RAV KOOK ON Va'Etchanan Part 2: With All Your Soul

When the Romans decreed that teaching Torah is a crime punishable by death, Rabbi Akiva’s reaction was not surprising. The great scholar, who had supported Bar Kochba in his revolt against Rome, gathered people together and gave public Torah lectures. It was not long before Rabbi Akiva was charged and convicted. When the rabbi was brought out for public execution, it was the hour to recite the Shema. As the executioners flayed his skin with iron combs, Rabbi Akiva recited the Shema, concentrating on fulfilling its words: to love God “with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might.” The Talmud records Rabbi Akiva’s final words before his death. His students asked him: “Our master! Even to this extent?”