ייִדישער מחשבֿה אויף דברים 11:22

However it appears from the words of the sages that the love that a person has for his Creator is from another angle. And that is that which they said in the chapter [entitled] HaRoeh (Berakhot 61b), "When they took Rabbi Akiva out to be executed, it was time for the recitation of Shema. And they were raking his flesh with iron combs, and he intended to accept upon himself the yoke of Heaven [by reciting Shema]. His students said to him, 'Our teacher, even now?' He said to them, 'All my days I have been troubled by the verse, with all your soul (Deuteronomy 6:5), [meaning] even if God takes your soul. I said, "When will it come to me to fulfill it?" Now that it has come to me, shall I not fulfill it?' He prolonged [the word], One until his soul departed with One. A voice descended from heaven and said, 'Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, that your soul left with One.'" But now it will be difficult to you: How did Rabbi Akiva fulfill loving God, may He be blessed, with all of his heart and all of his soul through that which he prolonged, One, until his soul departed with One? However, this thing is because the love that a person has towards God, may He be blessed, is from that which a person is nothing from the angle of himself, but rather is only coming from God, may He be blessed, and returns to Him, since everything returns to Him, may He blessed, and there is nothing besides God, may He be blessed. So He is One, and there is nothing besides Him. And hence they, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 4b-5a), "Even though one recited Shema in the synagogue, he must also recite the Shema upon his bed. [...] But if one is a Torah scholar, he need not [recite it. Nevertheless] he must recite at least one verse of prayer, [such as,] Into Your hand I deposit my spirit (Psalms 31:6)." Yet it is implied that if one recites Shema — meaning, Listen Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One — he does not have to say, Into Your hand I deposit my spirit. But when did he say, Into Your hand I deposit my spirit? However, it is this thing — that he said, the Lord is One, that He, may He be blessed, is One, and there is none besides Him. And from the angle that He, may He be blessed, is One, and there is none besides Him, everything returns to Him. And through this, His soul returns to God, may He be blessed. So [through this] he deposits his soul in God's hands, may He be blessed. And that is why Rabbi Akiva prolonged One until his soul departed. As it is because He, may He be blessed, is One, that the soul returns to Him, may He be blessed. So when he prolonged One until his soul departed, his soul completely returned to God, may He be blessed, in that He is One. And it is from this angle that love is found. And that is why it stated, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord your God, etc. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). Since from the angle that He, may He be blessed, is One, there is nothing in existence in the world that is separate from Him, as everything is dependent upon, and clinging to, Him, may He be blessed. For He, may He be blessed, is the essence of everything. And that is why love is fitting towards God, may He be blessed; and love is more fitting towards God, may He be blessed, than love with other things. For even if they cling to one another, any love that there is between lovers is nevertheless [attenuated by there being] a separate existence to each one. But with the love of God, may He be blessed, it is [otherwise,] since a person completely returns his spirit and his soul to Him to the point that there is no individual existence for the person, and he is thereby completely clinging to Him. This is as it is written, to love the Lord your God and to cling to Him (Deuteronomy 11:22). So because of this, complete love is fitting. And it is like Rabbi Akiva said, "All my days I have been troubled by the verse, And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul (Deuteronomy 6:5). Now that it has come to me, shall I not fulfill it?" For this is complete love; when one gives up his life to the Lord. As with this, he clings to Him completely. And that is the essence of love. So it has been clarified to you that love is more fitting towards God, may He be blessed, in that man gives up his life to God, may He be blessed, and completely clings to Him. And that is true love.

And it seems to me, too, that aside from the effect of participation of prophet with prophet and sage with sage on the quality of the wisdom that is received, there is yet another dimension to the situation. That is, there is no question but we should believe that just as when the Temple existed, that sanctified abode was distinctly predisposed to the effluence of prophecy and wisdom, to the extent that through its mediation this effluence was transmitted to all of Israel — so should it follow that the prophets and saints be predisposed to the reception of wisdom and prophecy to the extent that through their mediation they project it upon all who are fit for it, even though the latter not be in immediate conjunction with them, but simply by virtue of the fact that they [the latter] find themselves in their generation, these prophets and saints themselves constituting a kind of sanctified Temple. The Ramban of blessed memory writes in his commentary (Deuteronomy 11:22): "And it is possible with men on this level [of cleaving to the L-rd] that even in their lifetimes their souls are bound up in the "bond of Life," for they themselves are the abode of the Shechinah, as indicated in the Kuzari." It is possible that the Ramban has our idea in mind, too. Therefore, when certain generations are blessed with prophets and saints, they receive the effluence, and, through their agency, can project it upon all the men in their generation who are fit to receive it, especially upon those who draw close to them and participate with them. And this is true not only in their lifetimes; but even after they have died, their burial places are likely to possess certain elements of that effluence. For their bones, which, in their lifetimes had been vessels for the receiving of the Divine effluence still retain enough of their former eminence and glory to suffice for this. Because of this our sages of blessed memory have stated (Sotah 34b) that one should prostrate himself on the graves of the righteous and pray there. For prayer in such places is more readily received because of the presence there of bodies which had formerly been receptacles of the Divine effluence.