"And the Lord G-d made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and He clothed them." (Bereshit 3:21) The Midrash (Bereshit Rabba 20) plays on the word, OR (skin), spelled Ayin Vav Resh in this verse and the word OR (light), spelled Aleph Vav Resh.  This Midrash offers a different reading of this verse according to Rav Meir's Torah Scroll where the word OR in this verse is written with an Aleph instead of with an Ayin. Thus the verse now reads" And the Lord G-d made for Adam and his wife GARMENTS OF LIGHT, and He clothed them."

With regards to the sin of Adam and Chava, this Midrash teaches that their challenge was not the need for physical clothing to cover up their nakedness. This is because they already had made for themselves garments of fig leaves. It was their souls that were in danger of becoming spiritually ill, and they needed this spiritual protection of G-d's light.

Rav Soloveitchik explains how appropriate it is that this Midrash was composed by Rav Meir, for Rav Meir had two outstanding teachers, Elisha ben Avuya and Rabbi Akiva. Rav Meir therefore understood the difference between physical clothing "KUTNOT OR", spelled with an Ayin, and spiritual clothing, "KUTNOT OR", spelled with an Aleph. Despite being a great Torah scholar, Elisha b. Avuya rebelled against the Torah and betrayed his own people by collaborating with the evil Roman government.

Elisha became the darling of the so-called "enlightened" non-Jewish world by vilifying and denouncing his own people. Unfortunately, the Elisha b. Avuya Syndrome is very much alive and well today. Elisha's final years were lived in affluence and physical security. Rav Soloveitchik writes that Elisha died in the comfort of his own warm bed among his non-Jewish intellectual colleagues. In this way he was sheltered in KUTNOT OR (with an Ayin, protective physical clothing).

Yet his rebellion and betrayal of  his own people caused him to die without a legacy of  KUTNOT OR (with an Aleph – without immortality). Elisha's soul came before G-d spiritually unclothed. In stark contrast, Rabbi Akiva's final days were that of a hunted fugitive. To avoid capture by Rome, Rabbi Akiva hid every night in a different location. His body was without the comfort KUTNOT OR (warm, physical clothing) and without any material comfort. After Rabbi Akiva was captured by Rome, his painful death did not allow him to die in comfort. The Roman executioner raked his skin with iron combs, and he died in complete physical nakedness. Yet Rabbi Akiva's essence and soul is immortal, living on through his Torah teachings which we are still studying today. He departed this world with an extraordinary set of spiritual clothing, KUTNOT OR, GARMENTS OF G-D'S ETERNAL LIGHT. This is Rabbi Akiva's eternal legacy for the Jewish People.