Akiva ben Yosef • Rabbi Akiva
Rabbi Akiva
Era of the TannaimRabbi Akiva ben Yosef — one of the greatest sages of Israel in all generations, and the father of the Oral Law. Born into a poor family of converts, he grew up as a shepherd in the household of Kalba Savua, a wealthy man of Jerusalem. There he met Rachel, his employer's daughter,…
Biography
Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef — one of the greatest sages of Israel in all generations, and the father of the Oral Law. Born into a poor family of converts, he grew up as a shepherd in the household of Kalba Savua, a wealthy man of Jerusalem. There he met Rachel, his employer's daughter, who agreed to marry him on a single condition — that he devote himself to the study of Torah. At the age of forty, with no knowledge even of the alphabet, he went to the study hall, and for twenty-four years labored in Torah day and night. A disciple of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, and a continuer of the path of Nachum Ish Gamzu, he became one of the giants of the third generation of Tannaim. He organized and arranged the Oral Torah and laid the foundation for the Mishnah, raised twenty-four thousand disciples, and from his school emerged Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, and Rabbi Yosei ben Halafta — the pillars of Torah for the generations to come. He supported the Bar Kokhba revolt and saw in it the beginning of redemption, and in the end fell victim to the Roman decrees: he was imprisoned, tortured with iron combs in Caesarea, and died in sanctification of the Divine Name with the recitation of Shema — among all the martyrs of Israel, his name is engraved in the memory of the generations as the symbol of self-sacrifice for Torah and commandments.
Life Story
Childhood
He was born into a poor family of converts. In his childhood and youth he knew no Torah at all, and worked as a hired shepherd for Kalba Savua, one of the great wealthy men of Jerusalem. There he met Rachel, his employer's daughter, and a bond of love and loyalty was forged between them.
Teachers
He studied under Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, the giants of the second generation of Tannaim. He is also said to have been a disciple of Nachum Ish Gamzu, from whom he learned the faith that 'this too is for the good' — that all the Holy One does, He does for the good. At the age of forty he went to the study hall and sat among the children to learn the letters, and for twenty-four years he did not return home.
Students
He raised twenty-four thousand disciples from Gevat to Antipatris. Many of them died in a plague between Passover and Shavuot — 'because they did not treat one another with respect.' Afterward he raised seven principal disciples: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, Rabbi Yosei ben Halafta, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua, Rabbi Yochanan the Sandalmaker, and Rabbi Nechemia. They were the ones who established the Torah for the generations.
Family
He married Rachel, the daughter of Kalba Savua, who stipulated in her marriage that he devote himself to Torah study. Her father vowed she would not marry him, and she gave up all her wealth and went with him into poverty. During his years of study they lived in great poverty and slept on a pile of straw. Years later, when he returned at the head of a thousand disciples, Rachel came before him and bowed down; a Divine Voice said: 'A woman of valor, who can find.' He had sons and daughters, and among his sons are mentioned Yehoshua and Shimon.
Key Events
He lived in the period of the destruction and after it, under Roman rule in the Land of Israel. He supported the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE) and saw in Bar Kokhba a possible messiah — 'this is the king messiah.' Following the suppression of the revolt and the decrees of Hadrian, the study hall was destroyed, and many of the sages of Israel were killed. Rabbi Akiva himself was captured, imprisoned, and tortured with iron combs in Caesarea, and died in sanctification of the Divine Name.
Miracles
During his imprisonment he was sentenced to death. As he was tortured with iron combs, he prolonged the word 'one' until his soul departed. His disciples said to him: 'Even to this extent?' and he replied: 'All my life I was troubled by this verse — with all your soul, even if He takes your soul. And now that this has come to me, shall I not fulfill it?' Immediately he prolonged 'one' until his soul departed. He is counted among the Ten Martyrs.
