Supplied by Yitz Grossman.
R’ Akiva continued to study and teach Torah even when it was outlawed by the Roman government under penatly of death. When Papus ben Yehuda charged him with endangering his life in an irresponsible way, R’ Akiva answered him with the following allegory.
A fox drinking from a pond noticed the fish scurring about in obvious onsternation. “what frightens you, little fish?” asked the fox.
“We are afraid of the nets of the fishermen,” replied the fish. “We do not know where they will fall to trap us.”
A fox drinking from a pond noticed the fish scurring about in obvious onsternation. “what frightens you, little fish?” asked the fox.
“We are afraid of the nets of the fishermen,” replied the fish. “We do not know where they will fall to trap us.”
Why be so frightened?” advised the fox. “Perhaps I can assist you. Leave your pond, and come up on dry land and I will protect you.”
“Foolish fox,” exclaimed the fish. “If we are afraid and insecure in the water, in the environment that provides our very lifeblood, how much more so would we be out of our element?”
Torah is the very lifeblood of the Jewish people. Without its study and observance, we are like fish out of water. What security can be obtained by emerging from total immersion in the waters of Torah?
The Midrash tells us that the allegory must be taken yet one step further. Fish constantly immersed in water have a very peculiar nature. When it rains, the fish ascend in a frenzy to the top of the water as the droplets his the water, to hungrily receive yer another drop of rain. They are not content with the endless supply of water that engulfs them. So, too, the Jew engulfed and immersed in Torah must nevertheless be hungry to ascend to new levels in Torah learning and observance.
