(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.

Rabbi Akiva was the shepherd of ben Kalba Savua, one of the wealthy residents of Jerusalem. The daughter of Ben Kalba Savua saw that he was humble and refined. She said to him: If I betroth myself to you, will you go to the study hall to learn Torah? He said to her: Yes. She became betrothed to him privately and sent him off to study. Her father heard. He removed her from his house and vowed prohibiting her from benefiting from his property. Rabbi Akiva went and sat for twelve years in the study hall. When he came back to his house he brought twelve thousand students with him, and as he approached he heard an old man saying to his wife: For how long

Ketubot 63a

will you lead the life of a widow of a living man? She said to him: If he would listen to me, he would sit and study for another twelve years. When Rabbi Akiva heard this he said: I have permission to do this. He went back and sat for another twelve years in the study hall. When he came back he brought twenty-four thousand students with him. His wife heard and went out toward him to greet him. Her neighbors said: Borrow some clothes and wear them. She said to them: “A righteous man understands the life of his beast” (Proverbs 12:10). When she came to him she fell on her face and kissed his feet. His attendants pushed her away, and he said to them: Leave her alone, as my Torah knowledge and yours is actually hers. Her father heard that a great man came to the town. He said: I will go to him. Maybe he will nullify my vow. He came to him to ask about nullifying his vow, and Rabbi Akiva said to him: Did you vow thinking that this Akiva would become a great man? He said to him: If I had believed he would know even one chapter or even one halakha, no... He said to him: I am he. He fell on his face and kissed his feet and gave him half of his money. The Gemara relates: Rabbi Akiva’s daughter did the same thing for ben Azzai. This explains the folk saying that people say: The ewe follows the ewe; the daughter’s actions are the same as her mother’s.

Rabbi Akiva became betrothed to the daughter of bar Kalba Savua. When bar Kalba Savua heard, he vowed prohibiting her from all of his property. She went 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. Elijah 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. 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. One reason is that your husband is not similar to 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, I will go back. He turned back and went, and he was there for another twelve years. He came back accompanied by 24,000 pairs of students. Everyone went out to greet him, and she too arose to go out to greet him. That wicked person said to her: And to where are you going? She said to him: “A righteous man regards the life of his beast” (Proverbs 12:10). She came to present herself before Rabbi Akiva, but the Sages tried to fend her off. He said to them: Leave her. Both my Torah knowledge and yours are hers. Bar Kalba Savua heard, he came and requested the dissolution of his vow, and it was dissolved. Rabbi Akiva became wealthy from six things. From Kalba Savua. 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.

Nedarim 50b

And from the wife of Turnus Rufus, who converted and gave him her money, and from Ketia bar Shalom, a Roman minister who bequeathed his fortune to him.

It was taught that Rabbi Yehuda said: This was the custom of Rabbi Akiva, when he would pray with the congregation he would shorten his prayer and go up, due to avoid being an encumbrance on the congregation. But when he prayed by himself... a person would leave in one corner and later find him still praying in another corner. And why would Rabbi Akiva move about so much? Because of his bows and prostrations.

(13) Rabbi Akiva says: Joking and lightheartedness acclimate toward promiscuity. Tradition is a safeguarding fence around Torah. Tithes are a safeguarding fence around wealth. Vows are a safeguarding fence around abstinence. A safeguarding fence around wisdom is silence.

