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Encyclopedia > Akiba ben Joseph
Rabbinical Eras

akiba ben Joseph (ca.50–ca.135 AD) (Hebrew: עקיבא) or simply Rabbi Akiva was a Judean tanna of the latter part of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century (3rd tannaitic generation). He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Mishnah and Midrash Halakha. He is referred to in the Talmud as "Rosh la-Chachomim" (Head of all the Sages). Although a full history of Akiba based upon authentic sources will probably never be written because of the absence of non-Jewish sources on his life, he is considered by many to be the godfather of rabbinical Judaism[1]. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Zugot (Hebrew: ) ((tÉ™qÅ«phāth) hazZÅ«ghôth) refers to the hundred year period during the time of the Second Temple (515 BCE - 70 CE), in which the spiritual leadership of the Jewish people was in the hands of five successive generations of zugot (pairs) of religious teachers. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Amora, plural Amoraim, (from the Hebrew root amar to say or tell over), were renowned Jewish scholars who said or told over the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and Israel. ... A savora (Aramaic: סבורא, plural savoraim, saboraim, סבוראים) is a term used in Jewish law and history to signify the leading rabbis living from the end of period of the Amoraim (around 500 CE) to the beginning of the Geonim (around 700 CE). ... Geonim (also Gaonim) (גאונים) (Singular: Gaon [גאון] meaning pride in Biblical Hebrew and genius in modern Hebrew) were the rabbis who were the Jewish Talmudic sages who were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta/ Exilarch who wielded secular... Rishonim (ראשונים Hebrew - sing. ... Acharonim (Hebrew - sing. ... The word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ... Map of the southern Levant, c. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... For other uses, see Tradition (disambiguation). ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... Orthodox Judaism is one of the three major branches of Judaism. ...

Contents

Parentage and youth

Rabbi Akiva, from the Mantua Haggadah (1568)
Rabbi Akiva, from the Mantua Haggadah (1568)

A great many legends have been passed down about Akiva. But despite the rich mass of material afforded by rabbinical sources, only an incomplete portrait can be drawn of the man who marked out the path followed by rabbinical Judaism for almost two millenia. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Orthodox Judaism is one of the three major branches of Judaism. ...


Akiba ben Joseph (written עקיבא in the Babylonian talmud, and עקיבה in the Jerusalem talmud — another form for עקביה) who is usually called simply Akiba, was of comparatively humble parentage[2]. A misunderstanding of the expression "Zechus Avos" (Ber. l.c.), joined to a tradition concerning Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor (Giṭ. 57b, Sanh. 96b), is the source of another tradition (Nissim Gaon to Ber. l.c.), which makes Akiva a descendant of Sisera. Of the romantic story of Akiva's marriage with the daughter of the wealthy Jerusalemite, Kalba Savua, whose shepherd he is said to have been (see below "Akiba and his wife" and "His relationship with his wife"), only this is known to be true: that Akiva was a shepherd (Yeb. 86b; compare ibid. 16a). His wife's name was Rachel (Ab. R. N. ed. S. Schechter, vi. 29), and she was the daughter of an entirely unknown man named Joshua, who is specifically mentioned (Yad. iii. 5) as Akiva's father-in-law. She stood loyally by her husband during that critical period of his life in which Akiva, thitherto the mortal enemy of the rabbis and an am ha-aretz (ignoramus) (Pes. 49b), decided to place himself at the feet of those previously detested men. Prior to this change of heart, he used to say: "O that I would find a Talmid Chacham and bite him like a donkey" [Exact quote needed.] (Pesachim, 49b). The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... The Jerusalem Talmud (In Hebrew Talmud Yerushalmi, in short known as the Yerushalmi), also known as the Palestinian Talmud, like its Babylonian counterpart (see Babylonian Talmud), is a collection of Rabbinic discussions elaborating on the Mishnah. ... Sisera (Egypt. ... Hazor (Hebrew: courtyard or settlement) is the name of several places in ancient and modern Israel: // Locations in ancient Israel One of the most important Caananite towns. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Sanhedrin (סנהדרין) is one of ten tractates of the Nezikin (a section of the Talmud that deals with damages, ie. ... Nissim Ben Jacob (Rav Nissim Gaon, 990-1062, Hebrew: ניסים בן יעקב) was a rabbi and Talmudist best known today for his Talmudic commentary HaMafteach, by which title he is also known. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (Hebrew: אבות דרבי נתן), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c. ... Solomon Schechter (1847-1915) was a Romanian Jewish rabbi, academic scholar, and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and architect of the American Conservative Jewish movement. ... Tohorot (Hebrew: טהורת literally Purities) is the sixth order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud). ... Pesahim (Hebrew: פסחים, lit. ... Talmid Chacham (lit: a pupil of wisdom) (Hebrew: תלמיד חכם) (pl:Talmidei Chachamim) is an honorific title given to one well versed in Jewish law, in effect a Torah scholar. ... Pesahim (Hebrew: פסחים, lit. ...


A reliable tradition (Ab. R. N. l.c.) narrates that Akiva at the age of 40, and when he was the father of a numerous family dependent upon him, eagerly attended the academy of his native town, Lod, presided over by Eliezer ben Hyrkanus. According to the Talmud[citation needed], Hyrcanus was a neighbor of Joseph, the father of Akiva. The fact that Eliezer was his first teacher, and the only one whom Akiva later designates as "rabbi," is of importance in settling the date of Akiva's birth. It is known that in 95–96 Akiba had already attained great prominence (H. Grätz, Gesch. d. Juden, 2d ed., iv. 121), and, further, that he studied for 13 years before becoming a teacher himself (Ab. R. N. l.c.). Thus the beginning of his years of study would fall about 75–80. Earlier than this, Yochanan ben Zakai was living, and Eliezer, being his pupil, would have been held of no authority in Johanan's lifetime. Consequently, if we accept the tradition that Akiva was 40 when beginning the study of the Law, he must have been born about 40–50. Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (Hebrew: אבות דרבי נתן), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c. ... Downtown area of Lod Lod (Hebrew לוֹד; Arabic اَلْلُدّْ al-Ludd, Greco-Latin Lydda, Tiberian Hebrew לֹד Lōḏ) is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... Heinrich Graetz, ca. ... Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (Hebrew: אבות דרבי נתן), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c. ... See Rabbi Yochanan (disambiguation) for other rabbis from the Talmud named Yochanan. ...


Besides Eliezer, Akiva had other teachers—principally Joshua ben Hananiah (Ab. R. N. l.c.) and Nahum Ish Gamzu (Hag. 12a). He was on equal footing with Rabban Gamaliel II, whom he met later. In a certain sense, Tarphon was considered as one of Akiba's masters (Ket. 84b), but the pupil outranked his teacher, and Tarphon became one of Akiba's greatest admirers (Sifre, Num. 75). Akiba probably remained in Lod (R. H. i. 6), as long as Eliezer dwelt there, and then removed his own school to Bene Berak, five Roman miles from Jaffa (Sanh. 32b; Tosef., Shab. iii. [iv.] 3). Akiba also lived for some time at Ziphron (Num. xxxiv. 9), the modern Zafrân (Z. P. V. viii. 28), near Hamath (see Sifre, Num. iv., and the parallel passages quoted in the Talmudical dictionaries of Levy and M. Jastrow). For another identification of the place, and other forms of its name, see A. Neubauer, Géographie, p. 391, and M. Jastrow, l.c. Joshua ben Hananiah (Hebrew: יהושע בן ×—× × ×™×”) was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Temple. ... Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (Hebrew: אבות דרבי נתן), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c. ... The Book of Haggai is a book in the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh, written by the prophet Haggai. ... Gamaliel II was the son of Simon ben Gamaliel, one of Jerusalems foremost men in the war against the Romans (vide Josephus, Bellum Jud. ... Rabbi Tarfon or Tarphon, (Hebrew: רבי טרפון , from the Greek Tryphon), a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Temple (70 C.E.) and the fall of Bethar (135 C.E.). He is said to have lived in Yavneh, although... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Sifre (סִפְרֵי siphrÄ“y, Sifre, Sifrei) is a Midrash halakhah originated from Devarim and Shmot. ... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה) is the name of a text of Jewish law originating in the Mishnah which formed the basis of tractates in both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud of the same name. ... Bnei Brak, Bene Beraq or Beneberak is: Beneberak (Bible), a Biblical city Bnei Brak, Israel, a modern city in Israel, in a different location from its Biblical counterpart Category: ... For other uses, see Jaffa (disambiguation). ... Sanhedrin (סנהדרין) is one of ten tractates of the Nezikin (a section of the Talmud that deals with damages, ie. ... The Tosefta is a secondary compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah. ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... Sifre (סִפְרֵי siphrÄ“y, Sifre, Sifrei) is a Midrash halakhah originated from Devarim and Shmot. ... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. ... Look up Levy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Title page of Marcus Jastrows Dictionary of Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, Midrashic Literature, and Targumim, from 1950 edition by Pardes Publishing. ... Portrait of Adolf Neubauer, from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. ... Title page of Marcus Jastrows Dictionary of Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, Midrashic Literature, and Targumim, from 1950 edition by Pardes Publishing. ...


Among Akiva's other contemporaries were Elisha ben Avuya, Eliezer ben Tzodok, Eleazar ben Azaria, Gamliel II, Yehuda ben Betheira, Yochanan ben Nuri, Yosi Haglili, Rabbi Yishmael and Chanina ben Dosa. Elisha Ben Abuyah (spelled variously, including Elisha ben Avuya) was a Jewish heretic born in Jerusalem sometime before 70. ... Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah (Hebrew: רבי אלעזר בן עזריה) was a Mishnaic scholar of the second generation (1st century C.E.), junior contemporary of Gamaliel II, Eliezer b. ... Rabbi Gamliel II, also known as Gamliel of Yavne, and often simply Rabban Gamliel was the first person to lead the sanhedrin as nasi. ... Judah ben Bathyra or simply Judah Bathyra (also Beseira, Hebrew: יהודה בן בתירא) was an eminent tanna. ... Yochanan ben Nuri (Hebrew: יוחנן בן נורי) was a Tanna of the first and second centuries, junior of Gamaliel II and senior of Akiba (Sifra, Ḳedoshim, iv. ... Jose the Galilean (in Hebrew, Yose ha-Gelili) was a Jew who lived in the first and second centuries of the common era. ... Ishmael ben Elisha (90 - 135 CE, commonly known as Rabbi Ishmael) was a Tanna of the first and second centuries (third tannaitic generation). ... Hanina Ben Dosa (1st century) was a scholar and miracle-worker, and the pupil of Johanan ben Zakkai (Berakhot, 34b). ...


