Rabbi Akiva: A Journey of Dedication and Transformation

1. Among the greatest sages of Israel throughout the ages was Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef; a figure renowned for his dedication to the Torah, who left his mark on many laws, and whose name is mentioned in the Talmud nearly 1500 times. He lived between the years 17 and 137 CE.
2. As an "am ha'aretz" (a simple person), Akiva tended to the flocks of Kalba Savua, a wealthy man. Rachel, the daughter of Kalba Savua, married Rabbi Akiva on the condition that he would go to study Torah. Despite being an uneducated 40-year-old, Rachel believed in him because of his good qualities.
3. Kalba Savua strongly opposed Akiva and Rachel’s marriage and disinherited his daughter. Consequently, Akiva and Rachel lived in a barn, enduring poverty and hardship.
4. At first, Akiva hesitated to study Torah, as he was 40 years old and couldn't read or write. One day, he stood and observed a hollow stone and saw that "water wears away stones"—a constant drip of water had carved a hole in the stone.
5. The sight filled Akiva with hope, leading him to reason: if soft water can carve through hard stone, then surely the words of Torah, hard as iron, can etch into Akiva's soft heart.
6. Akiva was initially embarrassed to start learning because his level required him to study with children, but Rachel encouraged him, and he began learning with his son—from the very beginning.
7. After decades of Torah study, with Rachel's support and encouragement, Akiva became a great Tanna and a sage in all of the Torah. His teachers were Rabbi Yehoshua ben Horqanos and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya (his teachers were Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. See the introduction to the Mishnah commentary by the Rambam [the Chain of Torah Transmission]), both students of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and leaders of the Sanhedrin.
8. After many years of study, Rabbi Akiva returned home with 24,000 students. Then Rabbi Akiva pointed to Rachel, turned to his thousands of students, and declared the famous line: "What is mine and yours, is hers." [the Torah].
9. Among Rabbi Akiva's most famous students were Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess.
10. Some of Rabbi Akiva's famous sayings include: "Love your neighbor as yourself—this is a great principle of the Torah," and "Everything that Hashem does, He does for the good."