MISHNA: From when, does one recite Shema in the evening? From the time when the priests enter to partake of their teruma. Until the end of the first watch. That is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer. The Rabbis say: until midnight. Rabban Gamliel says: until dawn, There was an incident, his sons returned very late from a party. They said to him: We did not recite Shema. He said to them: If the dawn has not yet arrived, you are obligated to recite Shema. And not only with recitation of Shema, but rather, wherever the Sages say until midnight, the mitzva is until dawn. The burning of fats and limbs. And all sacrifices that are eaten for one day they may be eaten until dawn. If so, why did the Sages say until midnight? In order to distance a person from transgression. GEMARA: The Gemara asks: On the basis of what prior knowledge does the tanna of our mishna ask: From when? The Gemara asks: And furthermore, what distinguishes the evening Shema, that it was taught first? Let the tanna teach the morning Shema first. The tanna bases himself on the verse as it is written: "when you lie down, and when you arise” (Deuteronomy 6:7). And the tanna teaches: When is the time for the recitation of Shema of lying down? From when the priests enter to partake of their teruma. If you wish, you could say instead that the tanna derives from the creation of the world. As it is written: “And there was evening, and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). The Gemara asks: If so, why does the latter clause of the mishna teach: In the morning one recites two blessings before Shema and one blessing afterward, and in the evening one recites two blessings before Shema and two afterward? Based upon the above it should have taught evening Shema first. The Gemara answers: The tanna began by discussing the evening Shema, and then taught the morning Shema. Once he was already dealing with the morning Shema, he explained the matters of the morning Shema, and then explained the matters of the evening Shema. The Master said: when the priests enter to partake of their teruma. When do the priests enter to partake of their teruma? From the time of the emergence of the stars. Then let the tanna teach that the time for the recitation of the evening Shema is from the time of the emergence of the stars. This teaches us another matter in passing: When do priests partake of their teruma? From the time of the emergence of the stars. And the tanna teaches us a new halakha parenthetically: failure to bring an atonement offering does not prevent a priest from eating teruma. As it was taught from the passage: “And the sun sets and it is purified,” that the absence of the setting of his sun prevents him from partaking of teruma, but failure to bring the atonement offering does not prevent him from partaking of teruma, may be inferred. The Gemara discusses the proof offered in the baraita: From where do we know that the phrase: “And the sun sets” refers to the complete setting of the sun, and therefore, “and it is purified” refers to the fact that the day is pure,

There is a contradiction between one statement of Rabbi Meir and the other statement of Rabbi Meir. Two tanna’im, expressed different opinions in accordance with Rabbi Meir’s opinion. So too, the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer contradicts the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer. Either two expressed different opinions in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion, or if you wish, say instead that the first clause is not actually Rabbi Eliezer’s. Only the second half of the statement: until the end of the first watch. What does Rabbi Eliezer hold? If he holds that the night consists of three watches, let him say until the fourth hour. If he holds that the night consists of four watches, let him say until the third hour. Actually, Rabbi Eliezer holds that the night consists of three watches, and he uses this language in order to teach us: There are watches in heaven and there are watches on earth. As it was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: The night consists of three watches, and over each and every watch, the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits and roars like a lion as it is stated: “The Lord roars [yishag] from on high, from His holy dwelling He makes His voice heard. He roars mightily [shaog yishag] over His dwelling place, He cries out like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth” (Jeremiah 25:30). And signs of these are: The first watch, the donkey brays; The second, dogs bark; and The third a baby nurses from its mother’s breast and a wife converses with her husband. What did Rabbi Eliezer enumerate? If he enumerated the beginning of the watch, why do I need a sign for the beginning of the first watch? It is when evening begins. If he enumerated the end of the watches, why do I need a sign for the end of the last watch? It is when day begins. Rather, he enumerated the signs for the end of the first watch and the beginning of the last watch, the middle of the middle watch. And if you wish, say instead: He enumerated the ends of all. And if you say the end of the final watch is unnecessary. What is the practical ramification of this sign? To one who recites Shema while lying in a dark house, who does not know when the time for reciting Shema arrives. When a woman speaks with her husband and a baby nurses from its mother’s breast, he must rise and recite Shema. Rav Yitzḥak bar Shmuel said in the name of Rav: The night consists of three watches, and over each and every watch the Holy One, Blessed be He sits and roars like a lion, and says: “Woe to Me, that due to their sins I destroyed My house, burned My Temple and exiled them among the nations of the world.” It was taught that Rabbi Yosei said: I was once walking along the road when I entered the ruins among the ruins of Jerusalem to pray. Elijah, of blessed memory, came and guarded the entrance for me and waited at the entrance until I finished my prayer. When I finished praying Elijah said to me: Greetings to you, my Rabbi. I answered him: Greetings to you, my Rabbi, my teacher. And Elijah said to me: My son, why did you enter this ruin? I said to him: In order to pray. And Elijah said to me: You should have prayed on the road. And I said to him: I was afraid that I might be interrupted by travelers. Elijah said to me: You should have recited the abbreviated prayer. At that time, I learned from him, three things: I learned that one may not enter a ruin; and I learned he may pray along the road; and I learned that one who prays along the road recites an abbreviated prayer. And Elijah said to me: What voice did you hear in that ruin? I responded: I heard a Heavenly voice cooing like a dove and saying: Woe to the children, due to whose sins I destroyed My house, burned My Temple, and exiled them among the nations. And Elijah said to me: By your life and by your head, not only did that voice cry out in that moment, but it cries out three times each and every day. Moreover, when Israel enters synagogues and study halls and answers May His great name be blessed, the Holy One, Blessed be He, shakes His head and says: Happy is the king who is thus praised in his house. How great is the pain of the father who exiled his children, and woe to the children who were exiled from their father’s table. The Sages taught, for three reasons one may not enter a ruin: Because of suspicion, because collapse and because of demons. Why was the reason because of suspicion necessary? Let this be derived because of collapse.

