Why Didn’t Rabbi Akiva’s Students Behave Respectfully Toward One Another

THE DAILY CHIZZUK WITH MOREINU HARAV ELIEZER BERLAND SHLIT”A – WHY IS EVEN A PEACE OFFERING OF A NON-JEW CONSIDERED AN ELEVATION OFFERING?

Dina bat Yaakov had a Turkish passport, because she was born in Turkey.

Where was she was born?  In which city?

In Charan!

Where is Charan?  In Turkey!

So right, Dina was taken hostage to Gaza, to Rafiah.  Yaakov Avinu called Erdogan, the Turkish president, and asked him to release Dina: Here, she has a Turkish passport!

Erdogan said, “Fine, give me a day or two.”  But Shimon and Levi didn’t haven’t the patience to wait.  They said, “We aren’t waiting a minute!  They took our sister from us!!”

Shimon and Levi killed an entire city, 24,000 men.

Therefore, they had to come in reincarnation in Rabbi Akiva, and afterwards in “men of renown” (Bamidbar 16:2).

ALL THE STUDENTS OF RABBI AKIVA WHO DIDN’T BEHAVE RESPECTFULLY TOWARD ONE ANOTHER (YEVAMOT 62B) [IS] BECAUSE THEY HAD ONCE BEEN CONVERTS.  THEY WERE ONCE NON-JEWS.  THEREFORE, THEY DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO BEHAVE RESPECTFULLY TOWARD ONE ANOTHER, BECAUSE A NON-JEW DOESN’T KNOW.

It is written in the Rambam, chapter two in Hilchot Ma’aseh Korbanot [Mishneh Torah, Sefer Avodah], that even if a non-Jew brings a peace offering [which is partially eaten], it is considered like an elevation offering [which is completely burned], because a non-Jew cannot tolerate someone else eating from the offering.

A peace offering: it’s impossible to eat an entire lamb.  How is it possible to eat an offering alone?  Even to Yitzchak, Rivka brought two young goats, because could he eat two young goats?

RATHER, RIVKA SAID TO YAAKOV, “BRING TWO YOUNG GOATS, ONE FOR THE PASSOVER OFFERING, AND ONE FOR THE CHAGIGAH [OFFERING].  HE NEEDS TO EAT IT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.”  HE KNEW THAT ESAV WOULD COME.

It’s written in the Midrash that he missed the Afikomen.  “BeMirmah – in deceit” is the numerical value of “Afikomen.”  “BeMirmah” = 287.

If a person doesn’t do the Afikomen, he lost all the money; he lost everything.