24,000

A very strange commentary by the Netivot Shalom is that the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva were a גילגול, reincarnation of the 24,000 men who died in the plague mentioned in פרשת בלק. This is very puzzling, as the students of Rabbi Akiva were immersed in Torah, and the 24,000 in Moshe Rabbeinu’s time had committed the double sin of idolatry and having relations with Midianite women. The explanation as to the connection between the two incidents is that they both represent a disconnection with עם ישראל. It is obvious that when one gives in to his passions and commits serious offenses, he forgets that he is part of the Jewish nation. He now becomes a separate entity and all that matters are his needs being satisfied. In the case of Rabbi Akiva’s students, their sin was שנאת חינם, causeless hatred. They did not show respect to one another, and they lost their sense of being part of עם ישראל. Disconnecting from the Jewish people is a very serious offense. This was what was in common to the 24,000 both in Moshe Rabbeinu’s time as well as Rabbi Akiva’s.