I chose to write about Rabbi Akiva this week. He is connected to the Counting of the Omer and, in particular, to Lag B'Omer (coming up this Wednesday night) because of the plague that befell his students.
The plague killed over 20,000 of his students and ceased on Lag B'Omer. This is why the Omer - up until Lag B'Omer - is a mourning period with certain restrictions.
Rabbi Akiva 
