"God heard this prayer, even as it is written, 'And He permitted Himself to be entreated by him, and brought him back to Jerusalem unto his kingdom.'"
"From which we may learn," continued Akiba, "that affliction is an atonement for sin."
Said Rabbi Eleazer, the great, "It is commanded 'thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul and with all that is loved by thee.'
"Does not 'with all thy soul' include 'with all that is loved by thee?'
"Some people love themselves more than they love their money; to them 'tis said, 'with all thy soul;' while for those who love their money more than themselves the commandment reads, 'with all that is loved by thee.'"
But Rabbi Akiba always expounded the words, "with all thy soul," to mean "even though thy life be demanded of thee."
When the decree was issued forbidding the Israelites to study the law, what did Rabbi Akiba?
He installed many congregations secretly, and in secret lectured before them.
Then Papus, the son of Juda said to him:—