Tehillim 97 – “Or Zarua LaTzadik,” or Where Rabbi Akiva’s Name Is Hidden
Tehillim 97 - “Or Zarua LaTzadik,” or Where Rabbi Akiva’s Name Is Hidden
Tehillim 97:11
“Or zarua la-tzadik, u-le-yishrei lev simcha” - (Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart).
אוֹר זָרֻעַ לַצַּדִּיק וּלְיִשְׁרֵי-לֵב שִׂמְחָה
The final letters of these words encode the name Rabbi Akiva.
There is a dispute regarding the spelling of the name “Akiva”: in the Babylonian Talmud, it is written with א, while in the Jerusalem Talmud, it is written with ה.
The Arizal (zechuto yagen aleinu) reveals that the pasuk אביר יעקב – “Avir Yaakov” (Bereishit 49:24) contains the letters “Rabbi Akiva”; therefore, the name is spelled with the letter א.
The sefer “Or Zarua” by Rabbi Moshe ben Isaac of Vienna (13th century) is devoted to this subject. Ben Ish Hai also dedicated a book entitled “Or Zarua” to Rabbi Akiva.
(Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh)
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