Berachos 31a § 4
Akiva's Deep Trance
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Passage Content
One who prays must direct his thoughts toward Heaven.
Direct their hearts, let Your ear attend.
If there hearts are direted to You,
then Your ear will attend to their needs.
This was the custom of Akiva:
When he would pray with the congregation
He would shorten his prayer and finish quickly.
Because he didn't want to burden the congregation
Since they would have to wait for him to finish.
But when he prayed by himself,
A person would leave him standing in one corner of the room
And find him finishing his prayer in another corner of the room
Vilna Gaon adds: his concentration was so great that
he was unaware that he simply had moved across the room.
Question: And why was he propelled around the room?
Answer: Because of the bowings and the prostrations
in which he engaged while praying.
Direct their hearts, let Your ear attend.
If there hearts are direted to You,
then Your ear will attend to their needs.
This was the custom of Akiva:
When he would pray with the congregation
He would shorten his prayer and finish quickly.
Because he didn't want to burden the congregation
Since they would have to wait for him to finish.
But when he prayed by himself,
A person would leave him standing in one corner of the room
And find him finishing his prayer in another corner of the room
Vilna Gaon adds: his concentration was so great that
he was unaware that he simply had moved across the room.
Question: And why was he propelled around the room?
Answer: Because of the bowings and the prostrations
in which he engaged while praying.