Essay:Rabbi Akiba

A sectarian once came to Rabbi Akiba and asked him, "Who created this world?" Rabbi Akiba replied: "The Holy One, blessed be He." So the sectarian said, "Show me a clear proof." Rabbi Akiba replied, "Come back to me tomorrow." On the next day the sectarian returned and Rabbi Akiba asked him, "What are you wearing?" The man replied, "A garment." Rabbi Akiba asked him, "Who made the garment?" The man replied, "A weaver." Rabbi Akiba answered, "I don't believe you. Show me a clear proof." The sectarian replied, "What can I show you? Don't you realize that a weaver made it?" Rabbi Akiba answered, "And don't you know that the Holy One, blessed be He, created his world?" When the sectarian left, Rabbi Akiba's students asked him, "What's the clear proof?" He answered them, "My sons, just as a house indicates that there's a builder, and a garment indicates that there's a weaver, and a door that there's a carpenter -- so the world indicates that there is a creator, the Holy One, blessed be He."