Akiba and his wife

According to the Talmud, it would appear that Akiba owed almost everything to his wife. Akiba was a shepherd in the employ of the rich and respected Kalba Sabu'a, whose daughter took a liking to him, the modest, conscientious servant. She consented to secret betrothal on the condition that he thenceforth devote himself to study. When the wealthy father-in-law learned of this secret betrothal, he drove his daughter from his house, and swore that he would never help her while Akiba remained her husband. Akiba, with his young wife, lived perforce in the most straitened circumstances. Indeed, so poverty-stricken did they become that the bride had to sell her hair to enable her husband to pursue his studies. But these very straits only served to bring out Akiba's greatness of character. It is related that once, when a bundle of straw was the only bed they possessed, a poor man came to beg some straw for a bed for his sick wife. Akiba at once divided with him his scanty possession, remarking to his wife, "Thou seest, my child, there are those poorer than we!" This pretended poor man was none other than the prophet Elijah, who had come to test Akiba (Ned. 50a). The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... Elijah, 1638, by José de Ribera This article is about the prophet in the Hebrew Bible. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ...


By agreement with his wife, Akiba spent twelve years away from her, pursuing his studies under Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and Joshua ben Hananiah. Returning at the end of that time, he was just about to enter his wretched home, when he overheard the following answer given by his wife to a neighbor who was bitterly censuring him for his long absence: "If I had my wish, he should stay another twelve years at the academy." Without crossing the threshold, Akiba turned about and went back to the academy, to return at the expiration of another twelve years. The second time, however, he came back as a most famous scholar, escorted by 24,000 disciples, who reverently followed their beloved master. When his poorly clad wife was about to embrace him, some of his students, not knowing who she was, sought to restrain her. But Akiba exclaimed, "Let her alone; for what I am, and for what you are, is hers" (she deserves the credit) (Ned. 50a, Ket. 62b et seq.). Eliezer ben Hurcanus (Hebrew: אליעזר בן הורקנוס) was one of the most prominent tannaim of the 1st and 2nd centuries, disciple of R. Johanan ben Zakkai (Avoth ii. ... Joshua ben Hananiah (Hebrew: יהושע בן חנניה) was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Temple. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ...


See "His relationship with his wife" below for the full story from the Talmud. The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ...


His Relations with Bar Kokba

The greatest tannaim of the middle of the 2nd century came from Akiba's school, notably Rabbi Meir, Judah ben Ilai, Simeon ben Yohai, Jose ben Halafta, Eleazar ben Shammai, and Rabbi Nehemiah. Besides these, who all attained great renown, Akiba undoubtedly had many disciples whose names have not been handed down, but whose number is variously stated by the Aggadah at 12,000 (Gen. R. lxi. 3), 24,000 (Yeb. 62b), and 48,000 (Ned. 50a). That these figures are to be regarded merely as haggadic exaggerations, and not, as some modern historians insist, as the actual numbers of Akiba's political followers, is evident from the passage, Ket. 106a, in which there are similar exaggerations concerning the disciples of other rabbis. The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Rabbi Meir was considered one of the greatest of the tannaim of the second generation. ... Rabbi Judah ben Ilai was a Talmudic scholar and a Tana, or writer of the Mishna, who lived in the second century. ... Simeon bar Yohai, (Simon son of Yohai), was a Palestinian rabbi during the Roman period, after the destruction of the Second Temple. ... Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a Tanna of the fourth generation (2d cent. ... Rabbi Nehemiah was a priest in 1 Kings of the Bible. ... Aggadah (Aramaic אגדה: tales, lore; pl. ... Genesis Rabba (Bereshit Rabba in Hebrew: בראשית רבה) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ...


The part which Akiba is said to have taken in the Bar Kokba revolt cannot be historically determined. The only established fact concerning his connection with Bar Kokba is that the venerable teacher regarded the patriot as the promised Jewish Messiah (Yer. Ta'anit, iv. 68d), and this is absolutely all there is in evidence of an active participation by Akiba in the revolution. In this regard, Akiva expounded the following verse homiletically: "A star has shot off Jacob" (Numbers 24:17) and so nicknamed the rebel as Kochva, "the star", rather than Kozieva. When Akiva would see bar Kochba, he would say: "Dein hu Malka Meshiecha!" (This is the King Messiah) (Jerusalem Talmud, Ta'anit 4:8). The numerous journeys which, according to rabbinical sources, Akiba is said to have made, cannot have been in any way connected with politics. In 95–96 Akiba was in Rome (H. Grätz, Gesch. d. Juden, iv. 121), and some time before 110 he was in Nehardea (Yeb. xvi. 7), which journeys cannot be made to coincide with revolutionary plans. Combatants Roman Empire Jews of Iudaea Commanders Hadrian Simon Bar Kokhba Strength  ?  ? Casualties Unknown 580,000 Jews (mass civilian casualties), 50 fortified towns and 985 villages razed (per Cassius Dio). ... In Judaism and Jewish eschatology, the Messiah (Hebrew: משיח; Mashiah, Mashiach, or Moshiach, anointed [one]) is a term traditionally referring to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line who will be anointed (the meaning of the Hebrew word משיח) with holy anointing oil and inducted to rule the Jewish people during... The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew: ), often the Yerushalmi for short, and also known as the Palestinian Talmud, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah. ... Taanit is a fast in the Jewish religion. ... Homiletics (Gr. ... In Judaism and Jewish eschatology, the Messiah (Hebrew: משיח; Mashiah, Mashiach, or Moshiach, anointed [one]) is a term traditionally referring to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line who will be anointed (the meaning of the Hebrew word משיח) with holy anointing oil and inducted to rule the Jewish people during... The Jerusalem Talmud (In Hebrew Talmud Yerushalmi, in short known as the Yerushalmi), also known as the Palestinian Talmud, like its Babylonian counterpart (see Babylonian Talmud), is a collection of Rabbinic discussions elaborating on the Mishnah. ... Taanit is a fast in the Jewish religion. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Heinrich Graetz, ca. ... Nehardea or Nehardeah was a city of Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka; one of the earliest centers of Babylonian Judaism. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ...


In view of the mode of traveling then in vogue, it is not at all improbable that Akiba visited en route numerous other places having important Jewish communities (Neuburger in Monatsschrift, 1873, p. 393), but information on this point is lacking. The statement that he dwelt in Gazaka in Media rests upon a false reading in Gen. R. xxxiii. 5, and Ab. Zarah, 34a, where for "Akiba" should be read "UḲba," the Babylonian, as Rashi on Ta'anit, 11b, points out. Similarly the passage in Ber. 8b should read "Simon ben Gamaliel" instead of Akiba, just as the PesiḲta (ed. S. Buber, iv. 33b) has it. A sufficient ground for refusing credence in any participation by Akiba in the political anti-Roman movements of his day is the statement of the Baraita (Ber. 61b) that he suffered martyrdom on account of his transgression of Hadrian's edicts against the practice and the teaching of the Jewish religion, a religious and not a political reason for his death being given. Genesis Rabba (Bereshit Rabba in Hebrew: בראשית רבה) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. ... Avodah Zarah (meaning idolatry - lit. ... A 16th-century depiction of Rashi Note: For the astrological concept, see Rashi - the signs. ... Taanit is a fast in the Jewish religion. ... Chemische Berichte (usually abbreviated as or ) is a German-language scientific journal featuring chemistry of all disciplines. ... Shimon ben Gamliel (in Hebrew: ) (lived circa 10 BC to 70 AD) was a Tannaist sage and leader of the Jewish people. ... Pesikta (Hebrew: פסיקתא) refers to two collections of rabbinic literature: Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Pesikta Rabbati Category: ... Solomon Buber (1827-1906) Solomon (or Salomon) Buber (Lemberg, 1827-1906) was a Jewish Galician scholar and editor of Hebrew works. ... Baraita (Aramaic ברייתא: external, outside; pl. ... Chemische Berichte (usually abbreviated as or ) is a German-language scientific journal featuring chemistry of all disciplines. ... Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76 –– July 10, 138), known as Hadrian in English, was emperor of Rome from 117 A.D. to 138 A.D., as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher. ...


Akiba's death, which according to Sanh. 12a occurred after several years of imprisonment, must have taken place about 132, before the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt, otherwise, as Z. Frankel (Darke ha-Mishnah, p. 121) remarks, the delay of the Romans in executing him would be quite inexplicable. That the religious interdicts of Hadrian preceded the overthrow of Bar Kokba, is shown by Mek., Mishpaṭim, 18, where Akiba regards the martyrdom of two of his friends as ominous of his own fate. After the fall of Bethar no omens were needed to predict evil days. Legends concerning the date and manner of Akiba's death are numerous, but according to Crawford Howell Toy and Louis Ginzberg in the Jewish Encyclopedia, they must all be disregarded as being without historical foundation. Sanhedrin (סנהדרין) is one of ten tractates of the Nezikin (a section of the Talmud that deals with damages, ie. ... Combatants Roman Empire Jews of Iudaea Commanders Hadrian Simon Bar Kokhba Strength  ?  ? Casualties Unknown 580,000 Jews (mass civilian casualties), 50 fortified towns and 985 villages razed (per Cassius Dio). ... Zecharias Frankel (30 September 1801–13 February 1875) was a Bohemian-German rabbi and a historian who studied the historical development of Judaism. ... Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76 –– July 10, 138), known as Hadrian in English, was emperor of Rome from 117 A.D. to 138 A.D., as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher. ... Mekilta or Mekhilta (Hebrew: מכילתא) is the halakic midrash to the Book of Exodus. ... Mishpatim (משפטים — Hebrew for “laws”) is the eighteenth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the book of Exodus. ... Betars emblem (semel) The Betar Movement (ביתר, also spelled Beitar) is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Zeev Jabotinsky. ... Crawford Howell Toy (1836–1919), American Hebrew scholar, was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on 23 March 1836. ... Rabbi Louis Ginzberg was one of the outstanding Talmudists of the twentieth century. ...


