On today’s daf TB Nedarim 50 we come across the love story between Akiva and Rachel again. We first learned about Rachel the daughter of one of the richest men in Judea, bar Kalba Savua, and Akiva back on daf TB Ketubot 62b-63a. By now we know the story how she fell in love with Akiva, a poor man below her status. With her encouragement after they married, he studied in the yeshiva for 24 years and became the famous Rabbi Akiva we all know. Why is the story repeated here in Nedarim? When bar Kalba Savua learned that his daughter married Mary Akiva, he vowed that they would not benefit from any from him. “When bar Kalba Savua heard about their betrothal, he took a vow prohibiting her from eating all of his property. Despite this, she went ahead and married Rabbi Akiva.”(Sefaria.org translation) They were so poor that “In the winter they would sleep in a storehouse of straw, and Rabbi Akiva would gather strands of straw from her hair.” (Sefaria.org translation)
When Rabbi Akiva finally returned home he brought with him his 24,000 students. The whole town came out to greet this great scholar including bar Kalba Savua. “When bar Kalba Savua heard that the famous man was his son-in-law, he came before halakhic authorities and requested the dissolution of his vow, and it was dissolved.” (Sefaria.org translation)
The Ran ד"ה ודאמרן cites a problem. A petakh (פתח) is the justification by which a Sage or rabbinic court annuls a vow in a case where the one who vowed expresses regret at having done so by saying he did not fully appreciate its implications. The problem lies in the fact that regret for the petakh to release a vow has to be present when the vow was made. At the time of the vow Rabbi Akiva was an ignorant shepherd without any indication that he would even study let alone become one the greatest rabbis in the Talmud. Now this new reality (nolad-נולד) that he is a great Torah scholar cannot be the petakh to dissolve the vow. The petakh can’t be retroactive. Based on our Gemara alone, how could the sages dissolve bar Kalba Savua’s vow?
Daf TB Ketubot 63a comes to our rescue by filling in some of the missing details in our story. “In the meantime her father heard that a great man came to the town. He said: I will go to him. Maybe he will nullify my vow and I will be able to support my daughter. He came to him to ask about nullifying his vow, and Rabbi Akiva said to him: Did you vow thinking that this Akiva would become a great man? He said to him: If I had believed he would know even one chapter or even one halakha I would not have been so harsh. He said to him: I am he. Ben Kalba Savua fell on his face and kissed his feet and gave him half of his money.” Rabbi Akiva’s case was different according to the Ran. Rachel became engaged to Akiva on the condition that he would become a scribe. He began learning the alef bet. Consequently, his learning cannot be considered a nolad, but a kosher petakh.
If you are interested to learn more about Rabbi Akiva’s life, I can make two suggestions. Every Shabbat I read a Hebrew book. The book I am currently working through is Yochi Brandes’ historical novel Akiva’s Orchard. In this novel Rachel begins teaching him the alef bet way before they became engaged, thus creating the petakh. I found out today that this book has been translated into English and is available at Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/s?k=akiva%27s+orchard&i=stripbooks&crid=X4ABH46XUCXF&sprefix=akiva%27s+orchard%2Cstripbooks%2C96&ref=nb_sb_noss
Dr. Louis Finkelstein z”l, a former
chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary wrote a scholarly biography of
Rabbi Akiva entitled Akiba: Scholar, Saint, and Martyr. Dr. Gerson Cohen
z”l, who became the next chancellor after Dr. Finkelstein retired, wrote about
this book “Finkelstein’s work combines exhaustive study of the classical
sources of Akiba’s life with sociological analysis of the rabbinic atmosphere
and tradition which gave rise to Akiba and which made him the symbol of
dedication to Torah study ever since.” I think this book is out of print but at
least one used copy is available at Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/AKIBA-LOUIS-FINKELSTEIN/dp/B004B4AO5W/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3B9DPPCGXRVH3&keywords=Louis+Finkelstein&qid=1671055569&s=books&sprefix=louis+finkelstein%2Cstripbooks%2C56&sr=1-4
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