The Talmud brings a famous event:
Shimon HaAmsoni, and some say that it was Neḥemya HaAmsoni, would interpret all occurrences of the word “et” in the Torah, deriving additional inclusions from the “Et” (which signifies the definite direct object in Hebrew grammar). Once he reached: “You shall be in awe of [et] the Lord your God; you shall serve Him; and to Him you shall cleave, and by His name you shall swear” (Deuteronomy 10:20), he withdrew from his method of interpretation. How could one add something to God Himself?
His students said to him: Rabbi, what will be with all the “etim” that you interpreted until now? He said to them: Just as I received reward for the “drisha” interpretation, so I shall receive reward for my “prisha” withdrawal.
The word “et” in this verse was not explained until Rabbi Akiva came and expounded: “You shall be in awe of [et] the Lord your God”: to include Torah scholars, and one is commanded to fear them as one fears God.
Understand, interpreting the “etim” was haAmsoni’s life work, his doctoral thesis. He thought he had discovered a new pattern in the Bible, and spent years, maybe decades, working on his thesis. But one verse stopped him. Now, he could have come up with some creative interpretation or worked around it, as many modern people do with verses, but he was intellectually honest. So he quit his life’s work and refuted it entirely.
When you have been working on a project or relationship for years, it can seem impossible to stop. We are always most comfortable doing what we have been doing already. Our ancient sages teach us to honestly evaluate what we are doing now and be open to changing if the situation calls for it. Just because something has been working for years or decades does not mean it will always be the proper course of action in the future.
You may ask, how was Rabbi Akiva able to interpret the “Et”? He had one thing haAmsoni never had. He had haAmsoni as a Rabbi – Rabbi Akiva saw a man willing to disregard his life’s work in the Bible to be intellectually honest. That was a man who could inspire awe and respect similar to God Himself.
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