Influence
The influence of Rabbi Akiva on the people of Israel is without equal. It was he who organized and arranged the Oral Torah and laid the foundation for the Mishnah; from his school emerged the halachic midrashim — Mekhilta de-Rabbi Akiva, Sifra, and Sifre Zuta. His interpretive method, built on generalization and specification, inclusion and exclusion, and the exposition of every letter and crown, is what established the halacha for the generations. His disciples are the ones who shaped the face of the Oral Torah in the Mishnah and the Talmud.
Death
He died in sanctification of the Divine Name in Caesarea, in the torture of iron combs, during the recitation of Shema. According to tradition he was killed on the eve of Yom Kippur. The place of his burial is disputed in the traditions: some point to Tiberias (the Tomb of Rabbi Akiva complex known today), and others to Caesarea, Rome, or Babylon. He is counted among the Ten Martyrs, and his memory is preserved in Israel as a symbol of self-sacrifice for Torah.
Writings
Oral Torah — Organization and Arrangement
late 1st – early 2nd century CEHalacha and Oral Torah
Rabbi Akiva did not author a book in the ordinary sense, but it was he who organized and arranged the halachic traditions of the Oral Torah and laid the foundation for the Mishnah. This arrangement is what made possible the consolidation of the Mishnah and the Talmud in the generations that followed.
Mekhilta de-Rabbi Akiva
early 2nd century CEHalachic Midrash
A halachic midrash on the Book of Exodus, from the school of Rabbi Akiva. It explains the commandments and events of the Torah by way of generalization and specification, inclusion and exclusion. (Alongside Mekhilta de-Rabbi Yishmael from the school of Rabbi Yishmael.)
Sifra
early 2nd century CEHalachic Midrash
A halachic midrash on the Book of Leviticus, from the school of Rabbi Akiva. It explains the commandments of the sacrifices and the laws in Leviticus according to the method of generalization and specification.
Sifre Zuta
early 2nd century CEHalachic Midrash
A halachic midrash on the Book of Numbers and the Book of Deuteronomy, from the school of Rabbi Akiva. It explains the commandments of the Torah according to the method of Rabbi Akiva, in contrast to Sifre de-Rabbi Yishmael.
His Way and Views
Torah Study
Rabbi Akiva saw Torah as his life and his soul. From the stone hollowed by dripping water he learned that if the soft can bore through the hard — how much more so can Torah penetrate his heart. He raised thousands of disciples and organized the Oral Torah on its foundations. He expounded every letter and every crown of the Torah, and saw in every detail a generalization and specification from which laws are derived. His method is the foundation of halacha for the generations.
Halacha
He rendered decisions in many areas of halacha, and his school shaped most of the bodies of law in the Mishnah. His interpretive method — generalization and specification, inclusion and exclusion, specification after specification — is the cornerstone of halachic midrash. His halachic midrashim (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Akiva, Sifra, Sifre Zuta) are the foundation of halacha for the generations.
Faith
He loved the Holy One with all his heart and all his soul, and gave his life for Him. From his teacher Nachum Ish Gamzu he learned that 'this too is for the good' — that all the Holy One does, He does for the good. At the time of his death he fulfilled the commandment of 'you shall love the Lord your God — with all your soul, even if He takes your soul.' His faith was whole — it did not falter even at the time of his torture.
Ethics
'Love your fellow as yourself — this is a great principle of the Torah.' In this saying Rabbi Akiva articulated the foundation of Jewish morality: love of one's fellow as love of oneself is a great principle from which all the commandments between a person and their fellow are derived. In this he placed the Torah on a foundation of love and mutual responsibility.
Customs
He treated his disciples and the people of Torah with great respect. He said to them: 'Do not be like foolish scribes who set aside the Torah and engage in idle matters.' He saw Torah study as a constant obligation — 'at forty he studied, at fifty he sat and judged.' He encouraged the people and was patient and humble, and devoted with all his strength to the people of Israel.
Character
He was patient, humble, and devoted. From a poor shepherd he rose to greatness in Torah, and did not forget his humility. He was close to every person, and saw in every Jew a precious soul. He said: 'Beloved is the human, created in the image... beloved are Israel, called children of the Place.'
