Rebbe Akiva, Yom Kippur And Bamba

From my archives.

Gmar chasima tova to all of my sweetest friends:-):-).

לזכות ר' זאב ישראל בן אסתר וחי' גיטל פייגא בת ביילא בלומא הרב משה צבי בן פרידה שמחה והרב צבי משה בן שרה לאה לרפו"ש בתוך שאר חולי ישראל


 On Yom Kippur night we say the pasuk אור זרוע לצדיק ולישרי לב שמחה -
the last letters spell ר' עקיבה [some spell it that way and that is
the way it should be written in halachic documents according to many].
 We see that there is a special connection between Rebbe Akiva and Yom
Kippur.

The medrash teaches that Rebbe Akiva used to go and feed many Jewish
children on Yom Kippur. Why did Rebbe Akiva himself need to feed the
children. Didn't they have mother's? And couldn't he have someone to
do it for him? There is something about Rebbe Akiva and Yom Kippur ..
and children.

I share what I heard tonight from Mori Vi-rabi The Tolna Rebbe Shlita:
The pasuk in tehillim [139/16] says ימים יוצרו ולו אחד בהם  - You
created days and one of them is very special. This special day
according to Chazal is Yom Kippur. The pasuk continues there and says
ולי מה יקרו רעיך אל מה עצמו ראשיהם - this means according to Chazal
that Adam Harishon was shown Rebbe Akiva and exclaimed מה יקרו רעיך אל
- How difficult it is to see the tragic passing of the tzaddik. In
fact, we learn in a different place that the death of Rebbe Akiva was
on Yom Kippur. Again  - Rebbe Akiva and Yom Kippur.

The Sfas Emes [יו"כ תרנ"א] learns that the pasuk ימים יוצרו ולו אחד
בהם is also alluding to the fact that on Yom Kippur Jews must have
unity. אחד בהם - We must be one and feel united. If we don't then we
can't be forgiven. It is our greatest sin when we are not united. It
was REBBE AKIVA who said that Vi-ahavta li-rayacha kamocha is the כלל
גדול בתורה - The overriding principle of the Torah. It is the rule
that is  כולל combines us together. Without unity there is no Torah
chas vi-shalom. [See there in the Sfas Emes!!]

Rebbe Tzadok says that a person's yahrtzeit reflects his essence.
Rebbe Akiva died on Yom Kippur and that was his essence. The day
represents loving other Jews and that was what Rebbe Akiva was about.

The Sfas Emes says elsewhere [תרס"ב] that according to Chazal, when
the first luchos were given, the Satan tricked the Jews into
disbelieving in the return of Moshe Rabbeinu by showing his casket to
the Jews and they made the Golden Calf. The second time around he
tried again - but this time the Jews didn't let him fool them. The way
they achieved this was with achdus. That is what gave them the power
over the Satan. This happened on Yom Kippur when the second luchos
were given. The meal we eat before the fast celebrates this victory
and the gemara says that Yom Kippur is the happiest day of the year.

When Rebbe Akiva was being tortured to death by the Romans [on Yom
Kippur] he said Shema and his neshama left his body when he said the
word ECHAD. That was his life's message. Echad. Unity. Togetherness.

At the end of maseches Yoma [the gemara about Yom Kippur] Rebbe Akiva
says אשריכם ישראל לפני מי אתם מטהרים ומי מטהר אתכם - Fortunate are you
the Jews - before whom do you come pure and who purifies you??! Your
Father in heaven. מקוה ישראל השם - Hashem is the mikva of the Jewish
people. Rebbe Dovid'l of Tolna was once ill and was not allowed by the
doctors to toivel in the mikva. He stood in the middle of a group of
Jews and said that standing among Jews purifies like a mikva. מקוה
ישראל. But there is one condition, he said - no chatzitza. There can
be no interposition and separation between Jews - only then it
purifies. [Some even say that Reb Dovid'ls hair came out wet:-)].

 Rebbe Akiva. ואהבת לרעך כמוך. Yom Kippur. The day that doesn't atone
unless we ask each other for forgiveness. Wonder of wonders!:-)

Now we will return to the story of Rebbe Akiva feeding the little
children on Yom Kippur. We asked what this was all about? Don't they
have mothers?? Doesn't he have helpers? Did he give them bamba [what
almost every Israeli kid carries around]? He was the gadol hador!

When Rebbe Akiva was 40 he went to kindergarten to learn alef beis.
The Rebbe said "komatz aleph awwwww". "Komatz beis baaawwwww".
"Akival'e", cried out the teacher "how do you say komatz beis?" He
answered "Baaawwwww". "GOOD BOYYYY!!!" Said the teacher.

How did the other kids in the class take to their older classmate?? I
could imagine today that the kids would laugh at him but we have no
such record of anything like that happening with Rebbe Akiva. We can
thus assume that they were very nice to him. Maybe we can suggest that
Rebbe Akiva had such a great feeling of gratitude for little children
and their acceptance of him in his leaner pre-gadol hador days, that
he made it his special custom to feed them on his special day - Yom
Kippur. While their parents may have found them an annoyance because
they were busy davening and fasting - Rebbe Akiva made it his business
to make them feel special.

Ashreichem Yisrael! What a special day!:-) We are all one. That is the
essence of the day. Rebbe Akiva understood things that even Moshe
Rabbeinu didn't [Menachos 29]. His day is Yom Kippur where everyone is
united. We ask permission להתפלל עם העבריינים - we want to conect to
everyone in order to become pure before Hashem. לפני מי אתם מטהרים -
אביכם שבשמים. Hashem, the Torah and the Jews are one, says the Zohar.
One if we have unity can the we connect to the Torah and Hashem. זה
כלל גדול בתורה - Loving our neighbor is where it's at. Even the
neighbors kids.

Particularly the neighbor's kids. Rebbe Akiva teaches us that
everybody is important - even those who are sometimes neglected. It is
also significant that Yom Kippur is the only day of the year when the
Kohen Gadol goes into the holy of holies. On top of the Holy Ark were
the כרובים who had the angelic faces of ...... children.

Not normal!:-)

 A gmar chasima tova to all of my beloved friends and may we share
divrei torah and simchas for many years to come!!:-):-)

Your faithful servant,

Elchanan ben Henna Miriam