However Jewish sources relate that he was subjected to a Roman torture where his skin was flayed with iron combs. As this was happening, astonishingly - especially for those performing the torture - he was saying the Shema prayer. As they got to his forehead area where a Jewish man lays Tefillin he expired. Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... For other uses, see Torture (disambiguation). ... Michelangelos Last Judgment - Saint Bartholomew holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. ... General Name, symbol, number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Standard atomic weight 55. ... Shema Yisrael (שמע ישראל) are the first two words of a section of the Hebrew Bible that is used as a centerpiece of all morning and evening Jewish prayer services and closely echoes the monotheistic message of Judaism. ... Tefillin (Hebrew: תפלין), also called phylacteries, are two boxes containing Biblical verses and the leather straps attached to them which are used in traditional Jewish prayer. ...


His Personal Character

An example of his modesty is his funeral address over his son Simon. To the large assembly gathered on the occasion from every quarter, he said (Sem. viii., M. ḳ. 21b). Ebel Rabbati (Hebrew: אבל רבתי) is one of the later or minor tractates which in the editions of the Babylonian Talmud are placed after the fourth order, Neziḳin; it treats of mourning for the dead. ... Moed Katan (hebrew: מועד קטן, lit. ...

Brethren of the house of Israel, listen to me. Not because I am a scholar have ye appeared here so numerously; for there are those here more learned than I. Nor because I am a wealthy man; for there are many more wealthy than I. The people of the south know Akiba; but whence should the people of Galilee know him? The men are acquainted with him; but how shall the women and children I see here be said to be acquainted with him? Still I know that your reward shall be great, for ye have given yourselves the trouble to come simply in order to do honor to the Torah and to fulfill a religious duty. For other uses, see Galilee (disambiguation). ...

Akiba and Gamaliel II

Modesty is a favorite theme with Akiba, and he reverts to it again and again. "He who esteems himself highly on account of his knowledge," he teaches, "is like a corpse lying on the wayside: the traveler turns his head away in disgust, and walks quickly by" (Ab. R. N., ed. S. Schechter, xi. 46). Another of his sayings, quoted also in the name of Ben Azzai (Lev. R. i. 5), is specially interesting from the fact that Book of Luke, xiv. 8-12, is almost literally identical with it: "Take thy place a few seats below thy rank until thou art bidden to take a higher place; for it is better that they should say to thee 'Come up higher' than that they should bid thee 'Go down lower'" (see Prov. xxv. 7). Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (Hebrew: אבות דרבי נתן), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c. ... Solomon Schechter (1847-1915) was a Romanian Jewish rabbi, academic scholar, and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and architect of the American Conservative Jewish movement. ... Simeon ben Azzai or simply Ben Azzai (Hebrew: שמעון בן עזאי) was a distinguished tanna of the first third of the 2nd century. ... Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayikra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (Vayikrah in Hebrew). ... The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Book of Proverbs is a book of the Tanach/Old Testament. ...


Though so modest, yet when an important matter and not a merely personal one was concerned Akiba could not be cowed by the greatest, as is evidenced by his attitude toward the patriarch Gamaliel II. Convinced of the necessity of a central authority for Judaism, Akiba became a devoted adherent and friend of Gamaliel, who aimed at constituting the patriarch the true spiritual chief of the Jews (R. H. ii. 9). But Akiba was just as firmly convinced that the power of the patriarch must be limited both by the written and the oral law, the interpretation of which lay in the hands of the learned; and he was accordingly brave enough to act in ritual matters in Gamaliel's own house contrary to the decisions of Gamaliel himself[3]. Concerning Akiba's other personal excellences, such as benevolence, and kindness toward the sick and needy, see Ned. 40a, Lev. R. xxxiv.16, and Tosef., Meg. iv. 16. Akiba filled the office of an overseer of the poor[4]. Gamaliel II was the son of Simon ben Gamaliel, one of Jerusalems foremost men in the war against the Romans (vide Josephus, Bellum Jud. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayikra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (Vayikrah in Hebrew). ... The Tosefta is a secondary compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah. ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ...


Eminent as Akiba was by his magnanimity and moral worthiness, he was still more so by his intellectual capacity, by which he secured an enduring influence upon his contemporaries and upon posterity. In the first place, Akiba was the one who definitely fixed the canon of the Old Testament books. He protested strongly against the canonicity of certain of the Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus, for instance (Sanh. x. 1, Bab. ibid. 100b, Yer. ibid. x. 28a), in which passages קורא is to be explained according to ḳid. 49a, and חיצונים according to its Aramaic equivalent ברייתא; so that Akiba's utterance reads, "He who reads aloud in the synagogue from books not belonging to the canon as if they were canonical," etc. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Note: Judaism... Apocrypha (from the Greek word , meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ... The Wisdom of Ben Sirach, (or The Wisdom of Joshua Ben Sirach or merely Sirach), called Ecclesiasticus by Christians, is a book written circa 180 BCE in Hebrew. ... Sanhedrin (סנהדרין) is one of ten tractates of the Nezikin (a section of the Talmud that deals with damages, ie. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. ... The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew: ), often the Yerushalmi for short, and also known as the Palestinian Talmud, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ...


He has, however, no objection to the private reading of the Apocrypha, as is evident from the fact that he himself makes frequent use of Ecclesiasticus (W. Bacher, Ag. Tan. i. 277; H. Grätz, Gnosticismus, p. 120). Akiba stoutly defended, however, the canonicity of the Song of Songs, and Esther (Yad. iii.5, Meg. 7a). Grätz's statements (Shir ha-Shirim, p. 115, and Kohelet, p. 169) respecting Akiba's attitude toward the canonicity of the Song of Songs are misconceptions, as I.H. Weiss (Dor, ii. 97) has to some extent shown. To the same motive underlying his antagonism to the Apocrypha, namely, the desire to disarm Christians—especially Jewish Christians—who drew their "proofs" from the Apocrypha, must also be attributed his wish to emancipate the Jews of the Dispersion from the domination of the Septuagint, the errors and inaccuracies in which frequently distorted the true meaning of Scripture, and were even used as arguments against the Jews by the Christians. The Wisdom of Ben Sirach, (or The Wisdom of Joshua Ben Sirach or merely Sirach), called Ecclesiasticus by Christians, is a book written circa 180 BCE in Hebrew. ... Wilhelm Bacher (1850–1913) Wilhelm Bacher (January 12, 1850–1913) was a Hungarian scholar, Orientalist, and linguist, born in Liptó-Szent-Miklós, Hungary to the Hebrew writer Simon Bacher. ... Heinrich Graetz, ca. ... Song of Solomon is also the title of a novel by Toni Morrison. ... Esther (1865), by John Everett Millais Esther (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian ), born Hadassah, was a woman in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus (commonly identified with either Xerxes I or Artaxerxes II), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her. ... Tohorot (Hebrew: טהורת literally Purities) is the sixth order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud). ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ... Portrait of Isaac Hirsch Weiss, from 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... The Septuagint: A column of uncial text from 1 Esdras in the Codex Vaticanus, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brentons Greek edition and English translation. ... 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also spelt Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym for the three parts of the Hebrew Bible, based upon the initial Hebrew letters of each part: Torah [תורה] (The Law; also: Teaching or Instruction), Chumash [חומש] (The five, also Pentateuch or The five books of...


Aquila was a man after Akiba's own heart; under Akiba's guidance he gave the Greek-speaking Jews a rabbinical Bible (Jerome on Isa. viii. 14, Yer. ḳid. i. 59a). Akiba probably also provided for a revised text of the Targums; certainly, for the essential base of the so-called Targum Onkelos, which in matters of Halakah reflects Akiba's opinions completely (F. Rosenthal, Bet Talmud, ii. 280). Aquila of Sinope was a 2nd Century CE native of Pontus in Anatolia known for producing a slavishly literal translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek around 130 CE.[1] He was a proselyte to Judaism and a disciple of Rabbi Akiba[1] (d. ... For other uses, see Jerome (disambiguation). ... // Overview of Contents Isaiah (Hebrew ישׁעיהו Yeshayahu or Yəša‘ăyāhû) is a book of the Jewish Hebrew Bible as well as the Christian Old Testament, containing prophecies attributed to Isaiah. ... The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew: ), often the Yerushalmi for short, and also known as the Palestinian Talmud, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... A targum (plural: targumim) is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) written or compiled in the Land of Israel or in Babylonia from the Second Temple period until the early Middle Ages (late first millennium). ... Categories: Judaism-related stubs | Jewish texts ... Halakha (הלכה or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ...


Akiba as Systematizer

Akiba's true genius, however, is shown in his work in the domain of the Halakah, both in his systematization of its traditional material and in its further development. The condition of the Halakah, that is, of religious praxis, and indeed of Judaism in general, was a very precarious one at the turn of the first Christian century. The lack of any systematized collection of the accumulated Halakot rendered impossible any presentation of them in form suitable for practical purposes. Means for the theoretical study of the Halakah were also scant; both logic and exegesis—the two props of the Halakah—being differently conceived by the various ruling tannaim, and differently taught. According to a tradition which has historical confirmation, it was Akiba who systematized and brought into methodic arrangement the Mishnah, or Halakah codex; the Midrash, or the exegesis of the Halakah; and the Halakot, the logical amplification of the Halakah (Yer. SheḲ. v. 48c, according to the correct text given by Rabbinowicz, DiḲduḲe Soferim, p. 42; compare Giṭ. 67a and Dünner, in Monatsschrift, xx. 453, also W. Bacher, in Rev. Ét. Juives, xxxviii. 215.) The Mishna of Akiva, as his pupil Meir had taken it from him, became the basis of the Six Orders of the Mishna. Halakha (הלכה or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah with pronunciation emphasis on the third syllable, kha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew: ), often the Yerushalmi for short, and also known as the Palestinian Talmud, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah. ... For the Talmudic tractate Shekalim, see Moed. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Wilhelm Bacher (1850–1913) Wilhelm Bacher (January 12, 1850–1913) was a Hungarian scholar, Orientalist, and linguist, born in Liptó-Szent-Miklós, Hungary to the Hebrew writer Simon Bacher. ...


