יָצְאָה נִשְׁמָתוֹ בְּ'אֶחָד'

ביטוי (אנגלית)

His soul departed with 'One'

הגדרה (אנגלית)

He is exempted from the Holy Spirit when his mouth utters the word "one" which at the end of the verse speaks of in verse 6:4: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one."

("When Rabbi Akiva was taken out to be executed, it was the time for the recitation of the Shema, and they were raking his flesh with iron combs, and he was accepting upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven. His disciples said to him: Our teacher, even now? He said to them: All my days I was troubled by this verse, 'with all your soul' — even if He takes your soul; I said: When will I have the opportunity to fulfill it, and now that I have the opportunity, shall I not fulfill it? He prolonged 'One' until his soul departed with 'One.' A bat kol came forth and said: Fortunate are you, Rabbi Akiva, for your soul departed with 'One'" - Berakhot 61b; and also: "To ascend the pyre, to leap into the blaze / and in 'One' to die the death of martyrs" - Bialik, If You Will It, It Is No Dream; and also: "And at once he felt his strength leave him, and he said 'Hear, O Israel' with all his might, and his soul departed with 'One'" - Agnon, Tales of the Baal Shem Tov, The Dying Rabbi; and also: "Rabbi Akiva's soul departed with 'One'" - H. Hazaz, Buried Treasure, 127)