It was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Eliezer says: If it is stated: “With all your soul,” why does it state: “With all your might”? Conversely, if it stated: “With all your might,” why does it state: “With all your soul”? Rather, if one’s body is dearer to him than his property, therefore it is stated: “With all your soul”. And if one’s money is dearer to him than his body, therefore it is stated: “With all your might”; Rabbi Akiva says: “With all your soul” means: Even if God takes your soul. The Sages taught: One time, the evil empire of Rome decreed that Israel may not engage in study of Torah. Pappos ben Yehuda came and found Rabbi Akiva, who was convening assemblies in public and engaging in Torah study. Pappos said to him: Akiva, are you not afraid of the empire? Rabbi Akiva answered him: I will relate a parable. To what can this be compared? A fox walking along a riverbank when he sees fish gathering from place to place.
The fox said to them: From what are you fleeing? They said to him: We are fleeing from the nets that people cast upon us. He said to them: Do you wish to come up onto dry land, and we will reside together just as my ancestors resided with your ancestors?
The fish said to him: You are the one of whom they say, he is the cleverest of animals? You are not clever; you are a fool. If we are afraid in the water, our natural habitat which gives us life, then in a habitat that causes our death, all the more so. So too, we, now that we sit and engage in Torah study, about which it is written: “For that is your life, and the length of your days” (Deuteronomy 30:20), to this extent; if we proceed to sit idle from its study, as its abandonment is the habitat that causes our death, all the more so will we fear the empire. The Sages said: Not a few days passed until they seized Rabbi Akiva and incarcerated him in prison, and seized Pappos ben Yehuda and incarcerated him alongside him. Rabbi Akiva said to him: Pappos, who brought you here? Pappos replied: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, for you were arrested on Torah study. Woe unto Pappos who was seized on idle matters. When they took Rabbi Akiva out to be executed, it was time for the recitation of Shema. And they were raking his flesh with iron combs, and he was accepting upon himself the yoke of Heaven. His students said to him: Our teacher, even now? He said to them: All my days I have been troubled by the verse: With all your soul, meaning: Even if God takes your soul. I said to myself: When will the opportunity be afforded me to fulfill this verse? Now that it has been afforded me, shall I not fulfill it? He prolonged One, until his soul left One. A voice descended and said: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, that your soul left your body as you uttered: One. The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: This is Torah and this its reward? As it is stated: “From death, by Your hand, O Lord, from death of the world” (Psalms 17:14). God said the end of the verse to the ministering angels: “Whose portion is in this life.” And then a Divine Voice emerged and said: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, as you are destined for life in the World-to-Come.