The δευτερώσεις τοῦ καλουμένου Ραββὶ Ακιβά mentioned by Epiphanius (Adversus Hæreses, xxxiii. 9, and xv., end), as well as the "great Mishnayot of Akiba" in the Midr. Cant. R. viii. 2, Eccl. R. vi. 2, are probably not to be understood as independent Mishnayot (δευτερώσεις) existing at that time, but as the teachings and opinions of Akiba contained in the officially recognized Mishnayot and Midrashim. But at the same time it is fair to consider the Mishnah of Judah ha-Nasi (called simply "the Mishnah") as derived from the school of Akiba; and the majority of halakic Midrashim now extant are also to be thus credited. Epiphanius (clearly manifested) was the name of several early Christian scholars and ecclesiastics: Epiphanius of Salamis, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, died 410, author of Panarion Epiphanius of Constantinople, died 535, Patriarch of Constantinople 520—535 Epiphanius Scholasticus, known only as the assistant of Cassiodorus who compiled the Historiae Ecclesiasticae... Of early Christian heresiology, the Panarion (Greek: Πανάριον, Medicine Chest), also known as Adversus Haereses (Latin: Against Heresies), is the most important of the works of Epiphanius (d. ... Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah (Hebrew: שיר השירים רבה) is a Haggadic midrash on Canticles, quoted by Rashi under the title Midrash Shir ha-Shirim (commentary on Cant. ... Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah (קהלת רבה) is an haggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. ... Judah haNasi, or more accurately in Hebrew, Yehudah HaNasi, was a key leader of the Jewish community of Judea under the Roman empire, toward the end of the 2nd century CE. He was reputedly from the Davidic line of the royal line from King David, hence his title Prince (Nasi...


Johanan bar Nappaḥa (199–279) has left the following important note relative to the composition and editing of the Mishnah and other halakic works: "Our Mishnah comes directly from Rabbi Meir, the Tosefta from R. Nehemiah, the Sifra from R. Judah, and the Sifre from R. Simon; but they all took Akiba for a model in their works and followed him" (Sanh. 86a). One recognizes here the threefold division of the halakic material that emanated from Akiba: (1) The codified Halakah (which is Mishnah); (2) the Tosefta, which in its original form contains a concise logical argument for the Mishnah, somewhat like the Lebush of Mordecai Jafe on the Shulḥan 'Aruk; (3) the halakic Midrash. The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Rabbi Meir was considered one of the greatest of the tannaim of the second generation. ... The Tosefta is a secondary compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah. ... Rabbi Nehemiah was a Hebrew priest, circa AD 150. ... Sifra (Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is a Halakic midrash to Leviticus. ... Roman province of Judea. ... Sifre (סִפְרֵי siphrÄ“y, Sifre, Sifrei) is a Midrash halakhah originated from Devarim and Shmot. ... ... Sanhedrin (סנהדרין) is one of ten tractates of the Nezikin (a section of the Talmud that deals with damages, ie. ... Rabbi Mordecai ben Avraham Yoffe (c. ...


The following may be mentioned here as the halakic Midrashim originating in Akiba's school: the Mekilta of Rabbi Simon (in manuscript only) on Exodus; Sifra on Leviticus; Sifre Zuṭṭa on the Book of Numbers (excerpts in YalḲ. Shim'oni, and a manuscript in Midrash ha-Gadol, (edited for the first time by B. Koenigsberger, 1894); and the Sifre to Deuteronomy, the halakic portion of which belongs to Akiba's school. The Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon (Hebrew: מכילתא דרבי שמעון בר יוחאי) is a Halakic midrash on Exodus from the school of R. Akiba, the Rabbi Shimon in question being Shimon bar Yochai. ... This article is about the second book in the Torah. ... Sifra (Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is a Halakic midrash to Leviticus. ... Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... The Yalkut Shimoni (Hebrew: ילקוט שמעוני) or simply Yalkut is a aggadic compilation on the books of the Old Testament. ... Midrash ha-Gadol or The Great Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש הגדול) is an anonymous late compilation of aggadic midrashim on the Pentateuch taken from the two Talmuds and earlier Midrashim. ... Deuteronomy (Greek deuteronomium, second, from to deuteronomium touto, this second law, pronounced ) is the fifth book of the Torah of the Hebrew bible and the Old Testament. ...

What was Rabbi Akiva like? - A worker who goes out with his basket. He finds wheat - he puts it in, barley - he puts it in, spelt - he puts it in, beans - he puts it in, lentils - he puts it 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; he arranged the Torah rings by rings. Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ...

Avot deRabbi Natan ch. 18; see also Gittin, 67a Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (Hebrew: אבות דרבי נתן), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c. ... Nashim (Women) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ...

Akiba's Halakah

Admirable as is the systematization of the Halakah by Akiba, his hermeneutics and halakic exegesis—which form the foundation of all Talmudic learning—surpassed it. 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."[citation needed] Halakha (הלכה or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ...


The enormous difference between the Halakah before and after Akiba may be briefly described as follows: The old Halakah was, as its name indicates, the religious practice sanctioned as binding by tradition, to which were added extensions, and, in some cases, limitations, of the Torah, arrived at by strict logical deduction. The opposition offered by the Sadducees—which became especially strenuous in the last century B.C.—originated the halakic Midrash, whose mission it was to deduce these amplifications of the Law, by tradition and logic, out of the Law itself. Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... The sect of the Sadducees - possibly from Hebrew Tsdoki צדוקי [], whence Zadokites or other variants - was founded in the 2nd century BCE, possibly as a political party, and ceased to exist sometime after the 1st century CE. The Hebrew name, Tsdoki, indicates their claim that they are the followers of the... Midrash halakha was the ancient rabbinic Jewish method of verifying the traditionally received laws by identifying their sources in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and by interpreting these passages as proofs of the laws authenticity. ...


It might be thought that with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem—which event made an end of Sadduceeism—the halakic Midrash would also have disappeared, seeing that the Halakah could now dispense with the Midrash. This probably would have been the case had not Akiba created his own Midrash, by means of which he was able "to discover things that were even unknown to Moses" (PesiḲ., Parah, ed. S. Buber, 39b). Akiba made the accumulated treasure of the oral law—which until his time was only a subject of knowledge, and not a science—an inexhaustible mine from which, by the means he provided, new treasures might be continually extracted. The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash and meaning literally The Holy House) was located on the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) in the old city of Jerusalem. ... The sect of the Sadducees - from Hebrew Tsdoki צדוקי [], whence Zadokites or other variants - was founded in the 2nd century BC, possibly as a political party, and ceased to exist sometime after the 1st century AD. The Hebrew name, Tsdoki, indicates their claim that they are the followers of the teachings... Midrash halakha was the ancient rabbinic Jewish method of verifying the traditionally received laws by identifying their sources in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and by interpreting these passages as proofs of the laws authenticity. ... Pesikta (Hebrew: פסיקתא) refers to two collections of rabbinic literature: Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Pesikta Rabbati Category: ... Tohorot (Hebrew: טהורת literally Purities) is the sixth order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud). ... Solomon Buber (1827-1906) Solomon (or Salomon) Buber (Lemberg, 1827-1906) was a Jewish Galician scholar and editor of Hebrew works. ...


If the older Halakah is to be considered as the product of the internal struggle between Phariseeism and Sadduceeism, the Halakah of Akiba must be conceived as the result of an external contest between Judaism on the one hand and Hellenism and Hellenistic Christianity on the other. Akiba no doubt perceived that the intellectual bond uniting the Jews—far from being allowed to disappear with the destruction of the Jewish state—must be made to draw them closer together than before. He pondered also the nature of that bond. The Bible could never again fill the place alone; for the Christians also regarded it as a divine revelation. Still less could dogma serve the purpose, for dogmas were always repellent to rabbinical Judaism, whose very essence is development and the susceptibility to development. Mention has already been made of the fact that Akiba was the creator of a rabbinical Bible version elaborated with the aid of his pupil, Aquila, and designed to become the common property of all Jews, thus Judaizing the Bible, as it were, in opposition to the Christians. The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew פרושים prushim from פרוש parush, meaning separated , that is, one who is separated for a life of purity. ... The sect of the Sadducees - from Hebrew Tsdoki צדוקי [], whence Zadokites or other variants - was founded in the 2nd century BC, possibly as a political party, and ceased to exist sometime after the 1st century AD. The Hebrew name, Tsdoki, indicates their claim that they are the followers of the teachings... The term Hellenistic (derived from HéllÄ“n, the Greeks traditional self-described ethnic name) was established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen to refer to the spreading of Greek culture over the non-Greek people that were conquered by Alexander the Great. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... Orthodox Judaism is one of the three major branches of Judaism. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... Aquila of Sinope was a 2nd Century CE native of Pontus in Anatolia known for producing a slavishly literal translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek around 130 CE.[1] He was a proselyte to Judaism and a disciple of Rabbi Akiba[1] (d. ...


But this was not sufficient to obviate all threatening danger. It was to be feared that the Jews, by their facility in accommodating themselves to surrounding circumstances—even then a marked characteristic—might become entangled in the net of Grecian philosophy, and even in that of Gnosticism. The example of his colleagues and friends, Elisha ben Abuyah, Ben Azzai, and Ben Zoma strengthened him still more in his conviction of the necessity of providing some counterpoise to the intellectual influence of the non-Jewish world. Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. ... Gnosticism (Greek: gnōsis, knowledge) refers to a diverse, syncretistic religious movement consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect spirit, the demiurge, who is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God. ... Elisha Ben Abuyah (spelled variously, including Elisha ben Avuya) was a Jewish heretic born in Jerusalem sometime before 70. ... Simeon ben Azzai or simply Ben Azzai (Hebrew: שמעון בן עזאי) was a distinguished tanna of the first third of the 2nd century. ... Simon ben Zoma or simply Ben Zoma (Hebrew: בן זומא) was a Tanna of the first third of the second century. ...


