"'O Eternal! God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their descendants, the heavens and the earth are the works of Thy hand. Thou didst give to the sea a shore, controlling with a word the power of the mighty deep. Thou art merciful as Thou art great, and Thou hast promised to accept the repentance of those who return to Thee with upright hearts. As numerous are my sins as the sands which cover the seashore. I have done evil before Thee, committing abominations in Thy presence and acting wickedly. Bound with fetters I come before Thee, and on my knees I entreat Thee, in the name of Thy great attributes of mercy, to compassionate my suffering and my distress. Pardon me, O Lord, forgive me. Do not utterly destroy me because of my transgressions. Let not my punishment eternally continue. Though I am unworthy of Thy goodness, O Lord, yet save me in Thy mercy. Henceforth will I praise Thy name all the days of my life, for all Thy creatures delight in praising Thee, and unto Thee is the greatness and the goodness forever and ever, Selah!'" "God heard this prayer, even as it is written, 'And He permitted Himself to be entreated by him, and brought him back to Jerusalem unto his kingdom.'" "From which we may learn," continued Akiba, "that affliction is an atonement for sin." * * * * * Said Rabbi Eleazer, the great, "It is commanded 'thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul and with all that is loved by thee.' "Does not 'with all thy soul' include 'with all that is loved by thee?' "Some people love themselves more than they love their money; to them 'tis said, 'with all thy soul;' while for those who love their money more than themselves the commandment reads, 'with all that is loved by thee.'" But Rabbi Akiba always expounded the words, "with all thy soul," to mean "even though thy life be demanded of thee." When the decree was issued forbidding the Israelites to study the law, what did Rabbi Akiba? He installed many congregations secretly, and in secret lectured before them. Then Papus, the son of Juda said to him:-- "Art not afraid, Akiba? Thy doings may be discovered, and thou wilt be punished for disobeying the decree." "Listen, and I will relate to thee a parable," answered Akiba. "A fox, walking by the river side, noticed the fishes therein swimming and swimming to and fro, never ceasing; so he said to them, 'Why are ye hurrying, what do ye fear?' "'The nets of the angler,' they replied. "'Come, then,' said the fox, 'and live with me on dry land.' "But the fishes laughed. "'And art thou called the wisest of the beasts?' they exclaimed; 'verily thou art the most foolish. If we are in danger even in our element, how much greater would be our risk in leaving it.' "It is the same with us. We are told of the law that it is 'our life and the prolongation of our days.' This is it when things are peaceful with us; how much greater is our need of it then in times like these?"