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What Stops the Plague? ~ I: Rabbi Akiva’S Students Miriam Gedwiser ~ Sefirah 5781

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What Stops the Plague? ~ I: Rabbi Akiva’S Students Miriam Gedwiser ~ Sefirah 5781 What Stops the Plague? ~ I: Rabbi Akiva’s Students Miriam Gedwiser ~ Sefirah 5781 Rabbi Akiva’s Students 1. Talmud Bavli Yevamot 62b Sefaria/Koren transl (modified) מתני׳ לא יבטל אדם מפריה ורביה MISHNA (61b): A man may not neglect the mitzva to be אלא א"כ יש לו בנים ב"ש אומרים שני fruitful and multiply unless he already has children. Beit זכרים וב"ה אומרים זכר ונקבה Shammai say: One fulfills this mitzva with two males, and שנאמר (בראשית ה, ב) זכר ונקבה :Beit Hillel say: A male and a female, as it is stated בראם: .(Male and female He created them” (Genesis 5:2“ מתניתין דלאו כרבי יהושע דתניא רבי The Gemara comments: The mishna is not in יהושע אומר נשא אדם אשה בילדותו accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua. As it is ישא אשה בזקנותו היו לו בנים taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehoshua says: If a man בילדותו יהיו לו בנים בזקנותו שנא' married a woman in his youth, and she passed away, he (קהלת יא, ו) בבקר זרע את זרעך should marry another woman in his old age. If he had ולערב אל תנח ידך כי אינך יודע אי זה children in his youth, he should have more children in יכשר הזה או זה ואם שניהם כאחד his old age, as it is stated: “In the morning sow your טובים seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for ר"ע אומר למד תורה בילדותו ילמוד you do not know which shall prosper, whether this or תורה בזקנותו היו לו תלמידים ”that, or whether they both alike shall be good בילדותו יהיו לו תלמידים בזקנותו Ecclesiastes 11:6). This verse indicates that a man should) שנא' בבקר זרע את זרעך וגו' 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.” אמרו שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים They said by way of example that Rabbi Akiva had twelve היו לו לרבי עקיבא מגבת עד thousand pairs of students in an area of land that אנטיפרס וכולן מתו בפרק אחד מפני stretched from Gevat to Antipatris in Judea, and they all שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה died in one period of time, because they did not treat והיה העולם שמם עד שבא ר"ע אצל .each other with respect רבותינו שבדרום ושנאה להם ר"מ ור' יהודה ור' יוסי ורבי שמעון ורבי אלעזר And the world was desolate of Torah until Rabbi Akiva בן שמוע והם הם העמידו תורה אותה came to our Rabbis in the South and taught his Torah to שעה 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. What Stops the Plague? ~ I: Rabbi Akiva’s Students Miriam Gedwiser ~ Sefirah 5781 תנא כולם מתו מפסח ועד עצרת אמר With regard to the twelve thousand pairs of Rabbi Akiva’s רב חמא בר אבא ואיתימא ר' חייא בר students, the Gemara adds: It is taught that all of them אבין כולם מתו מיתה רעה מאי היא died in the period from Passover until Shavuot. Rav א"ר נחמן אסכרה 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. 2. Kohelet Rabbah 11:6 MG transl וְ ַר ִבּי ֲע ִקי ָבא אוֹ ֵמר ְשׁנֵים ָע ָשׂר ֲא ָל ִפים Rabbi Akiva says, I had 12,000 students from Gevat to ַתּ ְל ִמי ִדים ָהיוּ ִלי ִמ ְגּ ַבת וְ ַעד אַנְ ִטי ְפ ַרס וְ ֻכ ָלּן Antipras, and they all died in my lifetime between ֵמתוּ ְבּ ַחיַּי ֵבּין ֶפּ ַסח ַל ֲע ֶצ ֶרת, וּ ַבסּוֹף ֶה ֱע ִמידוּ ִלי Passover and Shavuot, and in the end they stood up for ִשׁ ְב ָעה, וְ ֵאלּוּ ֵהן: ַר ִבּי יְהוּ ָדה, וְ ַר ִבּי נְ ֶח ְמיָה, me seven: Rabbi Yehudah, Rabbi Nechemiah, Rabbi וְ ַר ִבּי ֵמ ִאיר, וְ ַר ִבּי יוֹ ֵסי, וְ ַר ִבּי ִשׁ ְמעוֹן ֶבּן יוֹ ָחאי, Meir, Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, and Rabbi וְ ַר ִבּי ֱא ִלי ֶע ֶזר ְבּנוֹ ֶשׁל ַר ִבּי יוֹ ֵסי ַה ְגּ ִלי ִלי, וְ ַר ִבּי Eliezer son of R. Yosi the Galilean, and Rabbi Yohanan יוֹ ָחנָן ַה ַסּנְ ְדּ ָלר. אָ ַמר ָל ֶהם ָה ִראשׁוֹנִים א ֵמתוּ the shoemaker. He said to them, the first ones only died ֶא ָלּא ִמ ְפּנֵי ֶשׁ ָהיְ ָתה ֵעינֵי ֶהם ָצ ָרה ַבּתּוֹ ָרה ֶזה because their eye was narrow with the Torah of the ָל ֶזה, ַא ֶתּם א ִת ְהיוּ ֵכן, ִמיָּד ָע ְמדוּ וּ ִמ ְלּאוּ ָכּל other; you should not