fear. He didn’t know how to behave or what to do with himself. Rachel picked her way carefully down towards the river and Akiva held out her shawl. Their eyes met for a brief moment. «She is more beautiful than ever’ thought Akiva but not a split second passed before he dragged his eyes away from her.
Having taken the shawl, Rachel said, «I’m pleased to see that you are well after what happened yesterday. Where’s the lamb you rescued?»
Akiva pointed to the lamb which he had kept close to his side the entire day.
«It’s so sweet. If father would allow it, I would take it home to my room. I would feed it wash it and even let it sleep with me. Its coat is so soft and its eyes so beautiful and sad, don’t you think?»
Akiva didn’t utter a word, whether because of what Shimon had said, or whether because he was afraid of saying something stupid and disappointing Rachel, he couldn’t tell.
«Are you always so quiet?» Rachel asked, slightly offended. «I like to talk, particularly on a day as beautiful as today. What kind of weather do you like best? What’s your favourite season of the year?» The girl showered him with questions but Akiva did not reply.
«Can you at least hear me?»
Akiva nodded his head in confirmation.
«Oh good, I was beginning to worry, what a relief, I thought you might be deaf. Can you talk?»
Akiva nodded his head again preventing his eyes from making contact with the gaze of his beautiful conversant.
«I know you can talk» Rachel continued, «because I’ve heard you speaking with Ezra.»
Akiva still said nothing.
«So why don’t you say anything? Has Ezra forbidden you to talk to me, or perhaps on seeing me you lose the gift of speech?»
Akiva nodded again nervously.
«I don’t understand,» Rachel smiled, «do you always answer a question with yes?»
Akiva shook his head.
«The first refusal» Rachel laughed. She wasn’t going to give up. «Do you have a name?»
Akiva was silent.
«You’ve turned into deaf and dumb again?» Rachel found Akiva’s behaviour amusing and at the same time, just a little insulting. «You don’t want to tell me your name, you won’t talk to me you don’t answer any of my questions and you won’t even look at me. What has Ezra said, that if you look at me you’ll turn to stone?» Rachel joked.
Akiva felt exactly as if he had turned to stone and had turned both deaf and blind in an instant.
«I have to go now, father will be getting worried.» Rachel thought for a moment and then said, «Write you name in the sand.»
From somewhere, Akiva found the strength to speak and confessed that he didn’t know how to read or write and then added:
«My name is Akiva.»
Rachel laughed cheerfully, «You’re a grown man and you don’t know how to write your own name?»
With that Rachel turned and left. Akiva dropped his head in sorrow. «Why did I tell her that I can’t read or write?» Akiva thought. «She’ll never talk to me ever again. She’s a well-educated young woman and is seeing an ignoramus like me for the very first time. I should have said nothing and then at least I could have seen her from time to time, heard her lovely voice; now… now she’ll keep me at a distance.»
Chapter 3 The hole in the rock
For love is strong as death. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.
(Shir a-Shirim (Song of Songs), 8:6—7)
Over the days that followed, Akiva did not see Rachel anywhere. After resting on the Shabbat, he returned to his duties as usual. He drove the sheep out of the fold sending them in the direction of the river. Once he had found his spot and was sitting on the bank of the river, he became deeply absorbed in thoughts of Rachel.
The more Akiva ran the memory of their last meeting in his mind, the more he relinquished the hope of ever seeing her again. Yet that day, quite unexpectedly, Rachel appeared in the meadow. Plucking up her courage, she said, «Peace to you, Akiva. I wanted to apologise for my behaviour the last time we met. I haven’t ever met anyone before who couldn’t read or write.»
Akiva smiled sadly, «People often laugh at me when they find out that I am illiterate. At first I found it hurtful, but I have got used to it now.»
«I promise I won’t ever laugh at you again,» Rachel said.
«Thank you.» Akiva was genuinely grateful for her words.
Akiva thought Rachel looked a little tired and so he suggested she sit down on a stone next to his. Rachel accepted his offer with pleasure and having spread her shawl out on the stone she sat down beside him.
«Are you comfortable there?» Akiva asked.
«Yes, thank you,» Rachel answered readily. «You told me your name the last time we met but I didn’t tell you mine. It was rude of me. My name is Rachel. I am Kalba Savua’s daughter.»
«I know,» said Akiva quietly. «You have a beautiful name. Who are you named after?»
«Our foremother Rachel.»
«Tell me about her,» said Akiva.
«Do you really not know who Rachel is?» Rachel asked surprised. «She was the wife of our forefather Jacob. I hope you know who Jacob is.»
Akiva shook his head.
«I’ll tell you then. Jacob was the son of our forefather Yitzchak and our foremother Rivka. Hiding from his brother’s rage, Jacob went to find Lavan, his mother’s brother. Lavan had two daughters, the older one Lea and the younger one, Rachel. Jacob fell in love with Rachel at first sight and to marry her, he agrees to serve as a shepherd in Lavan’s house for seven long years. For Jacob, the seven years passed as if they were seven days because his love for Rachel was so strong.»
«Seven years for the right to marry. How can that be possible?» Akiva asked in disbelief.
«Well, Jacob agreed to it and his love for Rachel was so strong that the years flew by.»
Rachel was quiet for a few moments collecting her thoughts before continuing.
«Listen to what happened next. When the seven years were up, Jacob went to see Lavan and asked for Rachel’s hand in marriage. Lavan agreed, chose the wedding day and invited many guests. Jacob didn’t trust him though and agreed with his bride to be that she would make a special sign to him before the ceremony began. When the wedding day arrived, Lavan tricked Jacob and swapped Rachel for Lea. Jacob only realised what had happened after the wedding when she removed Lea’s veil, by which time, it was too late. Later, he learned from Rachel, that to save her sister being humiliated before all their guests, Rachel told her sister about their secret sign.
Lavan said that Jacob could work another seven years in his house and then he could finally have Rachel as his wife. Jacob immediately agreed as he and Rachel truly loved one another. Later they had a first-born called Joseph. Sadly, Rachel died whilst giving birth to her second child Benjamin.»
«That’s a really sad story,» Akiva said thoughtfully. «It would be very rare today for someone to be capable of what Jacob did then. I would never give my beloved to another. If Rachel loved Jacob so strongly, how could she have let her sister have him?»
«Our foremother Rachel was a very compassionate woman. She loved Jacob but let her sister have him to save her from humiliation. She cried for days and nights at the thought of Jacob embracing another woman after seven years of waiting but she never regretted what she had done.
To this