type="note">18.
«Could you do what Rachel did?» Akiva asked, meeting Rachel’s eyes with a searching look.
«I don’t know, I have never been in love. I don’t think there are people like that anymore who are willing to give up everything for the sake of those they love.»
Rachel looked thoughtfully in the direction of the river, admiring its current.
«Sometimes I think that Rachel didn’t love Jacob enough, given what she did, and then at other times I am amazed at how strongly she must have loved him to let her competitor into her own home.»
«What was Jacob’s fate?» Akiva asked.
«The story of Jacob and his sons is very long. I’ll tell you about it sometime but it’s already getting dark and I must go. I could go one forever about our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob» said Rachel with a soft smile.
«I know about forefather Abraham because Shimon talks about him a lot,» said Akiva.
«It’s good that you know about our forefather Abraham. He is the father of Isaac and the grandfather of Jacob.» Rachel was pleased. «He had a huge tent that stood at the centre of the desert. Abraham received travellers who passed his home and invited them into his tent. He gave them water so they could wash their feet, and then gave them food and drink. In Abraham’s day, people worshipped wooden statues and were steeped in paganism. Abraham was the first person who publicly spoke of the existence of the One God. Even in his early childhood, he understood that the world has a one Creator and that people must serve and worship the Creator alone.»
«You are so young and yet you know so much!» Akiva said unable to contain his admiration.
«My father says, that everyone should know the history of their people. It’s a pity that you know so little about the lives of our forefathers.»
«I have never had the time or opportunity to study,» said Akiva justifying himself. «I have spent my life in the meadow herding cattle or in the forest collecting dry wood and now it’s too late.»
«It’s never too late to learn,» said Rachel. «If I have time, I will come and see you and tell you about the history of our people. Today is the eve of the Shabbat and preparations in the house are already in full swing. I’d better hurry. I am supposed to be helping. We’ll be preparing food until late in the evening and tomorrow morning we’ll tidy the house and when the Shabbat begins I’ll go to the synagogue with my father.»
Akiva thanked Rachel who then grabbed her shawl and hurried towards the house. Akiva drove the sheep into the fold for the night. He would have to be up early the next morning with all the work that had to be done on the eve of Shabbat. Lying in his bed at night, Akiva thought about the stories Rachel had told him and barely had time to blink before the dawn light began seeping in through the window. Akiva got up, had something to eat and went off to work.
In the morning of the Shabbat, there were always lots of people on Kalba Savua’s estate. The vegetable traders always brought him the best vegetables and the fruit traders the best fruit and the fishermen brought him the freshest fish of their catch. Akiva had long become accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the Shabbat preparations and so paid no attention to the noise and activity. Having fed and watered the sheep, Akiva set off for Shimon’s house having informed Ezra that he was leaving the estate.
The fish cooked on the coals and fresh flat bread that were served at Mr. Shimon’s house were particularly delicious.
«Akiva, will you have another piece of fish?» Asked Shimon’s wife Dvora. «You work hard. You need to keep your strength up.»
«Have another piece,» said Shimon, joining in his wife’s encouragement.
«Thank you,» said Akiva, handing over his plate. «We eat very well at Kalba Savua’s and work on the estate isn’t really that hard. Mr. Shimon, can I ask you something? I would like to say a blessing after the meal also. Will you teach me?»
Shimon was delighted and said:
«That’s wonderful, yes, I’ll gladly help you. If you want to study the Scriptures I can introduce you to the yeshiva students in Jerusalem and they’ll teach you the main prayers and teach you the history of the Jewish people.»
«Won’t you teach me? I don’t want to have anything to do with the yeshiva students.»
«Why not?» Asked Shimon eating his fish.
«Because they look down on the likes of me. Their role is to study the Torah and to help people, right?»
«Yes, Akiva, that’s correct,» said Shimon.
«But that’s not how it is in reality. They think they are better than anyone else and have totally lost touch with the simple folk. They are only kind to rich people. They laugh at the likes of me and treat us with disdain.»
«You’ll meet very different kinds of student,» said Shimon. «People naturally talk and say all sorts of things about them. You need to get to know some of them in person.»
«Mr. Shimon, with respect, in my life I have met many yeshiva students and those I have seen behaved very badly. As soon as they find out that I am illiterate they laugh at me rather than offering to help. They mock me publicly when they see me selling brushwood at the market and rather than stepping in, the other students just stood there laughing. I was so ashamed. I blushed and wanted the ground to swallow me up. All I could do was keep my head down and carry on working. When I see them on the street now, I want to take revenge and bite them as hard as a donkey.»
Dvora was listening attentively to Akiva’s story. Shimon decided to soften the tone of the conversation with some humour.
«Akiva, why would you want to bite them if you dislike them so much, and if you must bite, why like a donkey and not a dog?»
«When a dog bites, it does not harm the bone but when a donkey bites, it breaks the bone with its teeth. Now do you understand how much I hate them?»
«Hate is a terrible thing,» said Shimon more seriously now. «It was because of hate between the Jews that the Second Temple was destroyed.»
«Ok, I agree that hate is a bad thing. But is mocking people a good thing? Is it really a good thing to humiliate people in front of others?»
Dvora shook her head silently, anguished by what she had heard. It wasn’t the first time she had heard stories about the bad behaviour of the yeshiva students but she had never thought it was really true or even quite so bad. She believed Akiva who had obviously spoken from his heart trying hard to fine the words to express his pain.
«Are they really allowed to treat simple people like me with such disdain? Do they really have a right to mock those who can’t read or write?»
«No, Akiva» said Shimon placing his hand on his guest’s shoulder in a fatherly fashion. «Of course, they don’t have any right to behave in that manner. They are supposed to help people, the rich and the poor, and to treat everyone with respect, irrespective of their wealth. It sounds to me as if you came across some very strange yeshiva students,» said Shimon after a brief pause.
«Lots of the yeshiva students are like that. If you don’t believe me you can ask other simple folk,» said Akiva, keen to express what he felt. «They might treat you and other respectable people differently but they treat the ordinary folk in whatever manner they like. They think they are above us but they don’t work or fight, or do anything useful. Unlike them, I have always earned my own living. They live on donations from people like Kalba Savua and instead of carrying out their duties all they can think about is how to increase their own wealth and surround themselves with luxury.»
Akiva was angry.
«I find their company and their views unpleasant. Perhaps if they had treated me differently, I might have found time to study but I became too disillusioned