Nedarim 50a (נ.) — the Talmud in English

He lifted the mat [

the mat on which Rabbi Yehuda had been sitting] before the messenger who had brought him the cloak,

and said to the messenger: “See what I have” [

See how much wealth I possess]! A miracle had occurred to him, and that entire area had become filled with gold coins.

However,

Rabbi Yehuda said,

“I do not want to derive benefit from this world” [

I do not want to derive benefit and receive my reward in this world].

Rabbi Akiva

was a shepherd in the household of one of the wealthiest men of Jerusalem, who was known as “Calba Savua” (“Satisfied Dog”), because anyone who entered his home hungry like a dog would leave satisfied.

His daughter became betrothed to him [

she became betrothed to him]

—the daughter [

his daughter]

of Calba Savua

secretly, because she had seen that Rabbi Akiva was modest and virtuous, and because he had also agreed to go and study Torah.

When

Calba Savua heard

that his daughter had become betrothed to Rabbi Akiva, he expelled her from his home and

declared that she was forbidden by vow to derive benefit from all his property [

and prohibited her by vow from deriving benefit from any of his possessions].

She went and married him in the winter [

she went and married Rabbi Akiva during the winter],

and they slept in straw [

and they slept among the straw], because they had neither pillows nor blankets.

He would pick straw from her hair [

Rabbi Akiva would remove the straw from among her hair].

He said to her, “If I had” [

if I were able to become wealthy]

“I would place upon you”

I would make for you an ornament called

“Jerusalem of Gold.”

It was a golden ornament depicting the city of Jerusalem.

Elijah came [

Elijah appeared to them] in order to comfort them and show them that there were people poorer than they were.

He appeared to them as a man [

and appeared to them as a man],

and he called at the door [

and called at the entrance to their home].

He said to them

to Rabbi Akiva and his wife:

“Give me a little straw” [

bring me some straw],

“for my wife has given birth” [

as my wife has given birth]

“and I have nothing on which to lay her” [

and I have no straw at all on which to lay her or the infant].

Rabbi Akiva said to his wife

to his wife:

“See” [

look],

“there is a man” [

there is a person here],

“who does not even have straw” [

who does not even have straw].

She said to him

his wife:

“Go and study in the house of study” [

go and study Torah]!

He went for twelve years [

he went to study Torah for twelve years]

before [

with]

Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua.

When the twelve years were complete [

after he had completed the twelve years that he had studied],

he came to his home [

he returned to his home] with twelve thousand students.

But before he entered his home,

he heard from behind his home that a certain wicked man was saying to his wife [

to his wife]:

“Your father did well by you” [

your father did well by prohibiting you from deriving benefit from his possessions],

“first, because he is not your equal” [

Rabbi Akiva is not comparable to you and is not suited to you, as he is not from a family as distinguished as yours].

“And furthermore,”

“he abandoned you”

“like a living widow all these years” [

he left you alone like a living widow and went to study for so many years without seeing you].

She said to him

Rabbi Akiva’s wife said to that wicked man:

“If he would heed me” [

if Rabbi Akiva, my husband, would heed me], I would want

“him to remain for another twelve years” [

to continue studying Torah for another twelve years]!

Rabbi Akiva heard her words from behind the house, and

said: “Since she has granted me permission” [

since my wife has granted me permission],

“I shall return behind me” [

I shall return to the house of study and continue studying].

He turned back and went [

he returned to the house of study] without seeing his wife ,

and was there for another twelve years [

and remained there for another twelve years].

He came [

he came to his home] after twenty-four years, accompanied by

twenty-four thousand pairs of students.

Everyone went out to greet him [

all the people of the city went out to receive him],

and she too [

and she too, his wife]

rose to go out to greet him [

went out to receive him].

That wicked man said to her

to Rabbi Akiva’s wife,

“And you—where are you going” [

how can you go to greet him dressed like that]?! She did not have suitable clothing.

She said to him, “A righteous person knows the needs of his animal”

(Proverbs 12)—he knows that I suffered on his behalf.

She came to appear before him [

Rabbi Akiva’s wife went to appear before him], fell on her face, and kissed Rabbi Akiva’s feet.