Public Role
He was a spiritual and public leader. He supported the Bar Kokhba revolt and national redemption, and saw in Bar Kokhba the possibility of a messiah. He tried to preserve Torah study during the decrees, and gave himself for the sake of the Torah's continued existence in Israel. He became a symbol of self-sacrifice for the sanctification of the Divine Name.
Famous Quotes
"Everything is foreseen, yet free choice is granted; and by good is the world judged — all is according to the majority of the deed"
"Whoever labors at night will one day find rest and praise"
"'Love your fellow as yourself' — this is a great principle of the Torah"
"Beloved is the human, created in the image; beloved are Israel, called children of the Place"
"If not now, when? And if for myself, for whom? And if not I, who?"
"Look at three things and you will not come to sin: know what is above you — an eye sees and an ear hears, and all your deeds are written in a book"
Famous Stories
Rabbi Akiva was a shepherd. He saw a stone worn through by a hollow formed from dripping water, and said: If soft water can bore through hard stone, then how much more so can the Torah, which is hard, penetrate my soft heart. He then went and began to study. At the age of forty he sat among the children and learned the letters, and he did not rest until he had raised thousands of disciples.
His wife Rachel, the daughter of Kalba Savua, stipulated in their marriage that he devote himself to Torah study. She left with him from her father's wealthy home into great poverty, and in winter they slept on a pile of straw. When he returned after twenty-four years at the head of a thousand disciples, Rachel came before him and bowed down. His disciples said to remove her, and he said to them: 'Leave her — what is mine and what is yours is hers.'
Once Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues were walking in Jerusalem. They saw a fox emerging from the Holy of Holies. They began to weep, and Rabbi Akiva laughed. They said to him: Why do you laugh? He said to them: Why do you weep? They said: A place of which it is written 'the stranger who approaches shall die' — and now a fox walks in it — shall we not weep? He said to them: Therefore I laugh: it is written 'and I took for myself two staffs' — if the prophecy of destruction has been fulfilled, the prophecy of consolation by Zechariah is destined to be fulfilled. In their great joy they said to him: Akiva, you have consoled us; Akiva, you have consoled us.
At the time of his death he prolonged the word 'one' until his soul departed. His disciples said to him: Rabbi, even to this extent? He said to them: All my life I was troubled by this verse — 'with all your soul,' even if He takes your soul. And I said: When will this come to me and I shall fulfill it? And now that this has come to me, shall I not fulfill it? Immediately he prolonged 'one' until his soul departed. A Divine Voice went forth and said: Happy are you, Rabbi Akiva, that your soul departed with 'one.'
Students
Teachers
Grave Site
Timeline
Birth in the Land of Israel, to a poor family of converts
Work as a shepherd for Kalba Savua; marriage to his daughter Rachel
Beginning of Torah study at the age of forty, under Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua
Raising of twenty-four thousand disciples; organization of the Oral Torah
Death of the disciples in a plague between Passover and Shavuot; raising of seven principal disciples
Support for the Bar Kokhba revolt; the decrees of Hadrian
Imprisonment, torture, and death in sanctification of the Divine Name in Caesarea
Legacy
The legacy of Rabbi Akiva is the foundation of the entire Oral Torah. It was he who organized and arranged the halachic traditions and laid the foundation for the Mishnah and the Talmud; from his school emerged the halachic midrashim — Mekhilta de-Rabbi Akiva, Sifra, and Sifre Zuta — and his disciples are the ones who shaped the face of the Torah for the generations. His saying 'Love your fellow as yourself — this is a great principle of the Torah' became the formulation that embodies the foundation of Jewish morality. And above all — the story of his life, from a poor shepherd to the greatest of Torah, and his death in sanctification of the Divine Name with the recitation of Shema — became the quintessential symbol of self-sacrifice for Torah and commandments, and a model of whole faith in all the circumstances of life. Streets and Torah institutions throughout the diaspora are named for him, and the marker of his tomb in Tiberias is a pilgrimage site.