הבא מספרד שמתו מפסח ועד פרוס העצרת ומאי פרוס פלגא כדתנן שואלין בהלכות הפסח קודם הפסח שלשים ים ופלגא חמשה עשר יום קודם העצרת וזהו ל"ג לעומר ע"כ.

(ב) כתב רבינו האיי בתשובה מה שנהגו שלא לעשות מלאכה מפסח ועד עצרת משקיעת החמה עד שחרית משום תלמידי ר' עקיבא שכלם מתו משקיעת החמה ונקברו אחר שקיעת החמה והיו העם בטלים ממלאכה ועוד דכתי' שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה מלשון שבות ושמיטה כדכתיב שבע שבתות שנים מה שנת השמיטה אסורה במלאכה קרקע אף זמן ספירת העומר דהיינו לאחר שקיעת החמה שובתין ממלאכה.

Abudarham, Pesach, Customs for the Days of the Counting (Sefirah)

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נדרים נ׳ א

דַּלִּי צִיפְּתָא וַאֲמַר לֵיהּ לִשְׁלוּחָא חֲזִי מַאי אִיכָּא מִיהוּ לָא נִיחָא לִי דְּאִיתְהֲנֵי בְּהָדֵין עָלְמָארַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אִיתְקַדַּשַׁת לֵיהּ בְּרַתֵּיה (דְּבַר) דְּכַלְבָּא שָׂבוּעַ שְׁמַע (בַּר) כַּלְבָּא שָׂבוּעַ אַדְּרַהּ הֲנָאָה מִכׇּל נִכְסֵיהּ אֲזַלָא וְאִיתְנְסִיבָה לֵיהּ בְּסִיתְוָא הֲוָה גָּנוּ בֵּי תִיבְנָא הֲוָה קָא מְנַקֵּיט לַיהּ תִּיבְנָא מִן מַזְּיַיהּ אֲמַר לַהּ אִי הֲוַאי לִי רָמֵינָא לִיךְ יְרוּשָׁלַיִם דְּדַהֲבָא אֲתָא אֵלִיָּהוּ אִידְּמִי לְהוֹן כֶּאֱנָשָׁא וְקָא קָרֵי אַבָּבָא אֲמַר לְהוּ הַבוּ לִי פּוּרְתָּא דְתִיבְנָא דִּילֵדַת אִתְּתִי וְלֵית לִי מִידַּעַם לְאַגְנוֹיַהּ אֲמַר לַהּ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא לְאִנְתְּתֵיהּ חֲזִי גַּבְרָא דַּאֲפִילּוּ תִּיבְנָא לָא אִית לֵיהּ אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ זִיל הֱוֵי בֵּי רַב אֲזַל תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי שְׁנִין קַמֵּי דְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לְמִישְׁלַם תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי שְׁנִין קָא אֲתָא לְבֵיתֵיהּ שְׁמַע מִן אֲחוֹרֵי בֵּיתֵיהּ דְּקָאָמַר לַהּ חַד רָשָׁע לִדְבֵיתְהוּ שַׁפִּיר עָבֵיד לִיךְ אֲבוּךְ חֲדָא דְּלָא דָּמֵי לִיךְ וְעוֹד [שַׁבְקִךְ] אַרְמְלוּת חַיּוּת כּוּלְּהוֹן שְׁנִין אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ אִי צָאֵית לְדִילִי לֶיהֱוֵי תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי שְׁנִין אַחְרָנְיָיתָא אָמַר הוֹאִיל וִיהַבַת לִי רְשׁוּתָא אֶיהְדַּר לַאֲחוֹרַי הֲדַר אֲזַל הֲוָה תַּרְתֵּי סְרֵי שְׁנֵי אַחְרָנְיָיתָא אֲתָא בְּעֶשְׂרִין וְאַרְבְּעָה אַלְפִין זוּגֵי תַלְמִידֵי נְפוּק כּוּלֵּי עָלְמָא לְאַפֵּיהּ וְאַף הִיא קָמַת לְמִיפַּק לְאַפֵּיהּ אֲמַר לַהּ הַהוּא רַשִּׁיעָא וְאַתְּ לְהֵיכָא אֲמַרָה לֵיהּ יוֹדֵעַ צַדִּיק נֶפֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּוֹ אֲתָת לְאִיתְחֲזוֹיֵי לֵיהּ קָא מְדַחִן לַהּ רַבָּנַן אֲמַר לְהוֹן הַנִּיחוּ לָהּ שֶׁלִּי וְשֶׁלָּכֶם שֶׁלָּהּ הוּא שְׁמַע (בַּר) כַּלְבָּא שָׂבוּעַ אֲתָא וְאִיתְּשִׁיל עַל נִידְרֵיהּ וְאִשְׁתְּרַיי וְאִשְׁתְּרִי מִן שֵׁית מִילֵּי אִיעַתַּר רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא מִן כַּלְבָּא שָׂבוּעַ מִן אַיָּלָא דִסְפִינְתָּא דְּכֹל סְפִינָתָא עָבְדִין לֵיהּ מִין עָינָא זִימְנָא חֲדָא אַנְשְׁיוּהּ עַל כֵּיף יַמָּא אֲתָא הוּא אַשְׁכְּחֵיהּ וּמִן גְּווֹזָא דְּזִימְנָא חֲדָא יְהֵיב אַרְבָּעָה זוּזֵי לְסָפוֹנָאֵי אֲמַר לְהוּ אַיְיתֵי לִי מִדַּעַם וְלָא אַשְׁכַּחוּ אֶלָּא גְּווֹזָא עַל כֵּיף יַמָּא אַתְיוּהּ לֵיהּ אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ עֲבֵיד מָרַנָא עֲלֵיהּ אִישְׁתְּכַח דַּהֲוָה מְלֵי דִּינָרֵי דְּזִימְנָא חֲדָא טְבַעַת סְפִינְתָּא וְכוּלֵּי עִיסְקָא הֲוָה מַחֵית בְּהָהוּא גְּווֹזָא וְאִישְׁתְּכַח בְּהָהוּא זִימְנָא דְּמִן דִּסְרוּקִיתָא וּמִן מַטְרוֹנִיתָא