(1) That they make for me an offering (Exod. 25:2). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say: “Wherein hast Thou loved us?” (Mal. 1:2), and elsewhere it is written: But Esau I hated (ibid., v. 3). Once Turnus Rufus⁴Turnus (Tinneius) Rufus was the Roman governor of Judea in 132 C.E. asked R. Akiba: “Why does the Holy One, blessed be He, hate us, that it should be written But Esau I hated?” He replied: “I will tell you tomorrow.” The next day (Turnus Rufus) asked R. Akiba: “What did you dream about last night, and what did you see?” “I dreamed about two dogs last night,” Akiba answered. “One was named Rufus, and the other Rufina.” Turnus Rufus became infuriated and said to him: “How dare you call the dogs by my name and by the name of my wife? You are guilty of treason against the government.” R. Akiba responded: “Is there actually a difference between you and them? You eat and drink, and they do likewise; you are fruitful and multiply, and so do they; you die and they die; yet because I called them by your names, you have become angry. Should not the Holy One, blessed be He, who stretched out the heavens and established the earth, who causes death and gives life, hate you when you take a tree and call it by His name. Therefore, But Esau I hated.”

(1) Another [understanding]: she even prepared her table: It once happened that Rabbi Akiva was imprisoned in jail and Rabbi Yehoshua the Garsi, his student, was serving him. [On] the eve of the holiday, [the latter] departed from him and went to his house. Eliyahu came and stood at the entrance of his house. He said to him, "Peace be unto you, my teacher." He said [back] to him, "Peace be unto you, my teacher and master." He said to him, "Is there nothing that you require? He said to him, "I am a priest and I have come to tell you that Rabbi Akiva has died in jail." Immediately they both went to the jail and found the opening of the gate of the jail open and the minister of the jail was sleeping and all of the people that were in the jail were [also] sleeping; and they lay Rabbi Akiva on the bed and went out [with him]. Immediately Eliyahu, may he be remembered for the good, attended to him and took him on his shoulders. And when Rabbi Yehoshua the Garsi saw this, he said to Eliyahu, "My teacher, did you not say to me, I am Eliyahu [the] priest, and a priest is forbidden to become impure through [contact with a dead [body]!" He said [back] to him, "It is enough for you, Rabbi Yehoshua, my son, God forbid - as there is no impurity from the righteous, and also not from their students." And they carried him the whole night until they reached the mansion house of Caesarea. And when they reached there, they went up three steps and went down inclines and a cave opened in front of them and there they saw a chair and a bench and a candelabra. And they laid down Rabbi Akiva on the bed and left. And when they went out, the cave sealed and the lamp on the candelabra became lit. And when Eliyahu saw this, he opened and said, "Happy are the righteous and happy are those that toil in the Torah and happy are those that fear God - as covered and hidden and reserved for you is a place in the Garden of Eden in the future to come. Happy are you Rabbi Akiva, that you should find a resting place prepared for you at the time of your death. That is why it is stated, 'she even prepared her table.'"

And Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: Adam the first man spoke in the language of Aramaic, as it is stated in the Psalm speaking in the voice of Adam: “How weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God” (Psalms 139:17). And this, i.e., that the verse in Psalms is stated by Adam, is what Reish Lakish says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “This is the book of the generations of Adam” (Genesis 5:1)? This verse teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, showed Adam every generation and its Torah interpreters, every generation and its wise ones. When he arrived at the generation of Rabbi Akiva, Adam was gladdened by his Torah, and saddened by his death. He said: “How weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God,”

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. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at 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? 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.

The Sages taught: Four entered the orchard [pardes], and they are as follows: Ben Azzai; and ben Zoma; Aḥer, and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva, said to them: When, you reach pure marble stones, do not say: Water, water, although they appear to be water, because it is stated: “He who speaks falsehood shall not be established before My eyes” (Psalms 101:7).

