How R'Akiva's student's learned from him not to respect each other?

Asked May 27 '19 at 14:03

Active May 27 '19 at 14:03

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שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים היו לו לרבי עקיבא ... וכולן מתו ... מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה

Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students ... and they all died... because they did not treat each other with respect. (Yevomos 62)

B"R 24 describes R"A as:

Rabbi Akiva said: This is a great principle of the Torah: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" ?

How come ALL of R"A's students overrode the Rabbi's fundamental teaching as the ground for the whole Torah?

edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:41

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asked May 27 '19 at 14:03

Al Berko

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Why does man sin? – Dr. Shmuel May 27 '19 at 14:13
@Dr.Shmuel It's not sinning, it is totally derailing from your Rabbis grounds. That's why it seems so weird. It's not like they did one Maase, they continuously contradict their Rabbis' teaching. What did R"A think? – Al Berko May 27 '19 at 14:26
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The Gemara implies that Rabbi Akiva's students were the greatest Torah scholars of the generation. Thus they may have been expected to show an extra measure of respect towards each other. The absence of that respect is not a violation of Rabbi Akiva's principle, which has to do with actively mistreating or taking action that pains someone else, not withholding extra measures of honor. Secondly, why do you assume he said this teaching before the students died? – Jay May 27 '19 at 15:03
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"Rabbi Akiva's 24k students died because of interpersonal issues, but he said Veahavta Lireacha Kamocha is a Klal Gadol". Duplicate? – Tamir Evan May 27 '19 at 15:48
@TamirEvan Right you are. Please VTC. – Al Berko May 27 '19 at 15:54

How R'Akiva's student's learned from him not to respect each other?

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