Moshe in Rabbi Akiva's Beit Midrash International Women's Talmud Day
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מנחות כ״ט ב:ג׳

אמר רב יהודה אמר רב בשעה שעלה משה למרום מצאו להקב"ה שיושב וקושר כתרים לאותיות אמר לפניו רבש"ע מי מעכב על ידך אמר לו אדם אחד יש שעתיד להיות בסוף כמה דורות ועקיבא בן יוסף שמו שעתיד לדרוש על כל קוץ וקוץ תילין תילין של הלכות

Menachot 29b:3

§ 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 stays your hand 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. It is for his sake that the crowns must be added to the letters of the Torah.

  1. Why do you think that G-d, who transcends physicality, is concerned with a physical feature of the Torah? Why did G-d believe the Torah would be incomplete without crowned letters?
  2. How does G-d's addition of crowns to the letters specifically for Rabbi Akiva help us understand our relationship to G-d and Torah?
מנחות כ״ט ב:ד׳
אמר לפניו רבש"ע הראהו לי אמר לו חזור לאחורך הלך וישב בסוף שמונה שורות ולא היה יודע מה הן אומרים תשש כחו כיון שהגיע לדבר אחד אמרו לו תלמידיו רבי מנין לך אמר להן הלכה למשה מסיני נתיישבה דעתו
Menachot 29b:4
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, as he thought his Torah knowledge was deficient. When Rabbi Akiva arrived at the discussion of 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, as this too was part of the Torah that he was to receive.
  1. Why do you think Moshe sat in the 8th row of Rabbi Akiva's classroom?
  2. What do you make of the idea that while Moshe is distressed over the unfamiliarity of Rabbi Akiva's Beit Midrash, G-d is seemingly undisturbed?
  3. How might you speak in such a way that the integrity of your messages are retained by those who pass on your words?
מנחות כ״ט ב:ה׳
חזר ובא לפני הקב"ה אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם יש לך אדם כזה ואתה נותן תורה ע"י אמר לו שתוק כך עלה במחשבה לפני אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם הראיתני תורתו הראני שכרו אמר לו חזור [לאחורך] חזר לאחוריו ראה ששוקלין בשרו במקולין אמר לפניו רבש"ע זו תורה וזו שכרה א"ל שתוק כך עלה במחשבה לפני
Menachot 29b:5
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. Why? 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], as Rabbi Akiva was tortured to death by the Romans. 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.
  1. Moshe seems to be dealing with "imposter syndrome." How do you relate to his experience?
  2. How do you feel about Moshe's agreement to be silent when Rabbi Akiva suffers an unjust death? What is the place for silence when tragedy strikes?
  3. Why do you think G-d's response is identical to both of Moshe's challenges?

Closing Thoughts

  1. What do you expect Judaism to look like thousands of years from now? What do you hope it will look like?
  2. What do you learn from this story?