Nedarim 50a

He lifted the mat [tzifeta] upon which he was sitting and said to the messenger: See what there is here. The place was miraculously filled with gold dinars. This demonstrated that Rabbi Yehuda could have had plenty of money if he had so desired. He explained: However, it is not amenable to me to derive benefit in this world. § In connection to the above incident concerning the poverty of scholars and their potential to become wealthy through remarkable circumstances, the Gemara relates an incident: Rabbi Akiva became betrothed to the daughter of bar Kalba Savua. When bar Kalba Savua heard about their betrothal, he took a vow prohibiting her from eating all of his property. Despite this, she went ahead and married Rabbi Akiva. In the winter they would sleep in a storehouse of straw, and Rabbi Akiva would gather strands of straw from her hair. He said to her: If I had the means I would place on your head a Jerusalem of Gold, a type of crown. Elijah the prophet came and appeared to them as a regular person and started calling and knocking on the door. He said to them: Give me a bit of straw, as my wife gave birth and I do not have anything on which to lay her. Rabbi Akiva said to his wife: See this man, who does not even have straw. We should be happy with our lot, as we at least have straw to sleep on. She said to him: Go and be a student of Torah. He went and studied Torah for twelve years before Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. At the completion of the twelve years, he was coming home when he heard from behind his house that one wicked person was saying to his wife: Your father behaved well toward you. He was right to disinherit you. One reason is that your husband is not similar to you, i.e., he is not suitable for you. And furthermore, he has left you in widowhood in his lifetime all these years. She said to him: If he listens to me, he should be there for another twelve years. Rabbi Akiva said: Since she has given me permission through this statement, I will go back and study more. He turned back and went to the study hall, and he was there for another twelve years. Eventually he came back accompanied by 24,000 pairs of students. Everyone went out to greet him, as he was by then a renowned teacher, and she too arose to go out to greet him. That wicked person said to her: And to where are you going? As she was excessively poor, she was not dressed in a grand manner, as fit for the wife of one so esteemed. She said to him: “A righteous man regards the life of his beast” (Proverbs 12:10); he knows that I am in this state as a result of my dedication to him. She came to present herself before Rabbi Akiva, but the Sages tried to fend her off, as they were unaware of her identity. He said to them: Leave her. Both my Torah knowledge and yours are hers. When bar Kalba Savua heard that the famous man was his son-in-law, he came before halakhic authorities and requested the dissolution of his vow, and it was dissolved. The Gemara adds: Rabbi Akiva became wealthy from six things. First, from the money he received from Kalba Savua after his vow was dissolved. Second, he gained money from the ram of a ship [eila disfineta], as craftsmen would fashion a sculpture of a type of sheep for every ship, which would be placed on its bow, and which would be used to conceal money. On one occasion, the sailors forgot this ram on the seashore, and Rabbi Akiva came and found it with the money stored inside. And third, he became wealthy from a log [gavza] of wood, as on one occasion he gave four dinars to sailors and said to them: Bring me something worthwhile. And they found only a log of wood on the seashore. They brought it to him and said to him: May our master wait with this until we bring a more worthy item. He found that the log was full of dinars, as on one occasion a ship sunk and all the merchandise, i.e., the money, owned by the people on the ship was placed in that log, and it was found on that occasion by the sailors. Rabbi Akiva became wealthy from a convoy of Ishmaelites [Serukita]. And he became wealthy from a certain lady. Rabbi Akiva borrowed money from a lady and said that God would be his guarantor. When it came time to return the loan, the king’s daughter became insane and threw a purse of jewelry into the sea, which was found by that lady. She told Rabbi Akiva that his guarantor had paid his debt and she allowed him to keep the loan.