Rabbi Akiva (or Rebbi Akiva) was a famous Jewish rabbi of the 2nd century. He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the early Oral Torah, mainly the Mishnah and the Midrash Halakha. He laid the foundations of the ''mishnaic'' dispute, by which pairs or larger groups of sages dispute points of Halakha or Bible interpretation. ==In the Mishnah== A member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, Akiba was a disciple of Nahum of Gimzo, ''Rebbi'' Eliezer son of Hyrcanos, and Rebbi Yehoshua. Some say that Rebbi Tarfon was also a teacher of his; others claim he was his contemporary colleague. Among his contemporary colleagues are: Elisha ben Avuya, ''Rebbi'' Eleazar ben Zadok, ''Rebbi'' Eleazar ben Azarya, Rabban Gamliel, ''Rebbi'' Yehuda ben Beteira, ''Rebbi'' Yochanan ben Nuri, ''Rebbi'' Yosei Haglili, Rebbi Yishmael. "What was Rabbi Akiva like? - A worker who goes out with his basket. He finds wheat - he puts it in, barley - he puts in, spelt - he puts in, beans - he puts in, lentils - he puts in. When he arrives home he sorts out the wheat by itself, barley by itself, spelt by itself, beans by themselves, lentils by themselves. So did Rabbi Akiva, and arranged the Torah rings by rings" (Avot deRabbi Natan ch.18; see also Babylonian Talmud, tractate Gittin, 67a). Rabbi Akiva held countless disputes with his teachers and colleagues. A rule was later established: Whenever Rabbi Akiva disputes a single sage the ''halakhic'' ruling follows him, but not so when he disputes more than one sage. ==Biography== Rabbi Akiva was born to a proselyte named Joseph. He was an ''am ha'aretz'' (Hebrew language: ignoramus) during his first forty years. During that period he used to say: "O that I would find a ''talmid chacham'' (Torah scholar) and bite him like a donkey" (Talmud tractate Pesachim, 49b). He was the shepherd of a rich man nicknamed Kalba Savua because anyone who entered his house hungry like a dog ''(Kalba)'' went out sated ''(savua)'' (a reference to his hospitality toward guests). Kalba Savua's daughter, whose name was Rachel, noticed his modesty and good nature. She asked him: "If I marry you, will you go study at (a Torah) school?" He answered positively, and they married in secret and she sent him off (to study). Her father, hearing this, drove her out of his house and prohibited her by vow of having any share in his assets. He went and sat twelve years at school, starting off in the same class as small children. When he returned, he had twelve thousand disciples following him. He overheard an old man saying to Rachel: "How long will you live as a widow while still married?" She answered him: "If he would listen to me, he should go study another twelve years." Hearing this, Rabbi Akiva said: "So I'm doing it with her approval!" and went and studied another twelve years. When he came back this time, he had twenty-four thousand disciples with him. Hearing this, his wife was about to go out and greet him. Her female neighbors said to her: "Go borrow garments and dress yourself!" She replied: "A righteous man knows the spirit of his domestic beast" (Proverbs 12:10). When she reached him she prostrated herself and started kissing his feet. His servants started pushing her away. He said to them: "Let her be! What both I and you have is hers." Her father heard that a great man arrived in town. He said: "Let me go to him, perhaps he may annul my vow." Rabbi Akiva asked him: "Had you known that her husband would become a great man, would you have vowed?" Kalba Savua answered: "Why, if he even knew one chapter, even one Halakha!" Rabbi Akiva then said: "I am him." He prostrated himself and kissed him on his feet, and gave him half his assets (tractate Ketubot, 62b-63a). Rabbi Akiva was very rich. The Talmud enumerates (tractate Nedarim, 50a-b) six occasions in which he gained his riches. When the Simon bar Kokhba (bar Kozeba) revolt took place (135), Rabbi Akiva expounded the following verse homiletically: "A star has shot off Jacob" (Numbers 24:17) - "Kokhba has shot off Jacob" (a word-play based on the Rebel's nickname, ''bar Kokhba''). (It was because of this homily that bar Kokhba got his name). When Rabbi Akiva would see bar Kozeba, he'd say: "This is the Jewish Messiah (Anointed King)!" (Jerusalem Talmud, tractate Ta'anit 4:8). Following the failure of bar Kokhba's revolt, the Romans prohibited the public study of Torah. Rabbi Akiva defied this order, and was imprisoned. The Roman officer Tornos Rufus sentenced him to death. It was the time of reciting the ''Shema'' (see: Jewish services). They ripped his flesh with iron spikes, and he acknowledged the "burden of the Kingdom of Heaven." His disciples asked him: "Rabbi, as far as this?" He replied: "All my life I was worried about this verse (from the Shema Yisrael), "(And you shall love the Lord your God) ...with all your soul,\" (and the sages expounded this to signify) even if He takes away your soul. I said: "When will I encounter such a situation and fulfil this!" Now that I encountered it, won't I fulfil it?" He laid out the word "''Echad''" (one) until his life expired with that word. A heavenly voice went out and announced: "Blessed are you, Rabbi Akiva, that your life expired with "''Echad''" (Talmud Berachot 61b). ==See also== *Mishnah *Midrash *Talmud ==External links== *[http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/rakiva.htm OU.org: Great Leaders of our People: Rabbi Akiva] *[http://www.ou.org/chagim/elul/akiva.htm OU.org: Rabbi Akiva, Master of Teshuvah] *[http://www.yarzheit.com/heavensregister/rabbiakiva.htm Photos of Rabbi Akiva's tomb in Tiberias] Mishnah rabbis
The "biography" strikes me as containing a healthy dose of legend. Can someone clarify what is and isn't established historical fact? User:Josh Cherry 02:48, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC) *Josh: Don't you see that it says the sources are Mishnah, Midrash, and Talmud (do you even know what they are?). They are the most reliable written sources of classical Judaism, see also :Category:Jewish texts. User:IZAK 03:35, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC) **My comment was perfectly civil; there's no need to be insulting. Yes, I know what these works are. I know that much of what they contain is legend. The "Biography" section states things as historical fact. Someone reading this would be entitled to believe that, for example he really returned home with twelve thousand disciples, but that would seem to be a legendary embellishment. User:Josh Cherry 12:12, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC) :I agree. The entire article seems to be made up of legend, which was the reason I clicked on the discussion tab to begin with. Is there an objective biography of him available? :) --User:Jenmoa 19:02, 27 May 2005 (UTC) He is not attested to outside of Mishnah, Midrash, and Talmud. Much like Jesus, who is not attested to outside of the New Testament, and who has even more fantastic claims made about him. User:JayjgUser_talk:Jayjg 19:45, 27 May 2005 (UTC)
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Rabbi Akiva
Rabbi Akiva (or Rebbi Akiva) was a famous Jewish rabbi of the 2nd century. He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the early Oral Torah, mainly the Mishnah and the Midrash Halakha. He laid the foundations of the ''mishnaic'' dispute, by which pairs or larger groups of sages dispute points of Halakha or Bible interpretation. ==In the Mishnah== A member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, Akiba was a disciple of Nahum of Gimzo, ''Rebbi'' Eliezer son of Hyrcanos, and Rebbi Yehoshua. Some say that Rebbi Tarfon was also a teacher of his; others claim he was his contemporary colleague. Among his contemporary colleagues are: Elisha ben Avuya, ''Rebbi'' Eleazar ben Zadok, ''Rebbi'' Eleazar ben Azarya, Rabban Gamliel, ''Rebbi'' Yehuda ben Beteira, ''Rebbi'' Yochanan ben Nuri, ''Rebbi'' Yosei Haglili, Rebbi Yishmael. "What was Rabbi Akiva like? - A worker who goes out with his basket. He finds wheat - he puts it in, barley - he puts in, spelt - he puts in, beans - he puts in, lentils - he puts in. When he arrives home he sorts out the wheat by itself, barley by itself, spelt by itself, beans by themselves, lentils by themselves. So did Rabbi Akiva, and arranged the Torah rings by rings" (Avot deRabbi Natan ch.18; see also Babylonian Talmud, tractate Gittin, 67a). Rabbi Akiva held countless disputes with his teachers and colleagues. A rule was later established: Whenever Rabbi Akiva disputes a single sage the ''halakhic'' ruling follows him, but not so when he disputes more than one sage. ==Biography== Rabbi Akiva was born to a proselyte named Joseph. He was an ''am ha'aretz'' (Hebrew language: ignoramus) during his first forty years. During that period he used to say: "O that I would find a ''talmid chacham'' (Torah scholar) and bite him like a donkey" (Talmud tractate Pesachim, 49b). He was the shepherd of a rich man nicknamed Kalba Savua because anyone who entered his house hungry like a dog ''(Kalba)'' went out sated ''(savua)'' (a reference to his hospitality toward guests). Kalba Savua's daughter, whose name was Rachel, noticed his modesty and good nature. She asked him: "If I marry you, will you go study at (a Torah) school?" He answered positively, and they married in secret and she sent him off (to study). Her father, hearing this, drove her out of his house and prohibited her by vow of