32) When the great Rabbi Eliezer became ill and was about to die, it was the eve of the Sabbath. He had Hyrcanus, his son, sit on his right, and disclosed before him profound and hidden things. At first, Hyrcanus did not learn from him wholeheartedly because he thought that his mind was not fully lucid. But once he saw that his father\u2019s mind was clear, he received from him 189 sublime secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
33) When he reached the secret of the marble stones that mix with the high waters, Rabbi Eliezer wept and stopped speaking. He said, \u201cArise and go there, my son.\u201d He told him, \u201cWhy?\u201d And he replied, \u201cI see that I will soon pass away. Go and tell your mother that my Tefillin will move to a high place,\u201d hinting to her of his departure, \u201cAnd when I depart and come here to see the family, they should not cry, for they are with me, near and high, and not lowly. And the human mind cannot attain it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
34) While they were sitting, the greatest sages of the generation came in to visit him, and he cursed them for not coming to him to serve him, as we learn, \u201cServing it is greater than studying it.\u201d In the meantime, Rabbi Akiva came. He told him, \u201cAkiva, Akiva, why have you not come to serve me?\u201d He replied, \u201cI did not have free time.\u201d He was angered and said, \u201cI wonder if you will die a natural death.\u201d He cursed him that his death would be harsher than anyone\u2019s. In other words, he also cursed the rest of the sages who did not come to serve him that they would not die a natural death, and said that Rabbi Akiva\u2019s death would be the harshest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
35) Rabbi Akiva wept and told him, \u201cRabbi, teach me Torah.\u201d Rabbi Eliezer began to speak of Maase Merkava [structure\/assembly]. Fire came and encircled the two of them. The sages said, \u201cThis means that we are unworthy of hearing his teaching now.\u201d They went out the door and sat there. Whatever happened happened, and the fire was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
36) He taught three hundred decided rules in clarity as bright as snow; he taught him 216 reasons for the verses in the Song of Songs<\/em>, and Rabbi Akiva\u2019s eyes were shedding water, and the fire encircled them as before. When he reached the verse \u201cSustain me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am lovesick,\u201d Rabbi Akiva could not bear it anymore and wept aloud, and lowed like an ox. He could not speak for fear that the Shechina was there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 37) He taught him every profound and sublime secret in the Song of Songs<\/em> and adjured him to not use any verse in it, so the Creator will not destroy the world because of him, since He has no desire for people to use it because of the great sanctity in it. Afterwards, Rabbi Akiva went out sobbing and his eyes were shedding water. He said, \u201cWoe my teacher, woe my teacher, the world will be orphaned from you.\u201d The rest of the sages entered and asked him, and he replied with words of Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 38) It became pressing for Rabbi Eliezer. He raised his arms, placed them on his heart, and said, \u201cWoe unto the world. The upper world has once again removed and hidden every light and every illumination from the bottom world, as it was prior to his coming to the world. Woe unto you two arms, woe unto you two laws, for you will be forgotten from the world this day.\u201d And The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> concludes about it and says, \u201cRabbi Isaac said that in all of Rabbi Eliezer\u2019s days, the law was shining from his mouth as on the day when it was given on Mount Sinai.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 39) Rabbi Eliezer said, \u201cI have learned Torah, and I have grasped wisdom and have done services to sages that even if all the people in the world were authors, they would not suffice to write them. And my disciples did not lack from my wisdom but as a brush in the eye,\u201d meaning as the drop that the eye sheds for the drop off the brush that enters it. \u201cAnd did not lack from the wisdom of my teachers but as one who drinks in the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And The<\/em> Zohar<\/em> concludes that he said that only to praise his masters more than himself. In other words, his saying that he lacked from his teachers as one who drinks in the sea is more than a brush in a tube, which he said about his disciples, meaning it was to praise his masters more than himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 40) They asked him about the rule of the sandal of the levirate marriage, if it accepts impurity, until he passed away and said, \u201cPure.\u201d And Rabbi Akiva was not there at the time of his passing. At the end of the Sabbath, they found Rabbi Akiva dead. He tore his clothes and scraped his flesh, and blood was pouring down his beard, and he was yelling and crying. He came out and said, \u201cHeaven, heaven, say unto the sun and the moon that the light that shone more than them has darkened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 41) When the soul of a righteous wishes to depart the body, she is glad because the righteous is confident that upon his death he will receive his reward. It is written about that, \u201cAnd when he saw, he ran toward them,\u201d to gladly greet the three angels that came with the Shechina [Divinity] to receive his soul. From what place does he greet them? From the tent door, as it is written, \u201cAnd bowed himself to the earth,\u201d to the Shechina. In other words, the soul bowed down to the Shechina who came to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 42) \u201cUntil the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle or a young stag.\u201d \u201cUntil the day breathes\u201d is a warning for a person while he is in this world, which is as a blink of an eye. It is written, even if he lived a thousand years twice, on the dying day, everything that happened is regarded for him as one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 43) Rabbi Shimon said, \u201cMan\u2019s soul cautions him and says, \u201cUntil the day breathes.\u201d In your eyes, it should be as a blink of an eye, while you are still in this world. \u201cAnd the shadows flee,\u201d as it is written, \u201cFor our days on earth are a shadow,\u201d please, \u201cturn, my beloved, be like a gazelle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 44) \u201cUntil the day breathes\u201d is a warning for a person while he is still in this world, which is like a blink of an eye. As the gazelle is quick, you, too, be as quick as a gazelle or as a young stag to do your Creator\u2019s will, so you will inherit the next world, a mountain in heaven, called \u201cthe Lord\u2019s mountain,\u201d the mountain of pleasure, the mountain of the good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 32) When the great Rabbi Eliezer became ill and was about to die, it was the eve of the Sabbath. 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