Akiba's Hermeneutic System

Akiba sought to apply the system of isolation followed by the Pharisees (פרושים = those who "separate" themselves) to doctrine as they did to practise, to the intellectual life as they did to that of daily intercourse, and he succeeded in furnishing a firm foundation for his system. As the fundamental principle of his system, Akiba enunciates his conviction that the mode of expression used by the Torah is quite different from that of every other book. In the language of the Torah nothing is mere form; everything is essence. It has nothing superfluous; not a word, not a syllable, not even a letter. Every peculiarity of diction, every particle, every sign, is to be considered as of higher importance, as having a wider relation and as being of deeper meaning than it seems to have. Like Philo (see Siegfried, Philo, p. 168), who saw in the Hebrew construction of the infinitive with the finite form of the same verb—which is readily recognizable in the Septuagint—and in certain particles (adverbs, prepositions, etc.) some deep reference to philosophical and ethical doctrines, Akiba perceived in them indications of many important ceremonial laws, legal statutes, and ethical teachings (compare D. Hoffmann, Zur Einleitung, pp. 5-12, and H. Grätz, Gesch. iv. 427). For the followers of the Vilna Gaon, see Perushim. ... Philo (20 BC - 50 AD), known also as Philo of Alexandria and as Philo Judaeus And as Yedidia, was a Hellenized Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ... The word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ... The Septuagint: A column of uncial text from 1 Esdras in the Codex Vaticanus, the basis of Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brentons Greek edition and English translation. ... David Zvi Hoffmann David Zvi Hoffmann (November 24, 1843 - 1921) (Hebrew: דוד צבי הופמן), was an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi and Torah Scholar. ... Heinrich Graetz, ca. ...


He thus gave the Jewish mind not only a new field for its own employment, but, convinced both of the unchangeableness of Holy Scripture and of the necessity for development in Judaism, he succeeded in reconciling these two apparently hopeless opposites by means of his remarkable method. The following two illustrations will serve to make this clear: 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also spelt Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym for the three parts of the Hebrew Bible, based upon the initial Hebrew letters of each part: Torah [תורה] (The Law; also: Teaching or Instruction), Chumash [חומש] (The five, also Pentateuch or The five books of...

  • The high conception of woman's dignity, which Akiba shared in common with most other Pharisees, induced him to abolish the Oriental custom that banished women at certain periods from all social intercourse. He succeeded, moreover, in fully justifying his interpretation of those Scriptural passages upon which this ostracism had been founded by the older expounders of the Torah (Sifra, Meẓora, end, and Shab. 64b).
  • The Biblical legislation in Ex. xxi. 7 could not be reconciled by Akiba with his view of Jewish ethics: for him a "Jewish slave" is a contradiction in terms, for every Jew is to be regarded as a prince (B. M. 113b). Akiba therefore teaches, in opposition to the old Halakah, that the sale of a daughter under age by her father conveys to her purchaser no legal title to marriage with her, but, on the contrary, carries with it the duty to keep the female slave until she is of age, and then to marry her (Mek., Mishpaṭim, 3). How Akiba endeavors to substantiate this from the Hebrew text is shown by A. Geiger (Urschrift, p. 187).

How little he cared for the letter of the Law whenever he conceives it to be antagonistic to the spirit of Judaism, is shown by his attitude toward the Samaritans. He considered friendly intercourse with these semi-Jews as desirable on political as well as on religious grounds, and he permitted—in opposition to tradition—not only eating their bread (Sheb. viii. 10) but also eventual intermarriage (ḳid. 75b). This is quite remarkable, seeing that in matrimonial legislation he went so far as to declare every forbidden union as absolutely void (Yeb. 92a) and the offspring as illegitimate (ḳid. 68a). For similar reasons Akiba comes near abolishing the Biblical ordinance of Kilaim; nearly every chapter in the treatise of that name contains a mitigation by Akiba. For the followers of the Vilna Gaon, see Perushim. ... Sifra (Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is a Halakic midrash to Leviticus. ... Metzora may mean: Metzora (parsha), the 28th weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading A person affected by skin disease, or tzaraath Category: ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ... It has been suggested that Pharaoh of the Exodus be merged into this article or section. ... Bava Metzia (Aramaic: בבא מציעא, The Middle Gate; often transliterated Baḇa Meẓia) is the second of a series of three Talmudic tractates in the order Nezikin (Damages). These tractates deal with civil matters such as damages and torts. ... Mekilta or Mekhilta (Hebrew: מכילתא) is the halakic midrash to the Book of Exodus. ... Mishpatim (משפטים — Hebrew for “laws”) is the eighteenth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the book of Exodus. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the ethnic group of this name, see Samaritan. ... Shevuot or Shevuot (Hebrew: שבועות, oaths) is a book of the Mishnah and Talmud. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ...


Love for the Holy Land, which he as a genuine nationalist frequently and warmly expressed (see Ab. R. N. xxvi.), was so powerful with him that he would have exempted agriculture from much of the rigor of the Law. These examples will suffice to justify the opinion that Akiba was the man to whom Judaism owes preeminently its activity and its capacity for development. For other uses, see Holy Land (disambiguation). ... Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (Hebrew: אבות דרבי נתן), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c. ...


Religious Philosophy

Goethe's saying, that "in self-restraint is the master shown," is contradicted by Akiba, who, though diametrically opposed to all philosophical speculation, is nevertheless the only tanna to whom we can attribute something like a religious philosophy. A tannaitic tradition (Ḥag. 14b; Tosef., Ḥag. ii. 3) mentions that of the four who entered paradise, Akiba was the only one that returned unscathed. This serves at least to show how strong in later ages was the recollection of Akiba's philosophical speculation (see Elisha b. Abuya). Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ... The Tosefta is a secondary compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah. ... Elisha ben Abuyah (Hebrew: אלישע בן אבויה) (spelled variously, including Elisha ben Avuya) was a Jewish heretic born in Jerusalem sometime before 70 CE. At one time he was a rabbi and a religious authority, but after Elisha adopted a heretical worldview and betrayed his people, the rabbis of the Talmud refrained from...


Akiba's utterances (Abot, iii. 14, 15) may serve to present the essence of his religious conviction. They run: Pirkei Avoth (Hebrew: Chapters of the Fathers, פרקי אבות ) or simply Avoth is a tractate of the Mishna composed of ethical maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period. ...

  • How favored is man, for he was created after an image; as Scripture says, "for in an image, Elohim made man" (Gen. ix. 6).
  • Everything is foreseen; but freedom [of will] is given to every man.
  • The world is governed by mercy... but the divine decision is made by the preponderance of the good or bad in one's actions.

Akiba's anthropology is based upon the principle that man was created בצלם, that is, not in the image of God—which would be בצלם אלהים—but after an image, after a primordial type; or, philosophically speaking, after an Idea—what Philo calls in agreement with judean theology, "the first heavenly man" (see Adam ḳadmon). Strict monotheist that Akiba was, he protested against any comparison of God with the angels, and declared the traditional interpretation of כאחד ממנו (Gen. iii. 22) as meaning "like one of us" to be arrant blasphemy (Mek., Beshallaḥ, 6). It is quite instructive to read how a contemporary of Akiba, Justin Martyr, calls the old interpretation—thus objected to by Akiba—a "Jewish heretical one" (Dial. cum Tryph. lxii.). In his earnest endeavors to insist as strongly as possible upon the incomparable nature of God, Akiba indeed lowers the angels somewhat to the realms of mortals, and, alluding to Ps. lxxviii. 25, maintains that manna is the actual food of the angels (Yoma, 75b). This view of Akiba's, in spite of the energetic protests of his colleague Rabbi Ishmael, became the one generally accepted by his contemporaries, as Justin Martyr, l.c., lvii., indicates. Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... Philo (20 BC - 50 AD), known also as Philo of Alexandria and as Philo Judaeus And as Yedidia, was a Hellenized Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ... In the religious writings of Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon is a phrase meaning Primordial Man, or Primal Man, comparable to the Anthropos of Gnosticism and Manichaeism. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... Mekilta or Mekhilta (Hebrew: מכילתא) is the halakic midrash to the Book of Exodus. ... Beshalach, Beshallach, or Beshalah (בשלח — Hebrew for “when [he] let go,” the second word and first distinctive word in the parshah) is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Exodus. ... Justin Martyr (also Justin the Martyr, Justin of Caesarea, Justin the Philosopher) (100–165) was an early Christian apologist and saint. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ... Ishmael ben Elisha (90 - 135 CE, commonly known as Rabbi Ishmael) was a Tanna of the first and second centuries (third tannaitic generation). ...


Freedom of Will

Against the Judæo-Gnostic doctrine (Recognit. iii. 30; Sifre, Num. 103; Sifra, Wayikra, 2), which teaches that angels—who are spiritual beings—and also that the departed pious, who are bereft of their flesh, can see God, the words of Akiba, in Sifra, l.c., must be noticed. He insists that not even the angels can see God's glory; for he interprets the expression in Ex. xxxiii. 20, "no man can see me and live" (וחי), as if it read "no man or any living immortal can see me." Sifre (סִפְרֵי siphrÄ“y, Sifre, Sifrei) is a Midrash halakhah originated from Devarim and Shmot. ... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... Sifra (Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is a Halakic midrash to Leviticus. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Sifra (Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is a Halakic midrash to Leviticus. ... It has been suggested that Pharaoh of the Exodus be merged into this article or section. ...


Next to the transcendental nature of God, Akiba insists emphatically, as has been mentioned, on the freedom of the will, to which he allows no limitations. This insistence is in opposition to the Christian doctrine of the sinfulness and depravity of man, and apparently controverts his view of divine predestination. He derides those who find excuse for their sins in this supposed innate depravity (ḳid. 81a). But Akiba's opposition to this genetically Jewish doctrine is probably directed mainly against its Christian correlative, the doctrine of the grace of God contingent upon faith in Christ, and baptism. Referring to this, Akiba says, "Happy are ye, O Israelites, that ye purify yourselves through your heavenly Father, as it is said (Jer. xvii. 13, Heb.), 'Israel's hope is God'" (Mishnah Yoma, end). This is a play on the Hebrew word מקוה ("hope" and "bath"). In opposition to the Christian insistence on God's love, Akiba upholds God's retributive justice elevated above all chance or arbitrariness (Mekilta, Beshallaḥ, 6). Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... This page is about the title, office or what is known in Christian theology as the Divine Person. ... The Book of Jeremiah, or Jeremiah (יִרְמְיָהוּ Yirmiyahu in Hebrew), is a book that is part of the Hebrew Bible, Judaisms Tanakh, and later became a part of Christianitys Old Testament. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ... Mekilta, Mekhilta // First Mention The halakic midrash to Exodus. ... Beshalach, Beshallach, or Beshalah (בשלח — Hebrew for “when [he] let go,” the second word and first distinctive word in the parshah) is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Exodus. ...


