Lag Ba'Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer, has arrived, preceded by the 32nd day of the Omer. Numerologically, 32 equals lev, heart, in Hebrew, corresponding to the 32nd way to acquire Torah (Avot 6:6), “to love your friend," meaning we are now in the time period ripe for showering love upon each other. It’s opportune, as the 33rd marks the cessation of the death of Rabbi Akiva’s students, his talmidim.
From any tragedy, we must probe the root cause in order to rectify it. A Gemara provides a reason, yet a Midrash offers another. How do these two teachings coexist?
Furthermore, how could Rabbi Akiva’s talmidim be judged solely on their love for each other, when their teacher’s level seemed out of reach, and he was the icon of this idea?
In addition, we must probe how Torah itself must exist and thrive. Seemingly, the tragedy that befell Rabbi Akiva’s talmidim was a colossal event that occurred in the public realm. How is that related to the essence of Torah?
Lastly, what in fact is the precise way in which we should see ourselves and relate to each other within the Torah sphere - and in general?
The Gemara
The Gemara (Yevamot 62b) puts forth a well-known reason for the death of Rabbi Akiva’s talmidim: They didn’t give honor to one another. But how are we to fully understand this concept within the give and take of Talmudic students? We know its application with regard to honoring one’s parents.
As the Gemara (Kiddushin 31b) notes, the obligation to honor a parent consists of not contradicting them, providing food and drink, clothing, and helping them enter and leave a room. This puts forth clear directions for fulfillment. But where did the talmidim fail?
The Midrash
There’s an eye-opening Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 61:3) that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the failings of the talmidim. The Midrash notes that when Rabbi Akiva went on to give semichah (ordination) to five new rabbis who would restore the Torah, he told them not to be like the earlier ones, “who had an evil [narrow] eye towards each other."
Herein lies the corruption that took place among the 24,000 talmidim of Rabbi Akiva. They exhibited narrowness and selfishness towards each other, in that they didn’t want to share their knowledge to let the other advance. They kept their knowledge to themselves so that they could bask in their grand intellectual state, failing to realize that greatness lies in helping others advance. Their lack of honor expressed itself through personal feelings of exceptionalism, with no desire to celebrate and honor another talmid’s success.
Talmidim of Avraham Too
It’s fascinating that the cited Midrash that provides the reasoning behind the failing of Rabbi Akiva’s talmidim was attached to a comparison to Avraham Avinu. This illustrates that Rabbi Akiva’s talmidim also had another teacher, a pillar of chesed, to whom they could look. Perhaps they couldn’t live up to the level of their rebbe, Rabbi Akiva, who said (Sifra, Kedoshim 4:12) about the verse relating to loving one’s neighbor, ‘This is a great principle in the Torah.’
To be a student of Avraham, however, there are a few basic requirements. As the Mishna in Avot (5:19) notes, one must have a generous eye, humble spirit, and modest soul. Here we see an emphasis on a generous eye, exactly where the talmidim failed.
We further see that mercy is indispensable to a Jew, as the Gemara (Yevamot 79a) characterizes the essence of a Jew as being merciful, feeling shame, and performing acts of kindness. The talmidim missed this rubric completely, choosing to be harsh and narrow among themselves. They acted in a manner contrary to what our nation was founded upon.
Torah in the Public Realm
Torah’s survival is based on unified public acceptance. This is how it was given on Har Sinai, with all of the souls of Israel present, and with unity. This is the exact type of forum where the talmidim failed, on a large scale.
The talmidim were a congregation of scholars led by the ambassador of the Oral Law, Rabbi Akiva. To fail in such a setting is to disrupt the transmission of Torah.
Letter 30
If one wants to open one’s heart to others and celebrate their successes, then Rav Yisrael Salanter’s pivotal Letter 30 (Iggeret HaMussar) in Ohr Yisrael lays the foundation for how to change. He powerfully says that “long-standing habits are like a thick wall of iron between him and the truth." Man is a creature of habit, and habitual thinking must be overcome.
He poetically captures the sentiment that “[The imagination] is like a sweeping river... and the intellect is like a small boat [tossed upon it]." He advocates learning works of mussar to quell the imagination from forming irrelevant thoughts.
He notes, "Intellectual knowledge must be internalized until it becomes a feeling." Therefore, once a person internalizes the obligation to help others succeed in Torah and in life, that conviction becomes deeply rooted within the heart.
Conclusion
Dancing with the fire of the Torah is appropriate on this day. The deaths of Rabbi Akiva’s talmidim ended. The talmidim had a true challenge: to have a good, rather than a narrow eye, to help each other advance, and to celebrate one another’s success. It didn’t take place, but we can learn from them what’s necessary to succeed in the ways of the Torah as a nation. With focus, we can help others succeed and share our talents to move everyone forward.