As our hair grows longer and less comfortable and we constantly evaluate which events we are allowed to attend, surely we all ponder why the death of Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students demands this period of national mourning. After all it seems that their demise has had little impact on later generations and yet it is marked so strikingly. True, the sefirah period has since brought great tragedies to our people, often through hatred that was intensified by Easter sermons and acted upon during the ensuing pogroms. Nevertheless at the outset, it was the loss of these scholars to the sin of uncivil behavior to each other that prompted our predecessors to give it a longer mourning period than even the destruction of Yerushalyim.
There is no question that to Rabbi Akiva and his generation, and undoubtedly for several generations later, the tragic death of all the nation's scholars was devastating. It can certainly be compared to our own loss, from which we are still reeling, of generations of European scholars half a century ago. Rabbi Akiva himself testifies (Yevamos 66b) that if not for the group of five talmidim, whom he taught at the end of his life and who "established" Torah, he may have little impact on the Torah we learn today. Our mishna and thus what we have of the oral law is primarily taught and filtered through these five talmidim. The twenty four thousand students that populated the entire land perished leaving comparatively little behind.
However the gemora (Yevamos 66b) describes the effect of the loss of these scholars in even more profound terms. Until new students were educated and established, "the world became desolate". Where else since creation has the entire natural world been described in such a desperate manner? I am reminded of the tenuous nature of the world in the early morning, just prior to the giving of the Torah. There too the Medrash describes that all of creation was silenced in mortal fright knowing that its very existence would depend on our acceptance of Hashem's Torah. Were we to decline, we are told, the purpose and destiny of the world would be thrown into question. Apparently, a world without an entire generation of scholars to continue our mesorah is of questionable meaning and purpose as well, and perhaps once again our physical survival came into question.
In fact the gemora indicates that the scholars shared in the responsibility of this frightening threat to torah. In relating indications that the death of the Rabbis was not due to unrelated matters, the gemora points to the fact that they all succumbed to the same plague, "askara", and in the same period of the year, between Pesach and Shavuos. Askara is a disease that according to our tradition (Shabbos 33b) attacks amongst others, those who aggressively disrupt the study of torah. Apparently these scholars, who through their mutual disrespect and contentiousness threatened the viability of their very mission in life, were a target for this dreadful disease at a time when they should have been preparing to celebrate and rededicate themselves to that very mission.
Now, we still have to connect the dots. How does the lack of respect amongst a generation of scholars translate into a threat to the mesorah? Further, how could scholars disagree so strongly and act so disrespectfully as to incur such anger that would challenge the viability of mesorah?
Perhaps we have all come across individuals so absolutely dedicated and invested in their ideas that the inner pressure to defend them is enormous. To be sure, it matters little whether the pressure is borne of the risk of lost time and energy or of a tarnished reputation. Nevertheless this pressure can blur the lines between the healthy defense of one's work and the unacceptable lapse of respect for a worthy opponent.
In a not dissimilar fashion, the absolute love and dedication that our scholars have for distilling Hashem's thoughts with precision and the responsibility that comes with it, forges a passionate commitment to their ideas. Nevertheless, as praiseworthy as this passion is, we can learn from Rabbi Akiva's talmidim that if it is not tempered, it can be detrimental to the completeness of Torah. This idea is expressed by Rashi in his interpretation of Shlomo Hamelech's insight (Kohelles, 4:9-10), "Two are better than one for they get a greater return for their labor. For should one fall one can lift the other, but woe to him who is alone when he falls and there is no one to lift him." Rashi explains that this can refer to the study of Torah and the interdependence that talmidei chachamim share. It follows that the Torah, which Hashem made dependant on people for its retention, transmission and even interpretation, can be impacted upon through human error and must be corrected by other scholars as well,
Therefore maintaining a healthy respect for fellow worthy scholars and being open to them becomes crucial to maintaining the completeness and precision of Torah. The lack of respect for one's peers can threaten the responsibility of a generation to maintain the wholeness of Torah. Evidently these are precious ideas that must be refreshed as we get closer to celebrating Shavuos.
Note: See "Respect and Appreciation for One Another". There we explained how the life of Rabbon Shimon Bar Yochai whose yarzheit is a break in the mourning, came to represent the respect that one must have for every individual and their ability to develop some aspect of Torah. Thus we can understand why Rashbi's yarzheit was a day when the askara epidemic came to a halt.