An Additional Series of Lessons for the Supporters of the Beis Midrash ○ A Fiery, Flame-like Lesson in Deep Torah Study—on the Greatness of Rabbi Akiva and Words of Kabbalah

As part of an additional series of lessons for the supporters of the Beis Midrash, this past Monday—1st day of Rosh Chodesh Mar-Cheshvan, the night of the 30th of Tishrei—the first group (of several groups that will enter in the coming weeks) of the Beis Midrash supporters went “into the holy, inwardly.” In the lesson, which lasted more than forty minutes, The Rav shlit"a spoke at the beginning about the matter of Miriam’s Well. After that, he delivered a lesson from the holy sefer Etz Chaim, on the subject of the shin that Rabbi Akiva expounded from the crowns (tagin) of the tefillin. Along the way, he spoke about the mazal of the month of Cheshvan, which is Scorpio (akrav)—and that this is what Rechavam hinted to when he said, “And I will chastise you with scorpions,” meaning that he wants to bring down a Beis HaMikdash of fire in the mazal of Scorpio. After that, he spoke about the sugya of “yakir” in Bava Basra. He also discussed the sugya of a shechiv mera—whether a person can, despite having had both of his simanim slaughtered, write a get and betroth a woman in his condition, and he brought the different approaches on the matter. After that, he returned to the subject of Rabbi Akiva: “His eye saw every precious thing”—this refers to Rabbi Akiva, who revealed the secret of the shin in the tefillin. He also spoke about why it is written sometimes as Akiva with an alef and sometimes as Akivah with a hei—the following is the excerpt from the lesson:

“Therefore it is written, Vayikra—a small alef: only if a person is an ‘alef made small,’ then Vayikra—then it is a small alef. Alef is 111; ‘small’ (ze’ira) is 288. 288 plus 111—alef—that is 399, which is the gematria of Rabbi Akivah with a hei (עקיבה). We write Rabbi Akiva with an alef. He received the alef when they combed his flesh with iron combs—he rose in level. Before that they called him Rabbi Akiva; he was ‘A light is sown for the tzaddik, and for the upright of heart, joy’—this is the gematria of Rabbi Akivah with a hei. But we write Akiva with an alef: Rabbi Akiva rose in level from hei to alef after they combed him with iron combs, and then he revealed secrets like these that no person—even Moshe Rabbeinu—ever revealed!”

After that, he continued with words of Kabbalah and secrets of the Torah from Etz Chaim, and concluded with this: that Hashem told Moshe that he would come in gilgul as Rabbi Akiva, and through the iron combs he would merit to ascend above the Chamber of Love, which is the Chamber of Will—this is the concept of “Shalosh Seudos,” at which time Moshe Rabbeinu departed!