So why did we choose Akiva?

First of all, in my humble opinion, it’s a beautiful name. Luckily enough, Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef, my son’s namesake, also happened to be The eminent Torah scholar of all Jewish History. A story I heard about him a few years ago is actually one of the things that inspired me to begin on the road to becoming more observant.

A man of humble beginnings, poor and uneducated, Rabbi Akiva worked as a shepherd for Kalba Savua, one of the wealthiest men in the land of Israel at the time. Kalba Savua had a beautiful daughter, Rachel, who saw great potential in Akiva and fell in love with him. Rachel agreed to leave the comfortable surroundings of her father’s home and marrry Akiva, on the simple condition that he dedicate his life to the study of Torah. While Akiva was thrilled to have her as his wife, he was unsure of his ability to meet her condition; after all, by this time he was 40 years old and completely illiterate! How would he ever be able to learn Torah? Deeply troubled, he found himself by a brook, where he saw a stone with a hole in it. Curious how the hole got there, he looked above it and saw water dropping onto it. He realized that it was the water that, over time, had bore a hole in the stone. “If drops of water can make an imprint on stone, “ he thought, “then surely I can learn Torah”. With that, he was able to take the steps needed to become one of the great Torah scholars of all time, gathering 24,000 students after 24 years of study.

What I admire about Rabbi Akiva was his ability to see the water and the rock not just as an end result, but as a slow process to be taken step by step. The hole did not appear in the water after one day; it was the result of thousands of drops fallen over the course of years. He had the humility to apply that lesson to himself, seeing that he could accomplish much, step by step, one day at a time. At my Akiva’s bris, I blessed him that he should have that same humility and perseverance, and that he be able to rejoice in his small accomplishments along with the great ones.

Another reason we chose the name is its significance during this time on the Jewish calendar. We are currently in the middle of counting the Omer, the period of 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. The first 33 days are considered a mourning period because during this time, all of Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students died of the plague. It is said that the reason all of the students died was because they didn’t treat each other with enough respect, even with “Sin’at Chinam”, unfounded hatred. Despite his grief, Rabbi Akiva began again with only five students and not only rebuilt what he had lost, but learned from it. He took responsibility for not instilling love in his students and from then on taught that one of the fundamental tenets of Judaism is to “love your brother as yourself”. Again, Rabbi Akiva demonstrated admirable humility and strength of character that I pray my son will have as well. His teaching is applicable especially today, when there are so many different kinds of Jews, from the Ultra-orthodox to the completely unaffiliated, and between whom there is often misunderstanding and judgment. This extends also to the world scope, where tensions between people have costs countless lives. It’s so important to remember that we are all “brothers” and each worthy children of God, no matter how we each choose to live. What more important lesson could I want my son to learn?