God's Two Attributes

But he is far from representing justice as the only attribute of God: in agreement with the ancient Palestinian theology of the מדת הדין ("the attribute of justice") and מדת הרחמים ("the attribute of mercy") (Gen. R. xii., end; the χαριστική and κολαστική of Philo, Quis Rer. Div. Heres, 34 Mangey, i. 496), he teaches that God combines goodness and mercy with strict justice (Ḥag. 14a). The idea of justice, however, so strongly dominates Akiba's system that he will not allow God's grace and kindness to be understood as arbitrary. Hence his maxim, referred to above, "God rules the world in mercy, but according to the preponderance of good or bad in human acts." Genesis Rabba (Bereshit Rabba in Hebrew: בראשית רבה) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. ... Philo (20 BC - 50 AD), known also as Philo of Alexandria and as Philo Judaeus And as Yedidia, was a Hellenized Jewish philosopher born in Alexandria, Egypt. ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ...


Eschatology and Ethics

As to the question concerning the frequent sufferings of the pious and the prosperity of the wicked —truly a burning one in Akiba's time—this is answered by the explanation that the pious are punished in this life for their few sins, in order that in the next they may receive only reward; while the wicked obtain in this world all the recompense for the little good they have done, and in the next world will receive only punishment for their misdeeds (Gen. R. xxxiii.; PesiḲ. ed. S. Buber, ix. 73a). Consistent as Akiba always was, his ethics and his views of justice were only the strict consequences of his philosophical system. Justice as an attribute of God must also be exemplary for man. "No mercy in [civil] justice!" is his basic principle in the doctrine concerning law (Ket. ix. 3), and he does not conceal his opinion that the action of the Jews in taking the spoil of the Egyptians is to be condemned (Gen. R. xxviii. 7). Genesis Rabba (Bereshit Rabba in Hebrew: בראשית רבה) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. ... Pesikta (Hebrew: פסיקתא) refers to two collections of rabbinic literature: Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Pesikta Rabbati Category: ... Solomon Buber (1827-1906) Solomon (or Salomon) Buber (Lemberg, 1827-1906) was a Jewish Galician scholar and editor of Hebrew works. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Genesis Rabba (Bereshit Rabba in Hebrew: בראשית רבה) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. ...


From his views as to the relation between God and man he deduces the inference that he who sheds the blood of a fellow man is to be considered as committing the crime against the divine archetype (דמות) of man (Gen. R. xxxiv. 14). He therefore recognizes as the chief and greatest principle of Judaism the command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Lev. xix. 18; Sifra, ḳedoshim, iv.). He does not, indeed, maintain thereby that the execution of this command is equivalent to the performance of the whole Law; and in one of his polemic interpretations of Scripture he protests strongly against a contrary opinion allegedly held by Christians, according to which Judaism is "simply morality" (Mek., Shirah, 3, 44a, ed. I.H. Weiss). For, in spite of his philosophy, Akiba was an extremely strict and national Jew. Genesis Rabba (Bereshit Rabba in Hebrew: בראשית רבה) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. ... Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ... Sifra (Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is a Halakic midrash to Leviticus. ... Kedoshim, K’doshim, or Qedoshim (קדושים — Hebrew for holy ones,” the 14th word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 30th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the book of Leviticus. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... Mekilta or Mekhilta (Hebrew: מכילתא) is the halakic midrash to the Book of Exodus. ... Portrait of Isaac Hirsch Weiss, from 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. ...


The Messianic Age and the Future World

His doctrine concerning the Jewish Messiah was the realistic and thoroughly Jewish one, as his declaration that Bar Kokba was the Messiah shows. He accordingly limited the Messianic age to forty years, as being within the scope of a man's life—similar to the reigns of David and Solomon—against the usual conception of a millennium (Midr. Teh. xc. 15). A distinction is, however, to be made between the Messianic age and the future world (עולם הבא). This latter will come after the destruction of this world, lasting for 1,000 years (R. H. 31a). To the future world all Israel will be admitted, with the exception of the generation of the Wilderness and the Ten Tribes (Sanh. xi. 3, 110b). But even this future world is painted by Akiba in colors selected by his nationalist inclinations, for he makes Messiah (whom, according to Ezek. xxxvii. 24, he identifies with King David) the judge of all the heathen world (Ḥag. 14a). In Judaism and Jewish eschatology, the Messiah (Hebrew: משיח; Mashiah, Mashiach, or Moshiach, anointed [one]) is a term traditionally referring to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line who will be anointed (the meaning of the Hebrew word משיח) with holy anointing oil and inducted to rule the Jewish people during... Simon bar Kokhba was a Jewish military leader who led Bar Kokhbas revolt against the Romans in 132 CE, establishing an independent state of Israel which he ruled for three years as Nasi (prince, or president). His state was conquered by the Romans in 135 CE following a two... This article is about the Biblical king of Israel. ... This article is about the Biblical jhhhhnn . ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה) is the name of a text of Jewish law originating in the Mishnah which formed the basis of tractates in both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud of the same name. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sanhedrin (סנהדרין) is one of ten tractates of the Nezikin (a section of the Talmud that deals with damages, ie. ... // There have been a number of debates that have surrounded this book over the centuries. ... This page is about the Biblical king David. ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ...


Legends

A man like Akiba would naturally be the subject of many legends. The following examples indicate in what light the personality of this great teacher appeared to later generations.


His innovative method

"When Moses ascended into heaven, he saw God occupied in making little crowns for the letters of the Torah. Upon his inquiry as to what these might be for, he received the answer, "There will come a man, named Akiba ben Joseph, who will deduce Halakot from every little curve and crown of the letters of the Law." Moses' request to be allowed to see this man was granted; but he became much dismayed as he listened to Akiba's teaching; for he could not understand it" (Men. 29b). This story gives in naive style a picture of Akiba's activity as the father of Talmudical Judaism. Kodashim or Kodoshim (Hebrew קדשים, Holy Things) is the fifth Order in the Mishna (also the Tosefta and Talmud). ... Orthodox Judaism is one of the three major branches of Judaism. ...


His transformation

The Aggadah explains how Akiba, in the prime of life, commenced his rabbinical studies. Legendary allusion to this change in Akiba's life is made in two slightly varying forms, of which the following is probably the older: Aggadah (Aramaic אגדה: tales, lore; pl. ...

Akiba, noticing a stone at a well that had been hollowed out by drippings from the buckets, said: "If these drippings can, by continuous action, penetrate this solid stone, how much more can the persistent word of God penetrate the pliant, fleshly human heart, if that word but be presented with patient insistency" (Ab. R. N. ed. S. Schechter, vi. 28).

Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (Hebrew: אבות דרבי נתן), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c. ... Solomon Schechter (1847-1915) was a Romanian Jewish rabbi, academic scholar, and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and architect of the American Conservative Jewish movement. ...

His martydom

Akiba's grave in Tiberias
Akiba's grave in Tiberias

The most common version of Akiva's death is that the Roman government ordered him to stop teaching Torah, on pain of death, and that he refused. The Roman judge who condemned him sentenced him to a punishment that was unusually severe even by Roman standards: flaying alive.[citation needed] Hebrew טבריה (Standard) Teverya Arabic طبرية Government City District North Population 39 900 (a) Jurisdiction 10 000 dunams (10 km²) Tiberias (British English: ; American English: ; Hebrew: , Tverya; Arabic: , abariyyah) is a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Lower Galilee, Israel. ... Michelangelos Last Judgment - Saint Bartholomew holding the knife of his martyrdom and his flayed skin Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. ...


There is some disagreement about the extent of Akiva's involvement in the Bar Kochba rebellion. (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica online) Participation in a rebellion would be a more serious threat to Roman rule than merely teaching a deviant religion—even one that questions the validity of worshipping the Emperor as a god.[citation needed] Simon bar Kokhba was a Jewish military leader who led a revolt against the Romans in AD 132. ...


Akiba's martyrdom—which is an important historical event—gave origin to many legends. The following account of his martyrdom is on a high plane and contains a proper appreciation of his principles: When Rufus—"Tyrannus Rufus," as he is called in Jewish sources—who was the pliant tool of Hadrian's vengeance, condemned the venerable Akiba to the hand of the executioner, it was just the time to recite the Shema. Full of devotion, Akiba recited his prayers calmly, though suffering agonies; and when Rufus asked him whether he was a sorcerer, since he felt no pain, Akiba replied, "I am no sorcerer; but I rejoice at the opportunity now given to me to love my God 'with all my life,' seeing that I have hitherto been able to love Him only 'with all my means' and 'with all my might,'" and with the word "One!" he expired (Yer. Ber. ix. 14b, and somewhat modified in Bab. 61b). Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76 –– July 10, 138), known as Hadrian in English, was emperor of Rome from 117 A.D. to 138 A.D., as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher. ... Shema Yisrael (שמע ישראל) are the first two words of a section of the Hebrew Bible that is used as a centerpiece of all morning and evening Jewish prayer services and closely echoes the monotheistic message of Judaism. ... The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew: ), often the Yerushalmi for short, and also known as the Palestinian Talmud, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah. ... Chemische Berichte (usually abbreviated as or ) is a German-language scientific journal featuring chemistry of all disciplines. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. ...


The version in the Babylonian Talmud (Berachot 61b) tells it as a response of Akiva to his students, who asked him how even now—as he is being tortured—he could yet offer prayers to God. He says to them, "All my life I was worried about the verse, 'with all your soul,' (and the sages expounded this to signify), even if He takes away your soul. And I said to myself, when will I ever be able to fulfill this command? And now that I am finally able to fulfill it, I should not? Then he extended the final 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". Pure monotheism was for Akiba the essence of Judaism: he lived, worked, and died for it. The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... Berakhot (Hebrew: ברכות, Benedictions) is the first masekhet (tractate) of Seder Zeraim (Order of Seeds) of the Mishnah, the first major text of Jewish law. ...


