Vehotziu Et Rabi Akiva
By Moshe Bogomilsky
 | When Josef was sold, only nine brothers were present. But the Roman King -- counting G-d as a co-conspirator -- killed ten Sages.
5 Comments Posted
I still do not understand why he was killed by the Romans, other than the fact that he was a rebel leader fighting against the Roman Occupation. For the record, my wife and I took a trip to Israel(Tiberius) and saw the Rabbi's tomb. It was a disgrace to see the sewer pipe flow raw sewage right by his tomb. Aside from that the experience was a moving one.
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I don't understand why the Romans would be interested in gaining "justice" for what the brothers did to Joseph. Not only that, it was G-d's will that Joseph be sold so that the Hebrews would be brought to Egypt, would multiply, would then leave Egypt led by Moses and then the Torah would be given to Moses so that the Hebrews became a Jewish nation. So why the retribution to these good and holy men?
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According to many, while this moving tale incorporates many historical events, it was never intended to be understood as a historical account of an actual event. Many of the details in this dirge hold parallels to Yom Kippur service of the high priest in the Holy Temple.
The Yom Kippur service serves to atone for the sins of the Jewish people. They are symbolized by the two great collective sins perpetrated in the infancy of our nationhood; the sale of Joseph and the worship of the golden calf.
These sins symbolize the sins committed toward our fellows (the sale of Joseph), and our Creator (the golden calf). It is for this reason that Temple service on Yom Kippur contains the sacrifice of a bull (representing the calf) and the scapegoat (for the kid whose blood was used to make Joseph’s disappearance look like an accident).
It was because of the primacy of the sale of Joseph in the Yom Kippur service that it was chosen as the background on which to paint the deaths of these
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Rabbi Akiva's equation is demonstrative of the holiness of the Chumash and all that extends from it. Rabbi Akiva was a convert who could truly appreciate the fear of Torah scholars, which he equated to fear of G-d. The tortures that Rabbi Akiva was glad to suffer also point towards the birth pangs of Moshiach (may we speedily see). For so many of us today are born like Akiva- an alien to the Jewish nation- and must return to it through the great suffering that Akiva experienced at the end of his life- to merit the World to Come.
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Psalm 42:5 says "Eleh Ezkarah V'Eshpchah Alai Nafshi...". Rashi says this refers to the 3 annual pilgrimages to Yerushalayim, a JOYOUS time. Yet, the martyrs' story in the Cantor's Repetition of the Musaf Prayer of Yom Kippur reverses the 3rd and 5th words and turns it into the OPPOSITE of joyous. It seems sacriligous to me, mocking the psalm.
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