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Akiva ben Joseph (Mishnaic Hebrew: עֲקִיבָא בֶּן יוֹסֵף, ʿĂqīḇāʾ ben Yōsēp̄; c. 50 – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a tanna of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second.
Rabbi Akiva was one of the most prolific and inspiring teachers of Judaism, who formed a crucial link in the chain of transmission of Jewish tradition that began with Moses and continues to this very day.
Rabbi Akiva (sometimes spelled Akiba) is considered to be one of the greatest rabbinic sages, yet the biographical details of his life remain somewhat of a mystery.
- He Started as a Poor Shepherd. The descendant of converts to Judaism, Akiva began as a poor and ignorant shepherd tending the flocks of Kalba Savua, one of the wealthiest men in Jerusalem in the waning years of the Second Temple.
- His Father-in-Law Disowned Him. When Kalba Savua caught wind of Rachel’s choice, he swore that the young couple would not benefit from his wealth, and they started their home in a barn filled with straw and little else.
- He Left Home for 24 Years. Despite their meager means, Rachel wholeheartedly encouraged Akiva to leave home for 24 years to study Torah in yeshivah at the feet of Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua.
- A Water-Worn Rock Inspired Him at Age 40. Forty years old and entirely unlearned, Akiva observed how the water of a well had eroded a stone and arrived at the following conclusion: If the soft water can carve the hard stone, the solid words of Torah can surely penetrate my mind.
Akiva ben Yosef, Jewish sage, a principal founder of rabbinic Judaism. He introduced a new method of interpreting Jewish oral law (Halakha), thereby laying the foundation of what was to become the Mishna.
- Nahum N. Glatzer
Akiva started at the very beginning, learning the Hebrew alphabet alongside his son, and went on to be foremost rabbi in the post-Temple era.
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Rabbi Akiva. Photo courtesy of painting by Zalman Kleinman. Among the many great figures in Jewish history, Rabbi Akiva arguably represents a combination of everything that is heroic about the Jewish people more than anyone else.
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