Contrary to the vision (Men. 29b), which sees Akiba's body destined to be exposed for sale in the butcher's shop, legend tells how Elijah, accompanied by Akiba's faithful servant Joshua, entered unperceived the prison where the body lay. Priest though he was, Elijah took up the corpse—for the dead body of such a saint could not defile—and, escorted by many bands of angels, bore the body by night to Cæsarea. The night, however, was as bright as the finest summer's day. When they arrived there, Elijah and Joshua entered a cavern which contained a bed, table, chair, and lamp, and deposited Akiba's body there. No sooner had they left it than the cavern closed of its own accord, so that no man has found it since (Jellinek, Bet ha-Midrash, vi. 27, 28; ii. 67, 68; Braunschweiger, Lehrer der Mischnah, 192-206). Kodashim or Kodoshim (Hebrew קדשים, Holy Things) is the fifth Order in the Mishna (also the Tosefta and Talmud). ... Elijah, 1638, by José de Ribera This article is about the prophet in the Hebrew Bible. ... ... Jellinek refers to: Adolf Jellinek(Adolph Jellinek) (1821 Czech - 1893) Emil Jellinek, or Emil Jellinek-Mercedes (1853 Leipzig - 1918), son of Adolf Jellinek Georg Jellinek (1851 - 1911) George Jellinek Hans Jellinek (1901 - 1969) Max Hermann Jellinek (1868 - 1938), son of Adolf Jellinek Hermann Jellinek (1822 Czech - 1848) Oskar Jellinek (1886...


His students

Akiva taught thousands of students: on one occasion, twenty-four thousand students of his died in a plague.[5] His five main, last remaining students were Judah bar Ilai, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Nehemiah, Jose ben Halafta and Shimon bar Yochai. Rabbi Judah ben Ilai was a Talmudic scholar and a Tana, or writer of the Mishna, who lived in the 2nd Century. ... Rabbi Meir was considered one of the greatest of the tannaim of the second generation. ... Rabbi Nehemiah was a priest in 1 Kings of the Bible. ... Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a Tanna of the fourth generation (2d cent. ... ...


His wealth and influence

Akiba's success as a teacher put an end to his poverty; for the wealthy father-in-law now rejoiced to acknowledge a son-in-law so distinguished as Akiba. There were, however, other circumstances which made a wealthy man of the former shepherd lad.


It appears that Akiba, authorized by certain rabbis, borrowed a large sum of money from a prominent heathen woman—a matrona, says the legend. As bondsmen for the loan, Akiba named God and the sea, on the shore of which the matrona's house stood. Akiba, being sick, could not return the money at the time appointed; but his "bondsmen" did not leave him in the lurch. An imperial princess suddenly became insane, in which condition she threw a chest containing imperial treasures into the sea. It was cast upon the shore close to the house of Akiba's creditor, so that when the matrona went to the shore to demand of the sea the amount she had lent Akiba, the ebbing tide left boundless riches at her feet. Later, when Akiba arrived to discharge his indebtedness, the matrona not only refused to accept the money, but insisted upon Akiba's receiving a large share of what the sea had brought to her (Commentaries to Ned. l.c.). Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ...


The Talmud also enumerates six occasions in which Akiva gained his wealth (Nedarim, 50a-b). Akiba's many journeys brought numerous adventures, some of which are embellished by legend. Thus in Ethiopia he was once called upon to decide between the swarthy king and the king's wife; the latter having been accused of infidelity because she had borne her lord a white child. Akiba ascertained that the royal chamber was adorned with white marble statuary, and, basing his decision upon a well known physiological theory, he exonerated the queen from suspicion (Num. R. ix. 34). It is related that during his stay in Rome Akiba became intimately acquainted with the Jewish proselyte ḳeṭia' bar Shalom, a very influential Roman—according to some scholars identical with Flavius Clemens, Domitian's nephew, who, before his execution for pleading the cause of the Jews, bequeathed to Akiba all his possessions (Ab. Zarah, 10b). Nashim (Women) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ... Numbers Rabbah (or Bamidbar Rabbah in Hebrew) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Titus Flavius Clemens was a great-nephew of the Roman Emperor Vespasian and brother to Titus Flavius Sabinus IV. Flavius married Vespasians granddaughter Flavia Domitilla. ... Titus Flavius Domitianus (24 October 51 – 18 September 96), commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman Emperor of the gens Flavia. ... Avodah Zarah (meaning idolatry - lit. ...


Another Roman, concerning whose relations with Akiba legend has much to tell, was Tinnius Rufus, called in the Talmud "Tyrannus" Rufus. One day Rufus asked: "Which is the more beautiful—God's work or man's?" "Undoubtedly man's work is the better," was Akiba's reply; "for while nature at God's command supplies us only with the raw material, human skill enables us to elaborate the same according to the requirements of art and good taste." Rufus had hoped to drive Akiba into a corner by his strange question; for he expected quite a different answer from the sage, and intended to compel Akiba to admit the wickedness of circumcision. He then put the question, "Why has God not made man just as He wanted him to be?" "For the very reason," was Akiba's ready answer, "that the duty of man is to perfect himself" (Tan., Tazri'a, 5, ed. S. Buber 7). Midrash Tanhuma (Hebrew: מדרש תנחומא) is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. ... Tazria, Thazria, Thazri’a, Sazria, or Ki Tazria’ (תזריע — Hebrew for she conceives,” the 13th word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 27th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Leviticus. ... Solomon Buber (1827-1906) Solomon (or Salomon) Buber (Lemberg, 1827-1906) was a Jewish Galician scholar and editor of Hebrew works. ...


His relationship with his wife

Akiva was the shepherd of a rich man nicknamed Kalba Savua because anyone who entered his house hungry like a dog (kalba) went out satiated (savua) (a reference to his hospitality toward guests). Kalba Savua's daughter, whose name was Rachel, noticed his modesty and good nature. She saw that he had a great mind, and that if he would put his mind to The Almighty's Divine Torah, he would flourish into a great teacher in Israel. She spoke with Akiva about G-d and the role of the Jewish people, and it sparked his interest. One day Akiva came to Rachel by a river, and asked her why the Jewish people, if they were G-d's Chosen people, had to suffer so much. She replied, Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

"The greater, the higher a man's task is, the more he must endure, the more he must fight and suffer. An ordinary simple man who doesn't bother about anything usually lives a quiet an undisturbed life. The man who wants to do something, who is concerned with the general welfare has troubles and worries. When G-d elevated Israel and chose us from all the nations, He placed us in the midst of every conflict. Wherever something great is being fought for, Israel must be there. Few peoples rise above the others, to put their foot on the neck of the nations. The various generations come up, grow, flourish and disappear. Israel must play its part in all of them. Of course, that involves suffering and sorrow. Sometimes we are hurled down to earth, and the ploughs are drawn across our backs and we are marked by long furrows. But G-d has always raised us up again. He has never punished us as He has punished those who torment us. He has never doomed us to die like those nations who oppress us. If we must suffer more than other peoples, G-d has also given us the strength to bear our troubles; to endure."[citation needed]

Rachel's words moved Akiva, and he told her that he could only dedicate himself to Torah if he had a wife like her by his side. She said that she would accept his "wooing" if he would devote himself to the study of G-d's law. He said he would, and they married in secret. Her father, hearing this, drove her out of his house and prohibited her by vow of having any share in his assets.


Rachel brought Akiva to Gamzu, a small place near Lod, to learn from the Torah sage Nochum of Gamzu. He learned with him until he died, at which point he moved to Yavneh to study at the feet of ben Zakkai, as well as Gamliel II HaNasi (the Prince), and Yehoshua ben Chananya. After 12 years, he returned to his home with twelve thousand disciples following him. He overheard a neighbor saying to his wife Rachel: "How long will you live as a widow while still married? Your husband has probably forgotten all about you!" She answered her: "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. Downtown area of Lod Lod (Hebrew לוֹד; Arabic اَلْلُدّْ al-Ludd, Greco-Latin Lydda, Tiberian Hebrew לֹד Lōḏ) is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. ... Nahum of Gimzo (Hebrew: נחום איש גמזו) was a Tanna of the 2nd generation (1st century). ... Yavne (Hebrew יבנה, Arabic يبنة Yibnah) is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. ... See Rabbi Yochanan (disambiguation) for other rabbis from the Talmud named Yochanan. ... Rabbi Gamliel II, also known as Gamliel of Yavne, and often simply Rabban Gamliel was the first person to lead the sanhedrin as nasi. ... Joshua ben Hananiah (Hebrew: יהושע בן חנניה) was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Temple. ...


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." The Book of Proverbs is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Writings of the Old Testament. ...


Her father heard that a great man had 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 (Ketubot 62b-63a). Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה ; alternate transliterations include Halocho and Halacha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions. ... A ketubah is a Jewish marriage contract. ...


His Favorite Maxim

This was not the only occasion on which Akiba was made to feel the truth of his favorite maxim ("Whatever God doeth He doeth for the best"). Once, being unable to find any sleeping accommodation in a certain city, he was compelled to pass the night outside its walls. Without a murmur he resigned himself to this hardship; and even when a lion devoured his ass, and a cat killed the cock whose crowing was to herald the dawn to him, and the wind extinguished his candle, the only remark he made was, "All that G-d does is for the good." When morning dawned he learned how true his words were. A band of robbers had fallen upon the city and carried its inhabitants into captivity, but he had escaped because his abiding place had not been noticed in the darkness, and neither beast nor fowl had betrayed him (Ber. 60b). Chemische Berichte (usually abbreviated as or ) is a German-language scientific journal featuring chemistry of all disciplines. ...


Akiba and the Dead

A legend according to which the gates of the infernal regions opened for Akiba is analogous to the more familiar tale that he entered paradise and was allowed to leave it unscathed (Ḥag. 14b). There exists the following tradition: Akiba once met a coal-black man carrying a heavy load of wood and running with the speed of a horse. Akiba stopped him and inquired: "My son, wherefore dost thou labor so hard? If thou art a slave and hast a harsh master, I will purchase thee of him. If it be out of poverty that thou doest thus, I will care for thy requirements." "It is for neither of these," the man replied; "I am dead and am compelled because of my great sins to build my funeral pyre every day. In life I was a tax-gatherer and oppressed the poor. Let me go at once, lest the demon torture me for my delay." "Is there no help for thee?" asked Akiba. "Almost none," replied the deceased; "for I understand that my sufferings will end only when I have a pious son. When I died, my wife was pregnant; but I have little hope that she will give my child proper training." Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ...


