The first thing that is important to remember in these days of preparation for the desired day of the Giving of the Torah is that the condition and prerequisite for success in Torah is good middos.
These are the opening words of the Mashgiach of Yeshivas Mir, HaRav Binyomin Finkel.
Without good character traits one cannot succeed in one's study! This is in strong contrast to that of secular studies. If one aspires to become a doctor, he must have a good head and talent. Talent is certainly a gift, especially if one knows how to utilize it properly. But in order to succeed in Torah study, one must acquire its tools and prerequisites. The Chazon Ish writes in a letter that one must acquire many attributes before gaining a possession of Torah.
We have begun reciting Pirkei Ovos on Shabbos, where it says, "If there is no Torah, there is no derech eretz, no decency or proper conduct; if there is no decency, there is no Torah."
Rabbenu Yonah says that derech eretz, or common courtesy, means good character traits. Without the guidance of Torah, one cannot perfect his character. He comes to teach us that we must not believe that unlearned people who appear to have fine traits and are courteous do indeed exist, but let us not be fooled that they are wholesome and perfect. We may encounter such people because some people are fine and good by nature but they might also go against their own nature but not achieve perfection without Torah.
Even as an unlearned person, Akiva had fine traits, for without these, he could never have reached the level of Rabbi Akiva without actually acquiring Torah. His virtuous wife sacrificed herself so that he could learn. But had she not recognized his potential, she would not have married a forty-year-old ignoramus. She came from a home of one of the most prominent tzaddikim of the generation, Kalba Savua, whose chessed was extraordinary.
Her father surely wanted her to marry a Tana and support him so that he continue to study for the rest of his life. Nonetheless, she chose Akiva for his good character, and resolved to make him into a Torah scholar.
Rachel was a great woman indeed. She lived totally for the sake of Heaven to such a degree as being willing to sacrifice a life of comfort and luxury in her father's home where she lacked nothing. And yet, she was prepared to live in dire poverty. Why? Her father actually wanted to provide her with a life of Torah, so why did she choose a life of suffering? Because she had the intuition that Akiva could become a godol hador.
What, indeed, did she see in this simple man? The gemara tells us that she recognized in him the trait of modesty and worthiness, and said to him: 'His daughter saw that he was modest and fine. She said to him that if she marries him will he go to the beis medrash?' Akiva was employed by her father as a simple shepherd but she noted his actions and character as being commendable and full of potential. He had a fine character and even as such, without Torah, he had achieved the ultimate possible perfection without Torah.
This selfsame Rabbi Akiva said: "Love your fellow like yourself: this is a great axiom in Torah." Perhaps we can understand that he arrived at this profound rule from the observation that one can be a person with a good character, but to achieve the level 'like yourself' can only result from knowing Torah.
I want to tell you that when we speak about the wife of Rabbi Akiva, I always recall how the Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Chaim Shmuelevitz, would burst into tears as he described her amazing sacrifice. Rabbi Chaim, with his pure heart, could not contain the full measure of such noble sacrifice.
Incidentally, I recall that as a young boy, I watched as he stood next to the baal korei reading Megillas Rus and when he reached the verse, '...and you left your father and mother and your birthplacå' you felt how he empathized with her situation to the point of tears.'
Everything that we later benefited from Rabbi Akiva was because he was "modest and fine." And that is why his wife married him. But that is why there was such a demand from his students! They had such a rebbe from whom they could learn good middos, and according to their level, they did not learn from him!
