1.
The life of a nation, like the life of an individual, is full of sunrises and sunsets.
In Tractate Yevamot, the Gemara cites an incident from Rabban Gamliel: I was traveling on a ship and saw another ship, which was wrecked in the middle of the sea. I knew that Rabbi Akiva had sailed on this ship, and I was sad that he, like the other passengers, had passed away and gone to his earthly home.
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When I ascended by land, Rabban Gamliel continues and says, I arrived at the Beit Midrash and Rabbi Akiva came and sat down and discussed the halacha with me. I said to him: "My son, who brought you up?" How did you ascend from the great sea, how did you stand in front of the high waves?
He told me: "A leaf of a ship." That is, one of its planks, "I was lucky, and every wave that came at me - I shook my head at it.".
Every time there was a wave, said Rabbi Akiva, I lowered my head, waited until the wave passed over my back, and that's how I survived and reached the shore.
Of course, a conversation between these two great Tannaites, saints of God, should not be interpreted simply. There is much more depth to the question asked of Rabbi Akiva and the answer he gave than meets the eye.
2.
The commentators explain that Rabban Gamliel was puzzled before Rabbi Akiva with a general bewilderment about the tractate of his life. His question was, how did Rabbi Akiva manage to survive all the "waves" - all the terrible suffering he went through during his life.
Rabban Gamliel had a hard time, how did Rabbi Akiva not break down at the beginning of his journey, when he wanted to learn Torah so much and encountered a "wave" that blocked him from understanding things?
Rabban Gamliel wanted to know, after Rabbi Akiva had already come to know the Torah, how did he overcome the difficulty of facing Kalva Shavu, his father-in-law, who swept him away in a mighty "wave" and harassed him?
And the most difficult question is, where did Rabbi Akiva draw the mental strength to deal with the most terrible "wave" of all? "Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students, and they all died in one episode.".
How can one understand such a thing?! This man lost 24,000 students, who were like sons to him, a huge world of Torah, who died in one chapter and left the world desolate, as the Gemara says.
How is a human being able to survive all these "waves" and rise up on his own time after time and establish the entire world of the Torah anew?!
Rabbi Akiva's answer was short, but so difficult to implement: I lowered my head, understood that everything was from God, blessed be He, and waited until the evil decree passed.
3.
Life is made up of sunrises and sunsets. It is filled with many times of contentment, joy and happiness, but so are periods of pain, sorrow and despair. In our generation, the beautiful sunrise often comes "in the same breath" with a great sunset, which darkens everything and suffocates.
The saying of Chazal that a right is passed down from above by the one entitled and an obligation by the one obligated was not only said of a person who entitles another person or owes him, but also of one nation with regard to its members.
There are "obligated" nations chosen from above to be the ones who oppress and oppress us. We are obligated to at least remain "entitled" and not help them.
At a time when there is so much darkness coming from outside, we must shine light inside the house, and when there is peace upon us, God Almighty will surely make peace upon all Israel, and they said, Amen.
