Before the Second Temple was destroyed, Akiva lived in the Galilee – a region in northern Israel. He was born into a poor family and worked as a simple shepherd in his youth, not knowing how to read or write. He had to work hard from early morning till late evening to earn his daily bread. When Akiva wasn’t tending sheep, he chopped wood and sold it at the market.

In the year 66 of the Common Era, the Jews rose up against the Roman Empire, only to be suppressed. The Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed soon after, and the Romans levied exorbitant taxes on the people of Judea. Life became very difficult for the Jews. That is when Akiva decided to move to Jerusalem. Once there, he continued chopping wood and selling it at the market until he finally secured a job as a shepherd at an estate belonging to a very wealthy resident of Jerusalem, a man named Kalba Savua, which means “satisfied dog” in Hebrew. His hospitality was so great that even dogs that wandered into his yard would leave well fed and satisfied. He strived to emulate the forefather Abraham, who together with his wife Sarah had set up a tent to welcome wayfarers.

Kalba Savua had a beautiful daughter named Rachel. Young and educated, she was fond of reading and, despite being a lady of good society, always eager to help out with the housework.

Akiva took a strong liking to Rachel, but he could not muster up the nerve to tell her. She was, after all, the daughter of the esteemed Kalba Savua, while he was just a simple shepherd.

Rachel often watched Akiva carefully tending to the sheep, taking care of each one. She thought to herself that if this shepherd became a well-read man, with time he would become a fine rabbi.

Finally, overcoming his many doubts, Akiva asked for Rachel’s hand in marriage. Seeing how humble and honest the shepherd was, the young heiress to the estate accepted his marriage proposal, but on one condition:

Akiva, I will marry you if you learn to read and write. I am deeply convinced that you will make a fine rabbi.

Rachel, – Akiva replied sadly, – A person can only learn to read and write during the childhood years. It’s too late for me. I have lived in this world for thirty-five years and I still don’t even know the alphabet.

It’s never too late to learn, – Rachel objected. – I will help you and support you in everything you do. If you devote yourself to learning, then the words of the Torah will enter your heart.

Akiva promised the lady of his heart that he would begin studying and thanked her for agreeing to marry him.

Rachel couldn’t wait to share the happy news with her father, hoping that he would approve of her choice and accept Akiva into the family. But when Kalba Savua found out that his only daughter has decided to marry a shepherd who cannot read or write, and does not even know a single prayer from the Torah, he turned her and the shepherd out of the estate. If that weren’t enough, he vowed never to speak to his daughter again and stripped her of her inheritance.

Life In The Horse Barn

Rachel pleaded with her father to change his mind, but it was in vain – his resolve was firm. Akiva and Rachel spent long days and nights wandering around the city in search for a place to live, but could not find anything suitable. Realizing that the money Akiva had saved would not be enough for them to find a decent home in Jerusalem, they decided to move into an abandoned horse barn in the vicinity of the city.

Rachel tended to their home, while Akiva continued gathering brushwood in the forest and chopping wood, which he then sold at the city market. The money he earned was just enough to put bread on the table. All week long they ate very humble food, but on Friday evening, which was Sabbath eve, Rachel always prepared a special Sabbath meal.

In the wintertime it became more difficult to gather wood because the forest was a long way off and Akiva did not have any warm clothes. But with the arrival of spring, Akiva began gathering more brushwood and earning more money, which allowed the young couple to move to a comfortable accommodation on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

The years went by. Akiva and Rachel had a baby boy, whom they named Yehoshua. After that they had a baby girl, Shulamit, whom Akiva loved with all his heart. All this time, he continued working tirelessly. In the early morning, he made his way to the forest to gather brushwood. Then he sold it at the market and returned home in the late evening. He continued this way day in and day out for several years. But when the time came for Yehoshua to begin learning to read and write, Rachel reminded her husband of his promise. She explained that the children need a well-read father who they could look up to.

Of course, Akiva hadn’t forgotten his promise, but he could not muster up the courage to go to school since he thought that the age of forty was too late to begin learning to read and write. However, Rachel did not even think of letting him off the hook and insisted that Akiva go to the Yeshiva. She believed that he was capable of becoming a good rabbi and told him that if he would begin studying, he would surely succeed.

…One day while gathering brushwood on a river shore, Akiva’s eye fell on a large stone with a deep hollow. “Where did this hollow come from?” he wondered. He realized that it must have been the drops of water that fell onto the stone. “Just as the falling water drops, one by one, day by day, year by year, can pierce a large stone, so the words of the Torah will be able to enter my heart,” Akiva thought.

He rushed home to tell Rachel the happy news: he was finally ready to fulfill his promise. Thus, at forty years of age, Akiva set out to learn to read and write together with his son.