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

“Who is Rabbi Johanan ben Zakai?”, asked Akiva.

“Oh, he’s one of the most famous and respected rabbis. He is head of the yeshivas in the city of Yavne and today, the spiritual leader of all Judea. I am lucky enough to have spoken with him a few times. He’s an amazing person and a real example of a good leader. It’s amazing to see such an elderly person retain such mental clarity, wisdom and strong leadership qualities.”

Having heard Shimon mention Kalba Savua’s estate, Akiva’s thoughts returned to the girl and the rabbi seemed less important. Listening to his host recount with great enthusiasm his first meeting with Rabbi Johanan ben Zakai, Akiva searched for the words with which to pose the question that had tormented him for so long. As soon as there was a short pause, unable to wait until the end of Shimon’s story, Akiva said, “Mr. Shimon, may I ask you something? You often visit the estate of Kalba Savua. Tell me, what is the name of the young girl who lives in the house?”

“There are a lot of women living there. They clean the house, some help on the farm, others cook and then there are the women who do the washing. Who is it among them that you like?” asked the old man with a smile.

“A very sweet girl, about twenty with beautiful long hair.”

“Point her out to me if you get a chance and I might be able to introduce you to her. If she is a decent girl and she works for Kalba Savua, then I’ll put in a word for you.”

“A young girl with long black hair. Do you remember, the first time we entered Kalba Savua’s home, she gave us some water from the well and the last time you went there with spices, she saw you and Kalba Savua to the gate. I was returning from the pasture with the sheep.”

Shimon was struggling to remember who had seen him out on Wednesday when he was leaving Kalba Savua’s house. Then Shimon shuddered and said, “Forget about her!”

“What’s the matter Shimon?” Dvora his wife asked in alarm.

“Forget about her. Don’t even look at her,” Shimon repeated insistently. Then he turned to his anxious wife and said,” Do you realise who he is talking about? He’s referring to Rachel, Kalba Savua’s daughter.”

Shimon’s face was flushed red with concern. Despite all his wife’s efforts to soothe him, Shimon continued to worry.

“If Kalba Savua learns that you like his daughter,” the old man said to Akiva, “or even worse, if he knows that you want to be introduced to her, he will make sure that you will never work anywhere in Jerusalem ever again. Do you want to lose your job and go back to searching for a wage every single day?”

Akiva looked down and said, “I didn’t mean to upset you. It simply never occurred to me that Kalba Savua could have such a young daughter.”

“She is a late child, which is why he loves her so much and takes such good care of her. His daughter is everything to him. Please, Akiva, put her out of your mind,” Shimon said, more calmly now.

Both Akiva and Dvora tried to change the topic of conversation to something more neutral and once Shimon had calmed down, they all retired for the night.

Akiva was filled with sorrow at the news he had heard. It was a long time before he was finally able to sleep. How could a man as poor as he marry Kalba Savua’s daughter? Akiva convinced himself to take Shimon’s advice and put her out of his mind but he couldn’t help himself. Rachel was all he could think about. Now that he knew her name, it seemed to him the most beautiful name in all the world. Akiva tried to weigh everything up a second time and this time was determined to get a grip on himself and forget about the beautiful young woman once and for all to avoid wrecking his own life and threatening the friendship that existed between Mr. Shimon and Kalba Savua.

* * *

Life went on just as before. Akiva’s first winter at Kalba Savua’s estate was particularly cold. He had to work very hard in the severe winter conditions to protect the flock. He looked after the sheep with great care and spend most of his time with them as the work helped him forget about Rachel, at least for some of the time.

Gradually, the spring sun began to warm the people of Jerusalem helping them recover from the cold of winter. The path that lead to the river on the estate dried out and Akiva began driving the flock out towards the banks more regularly. Days of beautiful sunshine were from time to time followed by rainy days but the wet weather was no shadow over Akiva, who received great pleasure from his work. Every year, in the run-up to Pesach 16 16 Pesach is a Jewish spring festival celebrated to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. a census was carried out on Kalba Savua’s estate. Despite the severe cold of the winter months, Akiva had succeeded not only in preserving the head of cattle but in increasing their number.

The farm manager was very pleased with Akiva and promised to speak with Kalba Savua about increasing his wage.

On the Kalba Savua estate, as in all Judea, Pesach was celebrated with great enthusiasm despite all the difficulties of the time. After the celebrations were over, Akiva started driving the sheep down to the river every day, although as soon as the clouds filled the sky and threatened rain he would hurry to drive the herd back to the fold.

One spring day Akiva was caught in a sudden downpour. He struggled to manage the herd who, on hearing the rolls of thunder, scattered in different directions bleating with panic. Akiva was drenched to the skin but did his best to drive all the sheep back into the fold. Having finally closed the door behind them Akiva dreamed of sheltering from the rain and hurricane force winds himself, changing his clothes and warming himself through, when glancing back over towards the pasturelands, he thought he spotted an abandoned lamb. The powerful gusts of wind had blown one of the lambs towards the river. The little animal fought with all its might against being blown into the river until all its strength was spent.

Akiva ran to help the lamb when a surge of wind blew the animal off its feet and into the river. Seeing the current carry the exhausted lamb downstream, Akiva jumped into the water and with swift movements managed to reach the lamb and drag it onto the bank. The lamb was terrified and trembling with cold. Akiva made towards the summer house upwards of the riverbank in the hope of finding shelter from the continuing downpour. The shepherd quickly climbed the incline and ran to the summer house hugging the rescued lamb to his chest. Rachel was standing in the alcove. As soon as he noticed her, Akiva turned to rush out from under the roof back into the rain until the girl’s words reached his ears.

“Where are you going? Please, come back. You need dry clothes. Here, take my cloak.”

Akiva refused the cloak with a slight movement of his head but returned silently and sat on the edge of the bench turning his body towards the river to avoid looking at her. In his anxiety, he hugged the trembling lamb even more tightly.

“When you saved me from the dog, I prayed for a long time that everything would be all right and that you hadn’t suffered on my account. I didn’t tell anyone what happened because I didn’t want the story to reach my father. If he finds out, he’ll forbid me to feed the dogs and horses and won’t let me out of the house. If I had not seen that you were ok the next day, I would have told my father and he would have instantly called the best healers. You are a brave and decent man. Now that I have seen how you saved the lamb, I am convinced of it. Not every shepherd would jump into the river to save a lamb even if it were their own. But you leapt to save an animal that is not even your own property.”

Akiva said nothing. Rachel continued, “Last autumn I often watched you herding the sheep by the river but it was too cold in winter and I rarely came down here. I love to watch the water and the current. I can sit here for hours lost in thought and contemplation. I think about life, not about life itself and why we are born, but about my own role in life, why I am here in the world and my true purpose. I often think about the future. What do you think about when you look at the river?” Asked Rachel.