בס״ד - BS"D
Today is -

Play Random Video     Candle Lighting Times     Jewish Calendar





- - ad: sushi fussion - serving the best sushi in town - -
View All Essays >>

The Few versus The Many

What sin led to the destruction of Rabbi Akiva's students? The Talmud (Yevamot 62b) states that the students died because they did not treat each other with respect.

A quick look in the dictionary shows the following:

What is respect? When one admires (someone or something) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements.


What is disrespect? To disrespect someone is to act in an insulting way toward them. When you disrespect people, you think very little of them. Disrespect is all about not showing respect. It's about showing the opposite of respect, by acting rude, impolite, and offensive.

The Talmud says that 24,000 died in an epidemic called by the Aramaic word "askara." What is askara? Some translators translate it as croup, and others call it diphtheria.

But what led to this catastrophe? What sin did they commit that triggered this epidemic?

Below is only my opinion. 

Rabbi Akiva's students were great at Torah, but as is usually the case, some knew less and some knew more. 

When you disrespect people, you think very little of them. But why would someone disrespect another human being, especially another student in the class? Only if the other one knows more than he does, which opens the door for one of the heaviest sins - lashon hara, driven by some internal and unconfronted character traits. 

They have talked. All 24,000 of them have spoken. And I bet no matter what Rabbi Akiva has said, he could not get through to any of them, and the heavy consequences of the lashon hara eventually caught up to all of them.

After burying 24,000 students, Rabbi Akiva understood one simple rule. It is better to have quality rather than quantity. It is better to have the few that truly follow Torah, its laws, and truly fear G-d, instead of thousands that you have no control over, who may know Torah and its rules, but do not keep them, or allow themselves to break the laws as they see fit. 

These are the names of his five students: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, Rabbi Yossei ben Halafta, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua—the luminaries of yesteryears. The Torah we have today is from these five students. But the Torah of the 24,000 is forgotten and not recorded at all. 

The simple questions arise: 

Where do we stand? Do we follow in the footsteps of the five or 24,000 students? Which camp do we belong to? Each of us does what he does, and Hashem keeps the score, and eventually the consequences of us breaking the Torah laws will catch up to us as well. 


Shmuel Katanov

View All Essays >>
Commenting disabled.

Related Essays

  • The Fifth Son - 1, The Arrogance
    The Fifth Son - 1, The Arrogance
    The story is told in the Parashat Behalotcha 9:6-14 of people who approached our teacher Moshe and posed a very logical...
  • The Fifth Son - 2, The State of The Generation
    The Fifth Son - 2, The State of The Generation
    If you haven't read the Part 1, you can do so here. I strongly suggest it since Part Two is built on the previous...
  • The Advice of The Wicked
    The Advice of The Wicked
    Each one of us lives in the community, and if you look hard enough, you may notice a certain behavior that many regard or view...
  • King David's Lineage
    King David's Lineage
    Long live the King! Long live the King.. - shouted people when King David walked amongst the crowd to his throne. But did you...

Latest Essays

  • The Few versus The Many
    The Few versus The Many
    What sin led to the destruction of Rabbi Akiva's students? The Talmud (Yevamot 62b) states that the students died because they...
  • Divine Justice
    Divine Justice
    In Parashat Shemini 9:23 it says: "וַיָּבֹ֨א מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְאַהֲרֹן֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וַיֵּ֣צְא֔וּ וַֽיְבָרְכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם...
  • Moshe, Will Sing!!
    Moshe, Will Sing!!
    Why the words of the song that Moshe Rabbenu sang were in future tense: “Moshe will sing - Az Yashir Moshe" and not in...
  • The Power of The Half a Shekel
    The Power of The Half a Shekel
    I want to share an interesting idea with you. There are many explanations for the reason for half a shekel, but please allow me...
  • So that I may dwell amongst them
    So that I may dwell amongst them
    Did you ever want Hashem to live next to you or in your community? In Parashat Terumah 25:8 it says, "וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ...

Most Popular Essays

  • Modesty or The Holy Scroll
    Modesty or The Holy Scroll
    Modesty or Tzeniut... When one hears either of these words, the first thing that usually comes to mind is: Oh come on! Do I...
  • CoronaVirus or What Is G-d Trying To Tell Us?
    CoronaVirus or What Is G-d Trying To Tell Us?
    As you know more and more countries get infected with CoronaVirus and it is not slowing down. The World Health Organization has...
  • The Wisdom of the Jewish Sage
    The Wisdom of the Jewish Sage
    It's very puzzling how it all played out. The nation of Israel was three days away from the Land of Israel - just go in, and...
  • Why should I keep Shabbat?
    Why should I keep Shabbat?
    Shabbat or Shabbos... we heard it so many times, some heard it since birth if they were born into religious home, while others...
  • The Baseless Hatred Mystery Revealed
    The Baseless Hatred Mystery Revealed
    Our Chachamim z"l tell us that the First Bet Hamikdash was destroyed because of three sins: Avodah Zarah/Idolatry, Shefichat...