be like that. Immediately they got ֶא ֶרץ יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל תּוֹ ָרה. .up and filled the whole land of Israel with Torah 3. Tanchuma Miketz 10 Sefaria transl. (See also Brachot 8a) ָדּ ָבר אַ ֵחר, ְל ֵעת ְמצ ֹא, זוֹ ִמי ָתה, .Another comment on In a time when Thou mayest be found ְדּאָ ַמר ַר ִבּי יִ ְשׁ ָמ ֵעאל, ְתּ ַשׁע ֵמאוֹת This refers to the time of death. R. Ishmael said: There are nine וּ ְשׁ ָשה ִמינֵי ִמי ָתה ֵהם, ֶשׁנֶּ ֱא ַמר: hundred and three different kinds of death, as it is said: And unto ַל ָמּוֶת תּוֹ ָצאוֹת (תהלים סח, כא). God the Lord belong the issues of death (Ps. 68:21). By תּוֹ ָצאוֹת ְבּ ִגי ַמ ְט ִריָּא ָה ִכי ֲהוֵי. Gematria the letters in the word totza’ah (“issue”) total nine ָק ָשׁה ֶשׁ ְבּ ֻכ ָלּן אַ ְס ָכּ ָרה, וְטוֹ ָבה hundred and three mathematically. The most painful death of all ֶשׁ ְבּ ֻכ ָלּן נְ ִשׁי ָקה. .is to be choked, the most pleasant is the divine kiss of death 4. Ben Yehoyada to Yevamot 62 MG transl. ֻכּ ָלּם ִנ ְפ ְטרוּ ִמ ֶפּ ַסח וְ ַעד ֲע ֶצ ֶרת. הנה They all died from Passover to Shavuot - . It also עוד נראה לי בס"ד בא להודיע הזמן הזה seems to me, with heavenly help, that it comes to inform שמתו בו שיש ללמוד ממנו מוסר השכל us of the time that they did because we should learn a שלא להיות שנאה וקנאה בין זה לזה ולא message from it, not to have hatred and jealousy יהיה אחד מזלזל בכבוד חבירו כי הנה between each other and no one should put down the תמצא בליל יום טוב של פסח הוא זמן honor of his fellow. Because you can find that the night גדלות למעלה בתכלית ואחר כך בימי of (the first night) of Passover is a night of העומר זמן קטנות ואחר כך לאט לאט large-mindedness, high in purpose, and afterwards in the What Stops the Plague? ~ I: Rabbi Akiva’s Students Miriam Gedwiser ~ Sefirah 5781 יחזרו לגדלות בתכלית שיהיה במוסף של time of the Omer is a time of smallness, and after that bit יום טוב חג השבועות. by bit they return to greatness with the eng goal of the נמצאת אתה למד הגדול לא יגבה לבו על .mussaf of the holiday of Shavuot הקטן כי אפשר להיות שזה הגדול ירד We find that the great one should learn not to raise his תכף למדרגה התחתונה וגם זה הקטן heart over the small, because it is possible that this great שעתה נראה קטן אפשר שיהיה גדול one will fall immediately to a low level, and also this small הרבה כאשר תמצא תכף אחר הגדלות one who seems small now, it is possible that he will be של יום טוב ראשון דפסח נעשה קטנות very great, as you can find that immediately after the ואחר שנעשה הקטנות חזר הדבר greatness of the first day of Passover comes the לגדלות. .smallness and after the smallness it returns to greatness ֻכ ָלּם ֵמתוּ ִמי ָתה ָר ָעה. הכונה כל אדם And they all died a bad death - the intention is every שמסתלק ממנו כח הדיבור בעת מותו person who loses the power of speech at the time of his שאינו יכול לדבר ולצוות זו נקראת ' ִמי ָתה death, who cannot speak and state his last will, this is ָר ָעה' וכיון דמתו באסכרה לא היו יכולין called a bad death. And since they died of askara they לדבר כלל. .could not speak at all וְומה שאמרו ִמ ְפּ ֵני ֶשׁא ָנ ֲהגוּ ָכּבוֹד ֶזה And that which it says, since they did not respect one ָל ֶזה קשא אין עון זה כדאי לחייבם מיתה! another, is difficult. This sin is not so great that they אך חיוב מיתתם היה מפני חלול השם deserve death! Rather the liability for their death was דנפיק מדבר זה לפני המון העם ועון because of the desecration of God’s name that came out חלול השם במיתה דכתיב (ישעיהו כב, of the matter before the masses, and the sin of יד) ִאם יְ ֻכ ַפּר ֶה ָעוֹ ן ֶזּה ַעד יְמוּתוּן וכנזכר .desecrating God’s name is punishable by death בגמרא דיומא (יומא פו.). 5. Shabbat 33a-b Sefaria/Koren transl (modified) ָתּנוּ ַר ָבּנַן: אַ ְר ָבּ ָעה ִסי ָמנִין ֵהן: The Sages taught in a baraita that there are four signs: A sign ִסי ָמן ַל ֲע ֵבי ָרה — ִה ְדרוֹ ָקן, of sin is hidrokan, a sign of gratuitous hatred is jaundice, a ִסי ָמן ְל ִשׂנְאַת ִחנָּם — יֵ ָרקוֹן, .sign of arrogance is poverty, and a sign of slander is askara ִסי ָמן ְל ַגסּוּת ָהרוּ ַח — ֲענִיּוּת, ִסי ָמן ְל ָלשׁוֹן ָה ָרע — אַ ְס ָכּ ָרה.
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