fish live in the water

In the Talmud there is a Moshel (parable) told by Rabbi Akiva, while the Roman Empire decreed that all the Rabbis that were teaching Torah, would be killed. Rabbi Akiva was teaching the Torah in public places without the fear of being killed. A Jew saw Akiva doing this and asked him 'Rabbi, aren't you scared that the Romans will catch you and kill you? Then what would you have gained from standing up against the Empire and didn't give up your faith?' Rabbi Akiva answers the man with this Moshel:

There was a fox walking on the shore of a river. While walking she sees all the fish swimming scared and as fast as they could. The fox asks them 'what are you running from?' the fish answer 'we run away from the nets they set to trap us'. The fox looks at them amused and says 'stop swimming away. Just jump from the water on the ground because there are no nets here' The fish answer 'you should be wiser than us for you are greater. If we are in danger in our own environment where we can swim and breath, how much more will we be in danger in an environment that is not our natural habitat?'

Rabbi Akiva goes on to say...'if we, the Jews, are in danger in our own environment which is Torah, how much more will we be in danger if we give up Torah?'

Bat Melech בת מלך
Cristina