32. The sages discussed the time when the great Rabbi Eliezer became ill AND WAS ABOUT TO DIE. The day was Shabbat Eve, and Rabbi Eliezer made his son, Horkenos, sit to his right. He then revealed great and deep secrets to him. But HORKENOS'S mind was not ready to hear him AT FIRST, because he thought that his father's mind was not sufficiently clear. Only after he saw that his father's mind was completely clear did he receive 189 sublime secrets from him.

33. When he reached THE SECRET OF the marble stones that are mixed with the supernal Waters, Rabbi Eliezer wept and stopped talking. He said, Get up and go over there, my son! He asks him why. He replies, I see that I am soon to pass from the world. Go along and tell your mother that my Tfilin shall disappear and reach a higher place. IN OTHER WORDS, HE GAVE HER A HINT ABOUT HIS APPROACHING DEATH. And after I have departed from this world, I shall come to see them, THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY, but they should not cry. Because those above are near, not those below, though the human mind cannot grasp this.

34. As they were still sitting, the wise men of the generation came by to visit him. However, he cursed them for not coming to serve him. As we have learned, it is greater to serve the Torah than study it. In the meantime, Rabbi Akiva arrived. He asks, Akiva, Akiva, why have you not come to attend to me? He responded, Rabbi, I had no spare time. He was angry and said, Indeed, I wonder whether you shall die naturally. On that account, he placed a curse on him so that his death would be the worst of them all. THIS MEANS THAT HE PLACED A CURSE ON THE OTHER WISE MEN WHO DID NOT COME TO SERVE HIM, SO THAT THEY ALSO WOULD NOT DIE NATURALLY. AND HE SAID THAT THE DEATH OF RABBI AKIVA SHALL BE THE CRUELEST OF THEM ALL.

35. Rabbi Akiva wept and said to him, Rabbi, teach Torah to me! Rabbi Eliezer opened his mouth AND, AS HE SPOKE about the works of the divine Chariot, a fire surrounded them both. The wise men said, From this we learn that we are not worthy; nor do we have the privilege TO LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF HIS TEACHINGS. So they sat outside the gate. After everything was over, the fire disappeared.

36. And he taught THE SECRET of impure white spots (macula) as bright as the snow, 300 halachic rules, and 216 explanations of the verses of Shir Hashirim. Rabbi Akiva's eyes poured with tears like water. Then the fire reappeared AND SURROUNDED THEM BOTH again. When he reached the verse "stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples, for I am sick with love" (Shir Hashirim 2:5). Rabbi Akiva could not bear any more. He raised his voice and burst out bellowing LIKE A BULL. And he could not speak out of fear of the Shechinah that was there.

37. And he taught him all of the deep and sublime secrets that exist in Shir Hashirim, and made him solemnly swear that he would never use any of these verses. If he did, then the Holy One, blessed be He, would destroy the world because of him, as it is not His desire that people use it, because of its supreme holiness. Afterward, Rabbi Akiva left and burst out crying, his eyes pouring with tears, and said, Woe my teacher, woe my teacher, for the world is to remain an orphan without you. All the other wise men entered and stood by him. They asked him questions about Torah and he answered.

38. Rabbi Eliezer felt confined. He raised both his arms and laid them on his heart. He said, Woe to the world. The upper world has again concealed and hidden all light and illumination from the lower WORLD, JUST AS IT WAS BEFORE HE CAME INTO THE WORLD. Woe to my two arms. Woe to the two parts of the Torah, as you shall be forgotten by the world on this day. AND THE ZOHAR STATES that Rabbi Yitzchak said, During the entire lifetime of Rabbi Eliezer, the Halachah would 'shine from his mouth' as on the day it was given on mount Sinai.

39. RABBI ELIEZER said, I have learned so much Torah, gaining wisdom and serving SAGES, that even if all the people of the world were to be writers, there would not be enough to write of it. And my pupils have no lack of my wisdom; only as a kohl-pencil (mascara) in the eye, AS MUCH AS A TEARDROP THAT IS SHED BY AN EYE WHEN A DROP OF KOHL ENTERS IT. And I lack very little of the wisdom of my teachers, perhaps only AS MUCH AS a person can drink from the sea. AND THE ZOHAR CONCLUDES that he said this only to show gratitude to his teachers and to hold them in more favor than himself. THIS MEANS THAT WHAT HE HAS OMITTED FROM HIS TEACHERS' WISDOM, WHICH IS AS MUCH AS A PERSON CAN DRINK FROM THE SEA, IS MORE THAN A DROP OF KOHL-PENCIL IN THE EYE, WHICH HE SAID OF HIS STUDENTS' OMISSIONS. THUS, HE SHOWS THAT HE FEELS GRATITUDE TO HIS TEACHERS AND IS GRATEFUL TO THEM MORE THAN TO HIMSELF.

40. And they were asking him THE LAW of footwear of Yibum (the levirate rite) - IF IT BECOMES DEFILED. As his soul left him, he announced, It is pure. Rabbi Akiva was not there WHEN HE DIED. As the day of Shabbat ended, Rabbi Akiva found him dead. As he ripped his clothes and tore his flesh, the blood started to roll over his beard. He wept and shouted as he stepped outside, and said, Heavens, O heavens, tell the sun and the moon that the light that shone more than they is darkened.

41. Rabbi Yehuda said, when the soul of a righteous person wishes to leave THE BODY, it feels happy, because the righteous is confident that he shall receive his reward as he dies. Therefore, it is written, "When he saw them, he ran to meet them," REFERRING TO THE THREE ANGELS THAT ACCOMPANIED THE SHECHINAH AS SHE CAME TO RECEIVE HIS SOUL with happiness, as he welcomed THE ANGELS. Where DOES HE WELCOME THEM? As we have learned, at "the tent door," where he "bowed himself toward the ground," toward the Shechinah. THIS MEANS THAT THE SOUL BOWED TO THE SHECHINAH THAT HAD COME TO IT, AS THE SHECHINAH IS CALLED EARTH.