Akiba inquired the man's name and that of his wife and her dwelling-place; and when, in the course of his travels, he reached the place, Akiba sought for information concerning the man's family. The neighbors very freely expressed their opinion that both the deceased and his wife deserved to inhabit the infernal regions for all time—the latter because she had not even initiated her child into the Abrahamic covenant. Akiba, however, was not to be turned from his purpose; he sought the son of the tax-gatherer and labored long and assiduously in teaching him the word of God. After fasting 40 days, and praying to God to bless his efforts, he heard a heavenly voice (bat Ḳol) asking, "Wherefore givest thou thyself so much trouble concerning this one?" "Because he is just the kind to work for," was the prompt answer. Akiba persevered until his pupil was able to officiate as reader in the synagogue; and when there for the first time he recited the prayer, "Bless ye the Lord!" the father suddenly appeared to Akiba, and overwhelmed him with thanks for his deliverance from the pains of hell through the merit of his son (Kallah, ed. Coronel, 4b, and see quotations from Tan. in Isaac Aboab's Menorat ha-Maor, i. 1, 2, § 1, ed. Jacob Raphael Fürstenthal, p. 82; also Maḥzor Vitry, p. 112). This legend has been somewhat elaborately treated in Yiddish under the title, Ein ganz neie Maase vun dem Tanna R. Akiba, Lemberg, 1893 (compare Tanna debe Eliyahu Zuṭṭa, xvii., where Johanan ben Zakkai's name is given in place of Akiba). refers to the sacred pact betweeen YAH and Abraham whereby he and his descendants are promised: a multitude of descendants, a land of blessing (Israel), and a future as rulers/benefactors of the world. ... Kallah (Hebrew: מסכת כלה) is the name of one of minor tractates of the Talmud. ... Midrash Tanhuma (Hebrew: מדרש תנחומא) is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. ... Not to be confused with Isaac Aboab of Castile. ... Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry (d. ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ... Tanna Devei Eliyahu (Hebrew: תנא דבי אליהו) is the composite name of a midrash, consisting of two parts, whose final redaction took place at the end of the 10th century CE. The first part is called Seder Eliyahu Rabbah (31 chapters); the second, Seder Eliyahu Zuá¹­a (15 chapters). ... Yohanan ben Zakkai was a Jewish sage of the first century of the common era, and a primary contributor to the core text of rabbinic Judaism, the Mishnah. ...

  Rabbis of the Mishnah
v  d  e
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hillel
 
Shammai
 
 
 
 
 
Teacher → Student
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gamaliel the Elder
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Johanan b. Zakai
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Father → Son
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
R. Gamaliel
 
Jose the Galilean
 
Eliezer b. Hyrcanus
 
Joshua b. Hananiah
 
Eleazar b. Arach
 
Eleazar b. Azariah
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Elisha b. Abuyah
 
 
 
Akiva
 
Ishmael b. Elisha
 
Tarfon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Meir
 
Judah b. Ilai
 
Jose b. Halafta
 
Shimon b. Yohai
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Judah HaNasi
 
Hiyya
 
Oshiah
 
 

The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Hillel (הלל) (born Babylon 1st Century BCE - died ?Jerusalem, 1st Century CE) was a famous Jewish religious leader, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. ... Shammai (50 BCE–30 CE) was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaisms core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. ... Gamaliel the Elder, or Rabbi Gamaliel I, was the grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder. ... See Rabbi Yochanan (disambiguation) for other rabbis from the Talmud named Yochanan. ... Gamaliel II was the son of Simon ben Gamaliel, one of Jerusalems foremost men in the war against the Romans (vide Josephus, Bellum Jud. ... Jose the Galilean (in Hebrew, Yose ha-Gelili) was a Jew who lived in the first and second centuries of the common era. ... Joshua ben Hananiah (Hebrew: יהושע בן ×—× × ×™×”) was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Temple. ... Eleazar ben Azariah (Hebrew: אלעזר בן עזריה) was a Mishnaic scholar of the second generation (1st century C.E.), junior contemporary of Gamaliel II, Eliezer b. ... Elisha Ben Abuyah (spelled variously, including Elisha ben Avuya) was a Jewish heretic born in Jerusalem sometime before 70. ... Ishmael ben Elisha (90 - 135 CE, commonly known as Rabbi Ishmael) was a Tanna of the first and second centuries (third tannaitic generation). ... Tarfon or Tarphon, (Hebrew: טרפון , from the Greek Tryphon), a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Temple (70 C.E.) and the fall of Bethar (135 C.E.). He is said to have lived in Yavneh, although it... Rabbi Meir was considered one of the greatest of the tannaim of the second generation. ... Rabbi Judah ben Ilai was a Talmudic scholar and a Tana, or writer of the Mishna, who lived in the second century. ... Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a Tanna of the fourth generation (2d cent. ... ... Judah haNasi, or more accurately in Hebrew, Yehudah HaNasi, was a key leader of the Jewish community of Judea under the Roman empire, toward the end of the 2nd century CE. He was reputedly from the Davidic line of the royal line from King David, hence his title Prince (Nasi... Rabbi Hiyya (ca. ... Not to be confused with Hoshaiah. ...

References

  • This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.. The JE cites the following sources:
    • Z. Frankel, Darke ha-Mishnah, pp. 111-123;
    • J. Brüll, Mebo ha-Mishnah, pp. 116-122;
    • Weiss, Dor, ii. 107-118;
    • H. Oppenheim, in Bet Talmud, ii. 237-246, 269-274;
    • Isaac Gastfreund, Biographie des R. Akiba, Lemberg, 1871;
    • J. S. Bloch, in Mimizraḥ u-Mima'Arab, 1894, pp. 47-54;
    • Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. d. Juden, iv. (see index);
    • Ewald, Geschichte der Volkes Israel, vii. 367 et seq.;
    • Joseph Derenbourg, Essai, pp. 329-331, 395 et seq., 418 et seq.;
    • Hamburger, R. B. T. ii. 32-43;
    • W. Bacher, Ag. Tan. i. 271-348;
    • Isaak Markus Jost, Gesch. des Judenthums und Seiner Sekten, ii. 59 et seq.;
    • Landau, in Monatsschrift, 1854, pp. 45-51, 81-93, 130-148;
    • Dünner, ibid. 1871, pp. 451-454;
    • Neubürger, ibid. 1873, pp. 385-397, 433-445, 529-536;
    • D. Hoffmann, Zur Einleitung in die Halachischen Midraschim, pp. 5-12;
    • H. Grätz, Gnosticismus, pp. 83-120;
    • F. Rosenthal, Vier Apokryph. Bücher . . . R. Akiba's, especially pp. 95-103, 124-131;
    • S. Funk, Akiba (Jena Dissertation), 1896;
    • M. Poper, PirḲe R. Akiba, Vienna, 1808;
    • M. Lehmann, Akiba, Historische Erzählung, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1880;
    • J. Wittkind, Ḥuṭ ha-Meshulash, Wilna, 1877;
    • Braunschweiger, Die Lehrer der Mischnah, pp. 92-110.

The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Zecharias Frankel (30 September 1801–13 February 1875) was a Bohemian-German rabbi and a historian who studied the historical development of Judaism. ... Portrait of Isaac Hirsch Weiss, from 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Joseph Derenbourg, or Joseph Naftali Derenburg (21 August 1811 - 29 July 1895) was a Franco-German orientalist. ... Wilhelm Bacher (1850–1913) Wilhelm Bacher (January 12, 1850–1913) was a Hungarian scholar, Orientalist, and linguist, born in Liptó-Szent-Miklós, Hungary to the Hebrew writer Simon Bacher. ... Isaak Marcus(Markus) Jost (February 22, 1793, Bernburg - November 22, 1860, Frankfort-on-the-Main), Jewish historical writer. ... David Zvi Hoffmann David Zvi Hoffmann (November 24, 1843 - 1921) (Hebrew: דוד צבי הופמן), was an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi and Torah Scholar. ... Heinrich Graetz, ca. ...

Notes

  1. ^ Yer. SheḲ. iii 47b, R. H. i. 56d.
  2. ^ Yer. Ber. iv. 7d, Bab. ibid. 27b.
  3. ^ Tosef., Ber. iv. 12.
  4. ^ Ma'as. Sh. v. 9, and ḳid. 27a.
  5. ^ Talmud Bavli, Yevamoth 62b

The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew: ), often the Yerushalmi for short, and also known as the Palestinian Talmud, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah. ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ... Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: ראש השנה) is the name of a text of Jewish law originating in the Mishnah which formed the basis of tractates in both the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud of the same name. ... The Jerusalem Talmud or Talmud Yerushalmi (Hebrew: ), often the Yerushalmi for short, and also known as the Palestinian Talmud, is a collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish Oral tradition as detailed in the 2nd-century Mishnah. ... Chemische Berichte (usually abbreviated as or ) is a German-language scientific journal featuring chemistry of all disciplines. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. ... The Tosefta is a secondary compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah. ... Chemische Berichte (usually abbreviated as or ) is a German-language scientific journal featuring chemistry of all disciplines. ... Maaser Sheni (Hebrew: מעשר שני, lit. ... Nashim (Women or Wives) is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. ...

See also

The Ten Martyrs (Aseret Harugei Malchut עשרת הרוגי מלכות) refers to a group of ten rabbis living during the era of the Mishnah who were martyred by the Romans in the period after the destruction of the second Temple. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ...

External links

Rabbi Louis Ginzberg was one of the outstanding Talmudists of the twentieth century. ...

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Rabbi Akiva - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1709 words)
Akiba ben Joseph (Rabbi Akiva or as he is called in the Talmud Rebbi Akiva) (died c.
Rebbi Akiva was a disciple of Nochum Ish Gamzu, Rebbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, and Rebbi Yehoshua ben Chananya.
According to it he was born to a proselyte named Joseph, who happened to be neighbors with Hyrcanus, father of the Great Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus.
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