Ben Azzai glimpsed at the Divine Presence and died. And with regard to him the verse states: “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His pious ones” (Psalms 116:15). Ben Zoma glimpsed at the Divine Presence and was harmed, i.e., he lost his mind. And with regard to him the verse states: “Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you become full from it and vomit it” (Proverbs 25:16). Aḥer chopped down the shoots of saplings. Rabbi Akiva came out safely.

The mishna is not in accordance with Rabbi Yehoshua. As it is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehoshua says: If a man married a woman in his youth, and she died, 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).

Rabbi Akiva says: 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 Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students from Gevat to Antipatris and they all died in one period, 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 group consisted of Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua. And these are the very ones who upheld 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. What is it? Rav Naḥman said: Diphtheria.

3. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand (Eccl. XI, 6). R. Eliezer and R. Joshua discussed this. R. Eliezer said: If you have sown in the early season, sow in the late season, for you do not know which will be successful, whether the early sowing or the late sowing, as Scripture continues, For thou knowest not which shall prosper, whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good (ib.). R. Joshua said: If a poor man comes to you in the morning, relieve him; if in the evening, relieve him too, because you do not know which of them the Holy One, blessed be He, has allotted to you, ’ Whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.’ R. Ishmael and R. Akiba discussed it. R. Ishmael said: If you have studied Torah in your youth, study it in your old age, because you do not know which you will retain, ' Whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.’ R. Akiba said: If you have raised disciples in your youth, raise disciples in your old age, because you do not know which the Holy One, blessed be He, has destined for you,
(To preserve and transmit your teachings.) Whether this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.’ R. Akiba had twelve thousand disciples from Gabbath(In the territory of Dan; Biblical Gibbethon. Cur. edd.: Acco.) to Antipatris (A town north-north-west of Jerusalem, founded by Herod the Great and named after his father (Jast.).) and all died at the same period. Why? Because they looked grudgingly on each other. Eventually he raised seven disciples: R. Meir, R. Judah, R. Jose, R. Simeon, R. Eleazar b. Shamua’, R. Johanan the Cobbler, (Many of the Rabbis were manual workers.) and R. Eliezer b. Jacob. Others say: R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, R. Meir, R. Jose, R. Simeon b. Yohai, R. Hanina b. Hakinai, and R. Johanan the Cobbler. Said he: My sons, the previous ones died only because they grudged each other [the knowledge of the Torah; see to it that you do not act thus. They therefore arose and filled the whole of Eretz Israel with Torah. R. Dostai and R. Jannai
in the name of R. Samuel b. Nahman explained it: If you have had children in your youth, take a wife in old age and beget children. From whom do you learn this? From Abraham, who had children in his younger years,(Comparatively speaking.) and yet took a wife in his old age and begot children, as it says, AND ABRAHAM TOOK ANOTHER WIFE, etc.

