When Rabbi Akiva was taken out for execution, it was the time for the recital of Shema, and while they combed his flesh with iron combs, he was accepting upon himself the kingship of Heaven by reciting the Shema. His disciples said to him: Our teacher, even to this point? He said to them: All my days I have been troubled by this verse, ‘You shall love the L-rd, your G-d… with all your soul’, which I interpret, ‘even if He takes your soul.’ I said: When shall I have the opportunity of fulfilling this? Now that I have the opportunity shall I not fulfill it?
On Tisha B’Av we read about the cruel murder of the Ten Martyrs, including Rabbi Akiva. As the above quote from the Talmud indicates, he was eager to sacrifice his life for the sake of G-d. Rabbi Akiva did so while reciting the famous words of the Shema, taken from this week’s parsha, Va’etchanan.
Our sages teach us that when we recite the Shema, we should have in mind that we are committed to G-d to the degree of self-sacrifice.
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Martyrdom is tragically a popular goal among many enemies of the Jewish people, especially among Islamic jihadists. It is something that clearly motivates terrorists toward ambitions that are ridiculous, horrific, and barbaric.
Judaism, on the other hand, values life above all else. Nearly all of the Torah’s commandments are set aside to sustain life. Certainly, death is not an end unto itself. Rather it is something to be avoided, virtually at all costs.
So why did Rabbi Akiva aspire to this?
The question that Rabbi Akiva’s disciples presented him might offer some insight. Clearly, Rabbi Akiva was helpless in stopping the Roman’s from murdering him. The fact that he was able to concentrate on the words of the Shema at such a trying moment is a remarkable virtue, one that has been emulated by the thousands upon thousands of Jews who have been murdered al Kiddush Hashem.
So, why are his students so troubled that he is able to say the Shema? Could there be a more appropriate time to affirm one’s faith than at the end of one’s life?
Rather, the disciples’ bewilderment was due – not to the timing of reciting the Shema – but to the content of the Shema. In the Shema we affirm the oneness of G-d. That He is supreme in heaven and earth. That there is none besides Him. Yet, here was their teacher, the spiritual leader of the Jewish people, being tortured to death in front of their eyes. He was being murdered for the crime of teaching Torah, in outright blasphemy of the one G-d and His Torah! Their difficulty was: how can G-d’s Oneness be expressed in this brutal act of murder? Isn’t this the antithesis of G-d and His Torah?!
Yet, Rabbi Akiva saw something deeper. He recognized that all of existence – even the troubles and challenges – reflect a divine reality. In his eyes, whatever didn’t directly assist his service of G-d, was surely assisting him indirectly – by allowing him the chance to commit to G-d in spite of it. All his life he had yearned to fulfill the mitzvah of dedicating one’s life to G-d under all circumstances. Now it was upon him. It was the truest declaration of Hashem’s Oneness.
In a similar vein the thousands of Jews that declared the Shema at the stake, in the gas chambers and at the hands of terrorists – all lay testament to the oneness of G-d in the starkest of ways.
This helps us understand the Jewish approach to martyrdom. Jews have never sought martyrdom. But, sadly, martyrdom has repeatedly sought us out.
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When death is glamorized above life, we may be murderers and terrorists. When life is cherished above all else, we are simply selfish humanists. When life is sacred because it is divine, we become sacred as well.
The Shema does not only reinforce our commitment to G-d at the end of our lives. Its message is not reserved for special occasions. Rather it primarily enjoins us to find the Oneness of G-d in everything we do, as it states:
You shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes. And you shall write them upon the doorposts of your house and upon your gates.
When we find G-d in everything we do, we will surely be one step closer to the days spoken of in this week’s haftorah, “Console, O console My people,” when G-d will console us all with the coming of Moshiach.