Ok, I was so overly excited by the items in the last post,
that I accidently commented on a page and a half – that is 60 a-b and 61a.
Sorry, faithful reader.
So I will just note that 61b includes the terrible
story of Rabbi Akiva’s torture and death at the hands of the Romans. His
execution, metal combs ripping through his flesh, took place at the time of the
Sh’ma and so he began to recite. His disciples cried out to him “even now?” He
replied that he had always been bothered by the verse “And you shall love
Adonai your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might”
(Deut. 6:5). Now, at his moment of death he has the opportunity to fulfill “with
all your soul” which Akiva understood to mean even if it is taken away. He
dies, prolonging the word “Echad” – “One.” A Divine Voice (“bat kol”) proclaims
that Akiva is destined for life of the world to come.
A terrible story, to be sure. But one of faith and martyrdom. And trust. Something to think about when we say the Sh'ma.
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