And even from the charity plate. The Gemara asks: It is obvious? The mishna is necessary only to teach that this applies even according to the opinion of Rabbi Akiva, who said: Make your Shabbat like an ordinary weekday and do not be beholden to other beings. (If one is unable to honor Shabbat without financial help from others, it is better for him to save money and eat his Shabbat meals as he would on a weekday rather than rely on other people.) Here, Rabbi Akiva concedes (that it is appropriate for a poor person to request assistance from the community), due to publicize the miracle. The school of Eliyahu taught that although Rabbi Akiva said: Make your Shabbat like a weekday and do not be beholden to other beings; however, one should nevertheless perform some small alteration in his house. What is this alteration? Rav Pappa said: One should serve small, fried fish. As we learned: Rabbi Yehuda ben Teima says: Be bold like a leopard, light like an eagle, run like a deer, and be strong like a lion to perform the will of your Father in Heaven. The Sages taught: Rabbi Akiva commanded Rabbi Yehoshua, his son, about seven matters: My son, do not sit at the high point of a city and study there, as the passersby will interrupt you. And do not live in a city whose leaders are Torah scholars, as they are too busy studying to govern properly. And do not enter your house suddenly, all the more so the house of another, as he might not be ready to receive you. And do not withhold shoes from your feet (as it is disgraceful to go barefoot). Wake up and eat, in the summer due to the heat, and in the winter due to the cold. And make your Shabbat like a weekday and do not be beholden to other beings. And exert yourself to join together with a person upon whom the hour smiles, i.e., a successful person. Rav Pappa said in explanation of this last statement: Do not buy from him and do not sell to him. (If he is the beneficiary of good fortune, he will profit from any business transaction and you will suffer from it). Rather, form a partnership with him. And now we have heard that Rav Shmuel bar Yitzḥak said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “You have blessed the work of his hands” (Job 1:10)? This means that anyone who took a peruta from Job would be blessed, even if he received it via a business transaction. This shows that one should engage in business with a person who is blessed, for even if he wishes to buy from him or to sell to him it is well, i.e., he will share in the good fortune of the other. Rabbi Akiva commanded Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai five matters when Rabbi Akiva was imprisoned. Beforehand, Rabbi Shimon said to him: Rabbi, teach me Torah. Rabbi Akiva said to him: I will not teach you, as it is dangerous to do so at the present time. Rabbi Shimon said to him in jest: If you will not teach me, I will tell Yoḥai my father, and he will turn you over to the government. In other words, I have no means of persuading you; you are already in prison. Rabbi Akiva said: My son, know that more than the calf wishes to suck, the cow wants to suckle, but I am afraid of the danger. Rabbi Shimon said to him: And who is in danger? Isn’t the calf in danger? Rabbi Akiva said to him: If you wish to strangle yourself, hang yourself on a tall tree. (This proverb means that if one wants others to accept what he has to say, he should attribute his statement to a great man). And when you teach your son, teach him from a corrected text. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of that statement? Rava said, and some say Rav Mesharshiya said: Rabbi Akiva was referring to learning a new topic, for once a mistake enters one’s mind, it has entered there and is difficult to put right. Rabbi Akiva further told Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Do not cook in a pot in which your colleague cooked his food. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of this statement? The Gemara explains: Rabbi Akiva is referring to marrying a divorced woman in the lifetime of her former husband. As the Master said: If a divorced man marries a divorced woman, there are four minds in the bed And if you wish, say instead that this advice holds true even with regard to marrying a widow, as

Peasachim 112b

not all fingers are equal. It is a mitzva and a great material benefit to one’s body to eat fruits without payment. That is, when one lends money and takes land as collateral, deducting from the loan the value of the fruit he eats, both the borrower and the lender benefit from this practice. One who both performs a mitzva and retains a pure body is one who marries a woman, as his thoughts will remain pure and he will merit to have children.

(33)"And Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died": He was one of the four who died at the age of one hundred and twenty: Moses, Hillel the Elder, R. Yochanan b. Zakkai and R. Akiva. Moses was in Egypt for forty years, in Midian for forty years, and led Israel for forty years. Hillel the Elder went up from Bavel (to Eretz Yisrael) at the age of forty, attended upon the sages for forty years, and led Israel for forty years. R. Yochanan b. Zakkai was in business for forty years, attended upon the sages for forty years, and led Israel for forty years. R. Akiva was a shepherd for forty years, learned (Torah) for forty years, and led Israel for forty years. Six "pairs" whose years (of life) were the same: Rivka and Kehoth; Levi and Amram; Joseph and Joshua; Samuel and Solomon; Moses and Hillel the Elder; R. Yochanan b. Zakkai and R. Akiva.

They said about Rabbi Akiva that he would distribute roasted grains and nuts to children on Passover eve, so that they would not sleep and so they would ask. It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: One grabs the matzot on the nights of Passover. On account of the children, so they will not sleep.

It was taught: They said about Rabbi Akiva that in all his days he never said the time had come to arise from their learning in the study hall. Except for the eves of Passover and the eve of Yom Kippur, when he would stop teaching. On the eve of Passover, he would stop on account of children, so that they would not be tired and sleep at night. And on the eve of Yom Kippur, so that his students would remember to feed their children.

