Gertcel Davydov - Akiva and Rachel. One of the greatest love stories of all time

Akiva quietened down for a moment and remembering Rachel’s voice, he muttered, “She called my name and from her lips it was the sound of sweet music and now, because of you, I can’t hear or even see her.”

Drawing as much air as possible into his lungs, Akiva gazed up at the sky and ignoring the rain, he shouted with all his might “Rain! I hate you! I hate the whole world!” Akiva tore at his chest with a cry but the rain drowned out the sound of his words.

“Why should I be denied the right to be happy? Surely it’s not my fault that I am poor and have to earn my living doing physical work? I know you’re crying because we both used to be lonely and unhappy but now I have Rachel, my Rachel, and I am the happiest man in the world. You’re just jealous. No-one loves you. As soon as you show your face, people hide from you and return to their homes but I have finally fallen in love and you won’t spoil it! You think I’m just a simple shepherd who mistook her polite conversation for affection, who mistook compassion for love. Maybe that’s how it is. Maybe I did just make it all up.”

Akiva paused and the rain hammered down even harder. He was soaked to the skin but barely noticed it and had already decided on his next desperate step for the sake of his true love.

“I can’t endure this uncertainty any longer. I’ll go right now to Kalba Savua and talk to him. What will be will be. Maybe he’ll understand after all and agree to give me Rachel’s hand in marriage and if he doesn’t, I’ll give up my life. I don’t need this world without her.”

Akiva got up and in his muddy clothes, set off decisively in the direction of Kalba Savua’s house. He wiped his tears away with his hand and went over in his mind the words he would say to Rachel’s father. The tears carried on streaming down his cheeks and he brushed them away with his palm which was plastered in clay. “Where are all these tears coming from? I haven’t cried since I was a child,” thought Akiva. “My soul must have warmed and softened since I met Rachel and everything in me that was sleeping all these years has now been awakened.”

As he approached the house, the shepherd saw the old servant locking the front door for the night. Akiva spoke to him and asked him to let him in so he could meet with Kalba Savua. Seeing the shepherd’s tatty appearance, the servant tried to find out what was going on but Akiva insisted that the servant let him into the house. Rachel, whose windows looked out onto the yard heard the two men arguing and looked out of the window to see what was happening. Rachel recognised Akiva and seeing that the elderly servant was refusing to let Akiva into the house, she dressed swiftly and went downstairs.

“What’s going on?” Rachel asked the servant.

“The shepherd, Akiva, wants to talk to your father, lady. I’ve told him that it isn’t an appropriate time and that Kalba Savua has already retired for the evening,” the servant explained anxiously.

“Go inside. I shall talk to him myself,” Rachel instructed.

Rachel walked towards Akiva who was covered in mud and trembling with cold. Water was dripping from his clothing and his eyes still ran with tears, except that now they were tears of happiness.

“Akiva,” Rachel asked anxiously, looking at his face, “What’s happened? Why do you want to see my father? Has someone insulted you?”

“No,” said Akiva humbly, dropping his head fall so that Rachel would not see that he was weeping.

“You are soaked. You’ll catch your death of cold. Wait here and I’ll bring you some warm clothes,” said Rachel.

Ignoring what she had said, Akiva asked the question that had been tormenting him, “Rachel, we haven’t seen each other for three days now. I was worried about you and thought something had happened. Why didn’t you come to the river? Have I offended you?”

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According to Jewish Chronology; 70 a.d.

In Hebrew there is no equivalent to the formal version of “you” when addressing a person in the singular.

Galilee is a historical region in the north of Israel.

Akiva Ben Yosef – lit. “Akiva son of Joseph’.

A Ger is a descendant of a non-Jew, converted to Judaism.

Am-aarets, lit. ‘people of the earth’, the ignorant, common people.

Kalba Savua lit. ‘the satiated dog’.

Month Av is the fifth month in the Hebrew calendar counting from the exodus from Egypt. It corresponds approximately to July-August.

2 August year 70 A.D..

King Solomon (in Hebrew “Shlomo’) was the son of King David from Bat-Sheba, the third Jewish King. King Solomon is survived by his three books: “Shir a – shirim’ (Song of songs), “Mishlei’ (Proverbs of King Solomon) and “Kohelet’ (Ecclesiastes).

Yeshiva – literally ‘a sitting’; a higher Jewish institution of religious learning.

The word “tzadik” is derived from the word “tzedek”, which in Hebrew means “justice”; a person who strives to live by the laws of the Torah and help their neighbour.

Shabbat (Saturday) is the seventh day of the week in Judaism. According to the laws of the Torah, this is a day of rest. Shabbat begins on Friday evening and is considered the most important of all Jewish holidays.

The menorah, lit. “lamp’. A seven stemmed lamp (menorah) stood in the Jerusalem Temple; Since ancient times the menorah has been a symbol of Judaism; a Jewish religious attribute.

Rabbi Johanan ben Zakai was a prominent Rabbi and sage in the era of the destruction of the Second Temple, who headed the Sanhedrin in the city of Yavne.

Pesach is a Jewish spring festival celebrated to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt.

Beth-Lehem, literally “House of Bread’. In Russian “Vifleem’.

Hebron is one of the most ancient cities in the world and is situated not far from Jerusalem, 30 km to the south. The Jews consider Hebron a sacred city like Jerusalem, safed and Tiberias. On the edge of Hebron is Ma’arat HaMachpelah (Cave of the Patriarchs), where our forefathers and foremothers lie: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.

Talmud, Yoma 9B.