Rabbi Akiva's Shema Prayer: Stories of the Rebbes

by Rabbi David

If the Romans had left Rabbi Akiva's students with him forty years ago, that's how it would've looked.

This is the second part of the story in Berachot 61b. But sometimes it's good to start with the part where the person dies. So, let us learn about Rabbi Akiva's death in praise of Gd. I figured that people need a bit of a pick-me-up. 

It was time for Kriyat Shema when they took Rabbi Akiva for execution. It seems to always work out that way. You're in the middle of something important, and it's time for the Shema prayer.
The Romans were combing Rabbi Akiva's flesh with iron combs. That hurts. In camp, the older guys once put toothpaste on a tennis racket and rubbed that on me when I was a kid. It was torture. I can only imagine iron combs with Colgate.
Now I know where those guys in the older division got it from. A bunch of anti-Semites. Self-hating Jews. Iron combs are serious. And it was torture. This isn't one of those straightening irons. This wasn't a modern day Israeli guy open shirt with curlies flying all out there. This was an iron comb running over Rabbi Akiva's flesh. This was serious. Almost as serious as not brushing your teeth. There are lessons for children in this story too.

It was at this time that Rabbi Akiva was accepting upon himself the Yoke of Heaven. Known as saying the Shema. Some people have Kavanah, intent in their prayers. Some people understand what they're saying. Rabbi Akiva was not spacing out like every one of congregants. As the iron combs were running over him, he focused on H'. You hear somebody cough and all Kavanah is lost. You're already thinking about Golden Grahams for breakfast. And I can't even get one of my students to study for a test.

Rabbi Akiva's students asked, “Even to this extent? Even now with burning iron blasted all over your skin? A cough can ruin Kavanah for anybody. What does it take to distract you? We thought you were kidding with that serving Gd with all of your soul. Jokes are jokes. We didn't realize you were serious.”
Rabbi Akiva answered, “All my days, I felt bad about the verse ‘with all your soul,’ meaning even if He takes your soul. I asked when will it come to my hands to be able to fulfill this? And now that this opportunity has come to my hands, should I not fulfill it?!” His students didn’t know if they were supposed to answer that question. Sometimes, your rebbe puts questions out there, and you think you're supposed to answer it. Next thing you know, they have the answer. 
At that point, the students didn’t ask anything more. They didn’t want another speech. At that point, Rabbi Akiva was asking why his students are still asking him questions, when he's dying. Even now, they're bothering him with questions.
Irony: "With all your soul" is in the Shema prayer. And it's also ironic that I used the word "irony." A little pun Rabbi Akiva might have appreciated at the time, if they spoke English.

Rabbi Akiva was extending the “Echad” the word "One" for H’. Until his soul departed at Echad. Some say he ran out of breath. It was probably the physical torture. Nonetheless, they never gave a length to the tradition of extending the word “Echad.” I’ve seen people in shul pass out. I’ve told my congregants to not continue past the point where their face turns red. Dying from the Shema is not a Mitzvah.
And you missed Zman Kriyat Shema because you were tired and needed a little more sleep. Were you tired from Romans trying to kill you?!

A voice from Heaven came and said, “Fortunate are you Rabbi Akiva, that your soul departed at the word 'Echad.'" Many people have been caught waiting for their rabbis to finish "Ahava Rabba" prayer, never to have the privilege to begin saying the Shema. Others, in modern day shuls, have waited for their rabbis to finish the Shema, passing away before they were able to move onto the next prayer.
The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "This is Torah and this is it’s reward?" And who said angels can't be sarcastic?!
Gd said to them, “Their portion is life.” Meaning eternal life. The Tzadik gets world to come. Where there are no Romans and people running toothpaste over a tennis racket on your chest. I think.
A voice from Heaven came and said “Fortunate are you Rabbi Akiva for you are invited to the life of the world to come.” How many people are invited to Olam Haba?! People usually just end up in the world to come. No invitation. Uninvited. They pass away quite rudely. Then they just crash the party. Show up all dapper in their shroud like the life of the party. The angels are like, “Who invited this guy?!” Angels can be quite snobby.
Rabbi Akiva was invited. He probably even had a place card set up for him at the dais. There's nothing worse than showing up and not finding your name on the place card table. You think they know you, and now they're scrambling to sit you at a table, pulling in a last minute chair in Gd's presence. 

Commentaries
Tzadiks are popular in the world to come. Rabbi Akiva showed up and Hillel and Shamai are high-fiving him, asking him questions they've been arguing over since they got to heaven. At this point, Rabbi Akiva is asking how he has to answer questions even in heaven.

Tosfot (Ketubot 103b “Mizsuman”) teaches that "invited to the life of the world to come" means he will have no judgment or suffering getting into the world to come. "Invited to the world to come" sounds like a curse. If you're a Tzadik, it's different. But it says "life." The Tzadik lives there. The Tzadik finally gets to relax, unless if Hillel and Shamai are still arguing.
The Maharsha teaches that the Tzadik's portion is in the world to come. It's not in this world, where you have to deal with students. 

Since I heard the story, I started keeping my Echads real quick.
The Gemara (Berachot 13b) teaches, “All who prolong the word Echad will have their days and years prolonged.” I shall start extending my Echads again. I guess I misunderstood the passing away during Echad part. I have to go over the story. I never get the point.
The Gemara is probably saying the world to come is prolonged. Either way, it seems like a good idea to extend the Echad a bit. It might take a few seconds off life, but it gives you eternal life of connection with One, Gd. Maybe even a place card.

Lessons of What Followed
There must be a lesson here. If you have anything, please let me know. It would be nice.
Wait. There must be something there about serving H' with all your soul.

Sometimes you should answer questions. Maybe if his students would've answered his question, Rabbi Akiva wouldn’t have been killed. If they just would've said, "Maybe it's better to say the Shema in the sanctuary." And from that day on, students started answering the questions their rabbis asked them.
Why we don't say ZT"L (Remember the Tzadik for a Bracha) for the Tanaim, I can't answer that. Rabbi Akiva should continue his Aliyas Nishama (a rising of his soul) in the merit of all the Torah he gave us. Same with Rabbi Yosef Karo and the Rama. Maybe there's a time limit on ZT"L. If we're still learning your Torah after four hundred years, we accept you're dead, and we'll remember your name.

One must choose life. However, when without a choice, you praise H' till the end. I've been in many extenuating circumstances of suffering, such as last Yom Kippur. The Chazin was so bad. Davening felt like it took days. But I still praised H's name. I like to think that I learned from Rabbi Akiva.

And it's because of Rabbi Akiva and his students that Torah lives.
To this day, parents use this story and speak of iron combs to get kids to brush their teeth before bed. They also use the story to let their kids know they have no excuse to not say the Shema, by scaring them.

***I probably got the story wrong. Maybe the Gemara is a better source. Berachot 61b might work as a good place to look, if you understand Aramaic. Or you can do what I did and check out the Artscroll Schottenstein Talmud Bavli Berachot 61b3. The footnotes there also make the commentaries much easier to misunderstand.