The Sages taught: A mourner, during the first three days, is prohibited from extending greetings. From the third to the seventh, he may respond, but he may not extend greetings. From this point forward, he may extend greetings and respond in his usual manner.” The Gemara asks: Is he really prohibited from extending greetings during the first three? But isn’t it taught in a baraita: There was an incident and the sons of Rabbi Akiva died, and all the Jews entered to eulogize them with a great eulogy. When they were about to take leave, Rabbi Akiva stood on a large bench and said: Our brothers, the house of Israel, listen! Even had my two sons been bridegrooms, I would have been consoled on account of the honor you have shown. If you came to console for the sake of Akiva, there are many Akivas in the marketplace. Rather, this is what you said to yourselves: “The Torah of his God is in his heart” (Psalms 37:31), and you wished to show your respect for the Torah. All the more so is your reward doubled. Return to your homes in peace. Respect for the public is different.

5. IN THE MORNING SOW THY SEED (XI, 6). R. Eliezer and R. Joshua comment. R. Eliezer says: If you have sown in the early season, sow also in the late season, because you do not know which will succeed for you, whether the early or late sowing, FOR THOU KNOWEST NOT WHICH SHALL PROSPER, WHETHER THIS OR THAT. (R. Eliezer interprets the text literally, whereas the other Rabbis give it a metaphorical interpretation.)

R. Joshua says: If you are married in your youth and your wife died, marry again in your old age. If you had children in your youth, have them also in your old age, as it is said, IN
THE MORNING SOW THY SEED, AND IN THE EVENING WITHHOLD NOT THY HAND; FOR THOU KNOWEST NOT WHICH SHALL PROSPER, WHETHER THIS OR THAT.
R. Ishmael and R. Akiba comment. R. Ishmael says: If you have studied Torah in your youth, study also in your old age, because you do not know which [knowledge of] Torah will endure, whether that of your youth or old age, OR WHETHER THEY BOTH SHALL BE ALIKE GOOD. R. Akiba says: I had twelve thousand disciples from Gabbatha (Gibbethon in the territory of Dan.) to Antipatris,(N.N.W. of Jerusalem.) and they all died during my lifetime between Passover and Pentecost, so that finally there remained to me only seven, viz. R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, R. Meir, R. Jose, R. Simeon b. Yohai, R. Eliezer the son of R. Jose of Galilee, and R. Johanan the sandal-maker. He said to them, ‘The former only died because they were envious of one another in knowledge of Torah. Do not follow their example.’ At once they arose and filled all the land of Israel with knowledge of Torah.
R. Nathan (another reading: R. Kohen) interpreted the verse of a wife. If you married in your youth, marry also in your old age. Why? Because you do not know which children will survive for you, whether those of your youth or old age, OR WHETHER THEY BOTH SHALL BE ALIKE GOOD.

Rav Huna said Rav said Rabbi Meir said; and so it was taught in the name of Rabbi Akiva: One must always accustom oneself to say: Everything that God does, He does for the best. Like this, when Rabbi Akiva was walking along the road and came to a certain city, he inquired about lodging and they did not give him any. He said: Everything that God does, He does for the best. He went and slept in a field, and he had with him a rooster, a donkey and a candle. A wind came and extinguished the candle; a cat came and ate the rooster; and a lion came and ate the donkey. He said: Everything that God does, He does for the best. That night, an army came and took the city into captivity. He said to them: Didn’t I tell you? Everything that God does,

Berakot 61a

He does for the best.

Rav Ḥelbo fell ill. There was no one who came to visit him. Rav Kahana said to the Sages: Didn’t the incident involving one of the students of Rabbi Akiva who became sick transpire in that manner? In that case, the Sages did not enter to visit him, and Rabbi Akiva entered to visit him and instructed his students to care for him. And since 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. Rabbi Akiva went out and taught: With regard to anyone who does not visit the ill, it is as though he is spilling blood.