When Moses reached heaven, he found God occupied ornamenting
the letters in which the Torah was written, with little crown-like
decorations, and he looked on without saying a word. God then
said to him: "In thy home, do not people know the greeting of
peace?" Moses: "Does it behoove a servant to address his Master?"
God: "Thou mightest at least have wished Me success in My
labors." Moses hereupon said: "Let the power of my Lord be great
according as Thou hast spoken." [249] Then Moses inquired as the
significance of the crowns upon the letter, and was answered:
"Hereafter there shall live a man called Akiba, son of Joseph, who
will base in interpretation a gigantic mountain of Halakot upon
every dot of these letters." Moses said to God: "Show me this
man." God: "Go back eighteen ranks." Moses went where he was
bidden, and could hear the discussions of the teacher sitting with
his disciples in the eighteenth rank, but was not able to follow
these discussions, which greatly grieved him. But just then he
heard the disciples questioning their master in regard to a certain
subject: "Whence dost thou know this?" And he answered, "This is
a Halakah given to Moses on Mount Sinai," and not Moses was
content. Moses returned to God and said to Him: "Thou has a man
like Akiba, and yet dost Thou give the Torah to Israel through
me!" But God answered: "Be silent, so has it been decreed by Me."
Moses then said: "O Lord of the world! Thou has permitted me to
behold this man's learning, let see also the reward which will be
meted out to him." God said: "Go, return and see." Moses saw
them sell the flesh of the martyr Akiba at the meat market. He said
to God: "Is this the reward for such erudition?" But God replied:
"Be silent, thus have I decreed." [250]

Moses then saw how God wrote the word "long-suffering" in the