The animated story is a cute, child-appropriate rendition of the point at which not-yet-Rabbi Akiva comes to the conclusion that if water can bore through a rock, certainly Torah can bore through his heart. And at what most people then would consider an "advanced" age, he heads off to learn.
The message is pretty clear and quite inspirational: if Rabbi Akiva can go from an illiterate middle-aged shepherd to an exceptional Torah scholar, then you, too, can do whatever you set your mind to do.
I like the message. I want my kids to believe that they can live up to their full potential. I want them to believe that they can overcome all challenges and barriers. I want to believe that anyone who wants to learn Torah can.
This was the operating assumption back in R. Akiva's day. There was a certain, shall we say, hierarchy of status. Torah scholars were up there; those who couldn't even read or write were... not. And sad to say, there was a bit of condescension as a result.
Really sad to say, there still is. A lot.
But I've come to understand that there's a flaw in that assumption. Because it takes more than just really wanting it. It takes more than being willing to pack up and leave everything and everyone (including an incredibly supportive wife) for years at a time. It takes more than a burning knowledge that you will die if you don't learn.
These days, it takes financial means that too often are in direct conflict with paying the rent or mortgage. It takes time away from the precious little we already treasure with family. It requires that someone else be available to care for children. It assumes that you live in a place where there is opportunity, or that you have the means to relocate. It assumes that whatever physical or emotional disabilities you have, they can be overcome. And in most communities where time, finances, opportunity, child care, and a place to live are taken care of, it also requires that you be male.
I'm not saying that there aren't viable alternatives. I'm saying that it's more complex than "If Rabbi Akiva can do it, anyone can do it."
I'm not even convinced R. Akiva could have done it without support and encouragement. Support from his wife. Encouragement from his teachers. We - none of us - can excel in a vacuum. It takes networking. It takes encouragement. It takes interdependence.
When the teacher delights in being taught by the student, there is encouragement.
When the student receives constructive and helpful feedback, there is support.
When teacher and student come to see themselves as both teachers and students, there is interdependence.
I wouldn't change the animated story, or the message of encouragement it has for children. But I am acutely aware that without us working together, supporting and encouraging each other, none of us will succeed. And only the truly ignorant would think they could do it alone.
2 comments:
What would I do if a bazillion bucks suddenly fell into my hands? Aside from pay all my bills, pronto, I'd go about inventing the village that wasn't there when we were trying to raise our special-ed kid Jewish: Special-ed day schools for Jewish kids who don't benefit from mainstreaming. (Will our kid ever choose to practice Judaism again, once he gets past his rebellious phase? The jury's still out. But it certainly didn't help that he never seemed to fit anywhere in any Jewish environment, either socially or educationally. We ended up spending a fortune, which we didn't exactly have, for a private tutor.)
So many people seem to fall through the cracks in the Jewish community, be they struggling artists, struggling students, both of the above, or part of another struggling group. Sadly, money is not only the root of all evil, it's also the root of most cures. A more supportive attitude would certainly help, though.
Shira: I'm torn between feeling like we shouldn't have to create the village(s) we need and feeling like those of us who CAN create such villages SHOULD do so, that it's part of our responsibility to ourselves and each other.
Then again, it takes many to build a road. Perhaps it is up to those of us who can identify a problem but who are financially challenged to determine where the road should be built and to where it should lead. And then the next person who comes along may have the means to pave it without having to figure out where it's going first.
Elster: on my way to read them...
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