having any share in his assets. He went and sat twelve years at school, starting off in the same class as small children. When he returned, he had twelve thousand disciples following him. He overheard an old man saying to Rachel: "How long will you live as a widow while still married?" She answered him: "If he would listen to me, he should go study another twelve years." Hearing this, Rabbi Akiva said: "So I'm doing it with her approval!" and went and studied another twelve years. When he came back this time, he had twenty-four thousand disciples with him. Hearing this, his wife was about to go out and greet him. Her female neighbors said to her: "Go borrow garments and dress yourself!" She replied: "A righteous man knows the spirit of his domestic beast" (Proverbs 12:10). When she reached him she prostrated herself and started kissing his feet. His servants started pushing her away. He said to them: "Let her be! What both I and you have is hers." Her father heard that a great man arrived in town. He said: "Let me go to him, perhaps he may annul my vow." Rabbi Akiva asked him: "Had you known that her husband would become a great man, would you have vowed?" Kalba Savua answered: "Why, if he even knew one chapter, even one Halakha!" Rabbi Akiva then said: "I am him." He prostrated himself and kissed him on his feet, and gave him half his assets (tractate Ketubot, 62b-63a). Rabbi Akiva was very rich. The Talmud enumerates (tractate Nedarim, 50a-b) six occasions in which he gained his riches. When the Simon bar Kokhba (bar Kozeba) revolt took place (135), Rabbi Akiva expounded the following verse homiletically: "A star has shot off Jacob" (Numbers 24:17) - "Kokhba has shot off Jacob" (a word-play based on the Rebel's nickname, ''bar Kokhba''). (It was because of this homily that bar Kokhba got his name). When Rabbi Akiva would see bar Kozeba, he'd say: "This is the Jewish Messiah (Anointed King)!" (Jerusalem Talmud, tractate Ta'anit 4:8). Following the failure of bar Kokhba's revolt, the Romans prohibited the public study of Torah. Rabbi Akiva defied this order, and was imprisoned. The Roman officer Tornos Rufus sentenced him to death. It was the time of reciting the ''Shema'' (see: Jewish services). They ripped his flesh with iron spikes, and he acknowledged the "burden of the Kingdom of Heaven." His disciples asked him: "Rabbi, as far as this?" He replied: "All my life I was worried about this verse (from the Shema Yisrael), "(And you shall love the Lord your God) ...with all your soul,\" (and the sages expounded this to signify) even if He takes away your soul. I said: "When will I encounter such a situation and fulfil this!" Now that I encountered it, won't I fulfil it?" He laid out the word "''Echad''" (one) until his life expired with that word. A heavenly voice went out and announced: "Blessed are you, Rabbi Akiva, that your life expired with "''Echad''" (Talmud Berachot 61b). ==See also== *Mishnah *Midrash *Talmud ==External links== *[http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/rakiva.htm OU.org: Great Leaders of our People: Rabbi Akiva] *[http://www.ou.org/chagim/elul/akiva.htm OU.org: Rabbi Akiva, Master of Teshuvah] *[http://www.yarzheit.com/heavensregister/rabbiakiva.htm Photos of Rabbi Akiva's tomb in Tiberias] Mishnah rabbis
Rabbi Akiva
The "biography" strikes me as containing a healthy dose of legend. Can someone clarify what is and isn't established historical fact? User:Josh Cherry 02:48, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC) *Josh: Don't you see that it says the sources are Mishnah, Midrash, and Talmud (do you even know what they are?). They are the most reliable written sources of classical Judaism, see also :Category:Jewish texts. User:IZAK 03:35, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC) **My comment was perfectly civil; there's no need to be insulting. Yes, I know what these works are. I know that much of what they contain is legend. The "Biography" section states things as historical fact. Someone reading this would be entitled to believe that, for example he really returned home with twelve thousand disciples, but that would seem to be a legendary embellishment. User:Josh Cherry 12:12, 16 Aug 2004 (UTC) :I agree. The entire article seems to be made up of legend, which was the reason I clicked on the discussion tab to begin with. Is there an objective biography of him available? :) --User:Jenmoa 19:02, 27 May 2005 (UTC) He is not attested to outside of Mishnah, Midrash, and Talmud. Much like Jesus, who is not attested to outside of the New Testament, and who has even more fantastic claims made about him. User:JayjgUser_talk:Jayjg 19:45, 27 May 2005 (UTC)
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