The Sages were pushing her away [

the students who served Rabbi Akiva pushed her away].

He said to them

Rabbi Akiva said to his students:

“Leave her,”

for the study of Torah

that is mine and

the study of Torah

that is yours—

hers [

it is on her account]

it is!

She gave me the counsel to go and study Torah, and on her account I merited studying and teaching.

At that moment, Calba Savua regretted his vow, without knowing that Rabbi Akiva, his son-in-law, had returned to the city.

Calba Savua heard

that a great Torah scholar had arrived in the city, and said: I will go to him; perhaps he will be able to release me from the vow by which I prohibited my daughter from deriving benefit from my possessions. He did not know that this scholar was his son-in-law.

He came [

he came] to Rabbi Akiva

and sought to have his vow dissolved [

and requested that his vow be permitted].

Rabbi Akiva said to his father-in-law: (in order to find an opening for dissolving his vow ) Had you known that your son-in-law would become a great man, would you have taken the vow?

Calba Savua said to Rabbi Akiva: Even had I known that my son-in-law would know one chapter, or even one halakha, I would not have prohibited my daughter from deriving benefit from my possessions.

Rabbi Akiva said to him: I am your son-in-law!

And he permitted it [

and he dissolved his vow for him],

and it was permitted [

and the vow was dissolved].

Calba Savua fell on his face, kissed Rabbi Akiva’s feet, and gave him half of his wealth.

From six matters he became wealthy [

he became wealthy from six things]

Rabbi Akiva .

1.

From Calba Savua—

who gave him half of his wealth.

2.

From the ram of a ship—

for every ship had one made for it in the form of a ram [

on every ship they made a wooden figure of a ram] as a form of divination and as a sign that the ship would move swiftly, like a ram. They would fill the ram with gold coins.

Once [

one time]

the ship’s people forgot it [

the people of the ship forgot that ram]

on the seashore [

on the seashore] .

He came [

Rabbi Akiva came] and

found it [

found it] and took it.

3.

And from a chest [

from a chest ]—

for once [

one time]

he gave four dinars to sailors [

Rabbi Akiva gave four dinars to seafarers],

he said to them

Rabbi Akiva said:

“Bring me something” [

bring me, in exchange for these dinars, any find that you discover],

“and they found nothing but a chest on the seashore” [

and they found only a chest that was lying on the seashore].

They brought it to him [

they brought that chest to Rabbi Akiva].

They said to him

to Rabbi Akiva,

“Let our master wait for it” [

let our master wait for it until we bring you something else], because what they had brought him was not worth very much.

Rabbi Akiva opened the chest,

and it was found to be full of dinars [

and it was discovered to be full of gold coins].

The Gemara explains how the chest containing the coins came to the seashore:

For once [

one time]

a ship sank, and all its merchandise was placed in that chest [

and all the money belonging to that ship was stored in that chest, which had been made to conceal the property of the ship’s people].

And it was found at that time [

and that chest was found at that time] after being brought there by those sailors who had drowned, and that chest was

from the people of Sarakuta [

from the Ishmaelites ].

4.

And from a Roman noblewoman [

Roman]—once Rabbi Akiva and his students needed money, and they went to a certain noblewoman to borrow from her. That noblewoman said to Rabbi Akiva: I will lend you the money, and you will be the borrower, while the Holy One, blessed be He, and the sea will serve as guarantors for the loan. Rabbi Akiva set a repayment date for her, but when the repayment date arrived, Rabbi Akiva fell ill and was unable to bring the money.

That noblewoman went to the seashore and said: Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that Rabbi Akiva is ill and therefore was unable to repay his debt. See that You are guarantor for the matter.

Immediately at that time, the emperor’s daughter became insane. She took a chest filled with precious stones and gold coins, threw it into the sea, and the sea brought it to the place where that noblewoman was standing. She immediately took the chest and went away.

Some time later, Rabbi Akiva recovered and came to that noblewoman, with his money in hand to repay his debt. She said to him: I already went to the guarantor, and he repaid the entire debt for me; here is the surplus that he gave me beyond the amount of the loan.

From the money that the noblewoman returned to him, Rabbi Akiva became wealthy.