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A poor, semi-literate shepherd, Akiva became one of JudaismThe religion of the Jewish people's greatest scholars. He developed the exegetical method of the Mishnahentire body of Jewish religious law that was passed down and developed before 200 CE by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, linking each practice to a basis in the biblical text, and systematized the material that later became the Mishnahentire body of Jewish religious law that was passed down and developed before 200 CE by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi. Rabbi Akivaone of the most central contributors to the early Oral Torah was active in the Bar Kokhba rebellion. He believed that Bar Kokhba was the messiah.When the Bar Kokhba rebellion failed, Rabbi Akivaone of the most central contributors to the early Oral Torah was taken by the Roman authorities and tortured to death. Akiba ben Joseph was a famous Jewish rabbi of the latter part of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century. He was a great authority in Jewish tradition, and one of the most central contributors to the early Oral Torahthe central and most important document of Judaism, mainly the Mishnahentire body of Jewish religious law that was passed down and developed before 200 CE by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi and the midrash halakha. He laid the foundations of the Mishnaic dispute, by which groups of sages dispute points of Halakha or Bible interpretation. He was of the 3rd generation of the Tannaim. Rebbi Akiva was a disciple of Nochum Ish Gamzu, Rebbi EliezerServant of Jewish Patriarch Abraham ben Hyrcanus, and Rebbi Yehoshua ben Chananya. Among his other contemporary colleagues are: Elisha ben Avuyu, Rebbi EliezerServant of Jewish Patriarch Abraham ben Rebbi Tzodok, Rebbi Elozor ben Azarya, Rabban Gamliel, Rebbi Yehuda ben Betheira, Rebbi Yochanan ben Nuri, Rebbi Yosi the Galilean, Rebbi Yishmael and Rebbi Chanina ben Dosa. Rebbi Akiva held disputes with his teachers and colleagues. A rule was later established: whenever Rebbi Akiva disputes a single sage, the halakhic ruling follows him, but not so when he disputes more than one sage. Rebbi Akiva taught thousands of students; 24,000 students of his died in a plague. The Talmud is the only ancient source of knowledge about Rebbi Akiva. According to it he was born to a proselyte named Joseph, who happened to be neighbors with Hyrcanus, father of the Great Rabbi EliezerServant of Jewish Patriarch Abraham ben Hyrcanus. He was an am ha'aretz (Hebrew: ignoramus) during his first forty years. During that period he used to say: "O that I would find a talmid chacham (Torahthe central and most important document of Judaism scholar) and bite him like a donkey." He was the shepherd of a rich man named Kalba Savua because anyone who entered his house hungry like a dog (kalba) went out satiated (savua). 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 Torahthe central and most important document of Judaism, he would become a great teacher. 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, "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 life. The man who wants to do something, who is concerned with the general welfare has troubles and worries. When G-d elevated IsraelNation of the Jewish People and chose us from all the nations, He placed us in the midst of every conflict. Wherever something great is being fought for, IsraelNation of the Jewish People 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. IsraelNation of the Jewish People must play its part in all of them. Of course, that involves suffering. 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." Rachel's words moved Akiva, and he told her that he could only dedicate himself to Torahthe central and most important document of Judaism 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 of having any share in his assets. Rachel brought Akiva to Gamzu, a small place near Lod, to learn from the Torahthe central and most important document of Judaism sage Nochum. He learned with him until he died, at which point he moved to Yavneh to study at the feet of Rebbi EliezerServant of Jewish Patriarch Abraham ben Hyrcanus, a student of Rebbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, as well as Rabban Gamliel HaNasi and Rebbi Yehoshua ben Chananya. After 12 years, he returned to his home with 12,000 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 Akivaone of the most central contributors to the early Oral Torah said: "So I'm doing it with her approval!" and went and studied another twelve years. When he came back this time, he had twenty-four thousand disciples with him. Hearing this, his wife was about to go out and greet him. Her female neighbors said to her: "Go borrow garments and dress yourself!" She replied: "A righteous man knows the spirit of his domestic beast." When she reached him she prostrated herself and started kissing his feet. His servants started pushing her away. He said to them: "Let her be! What both I and you have is hers." Her father heard that a great man had arrived in town. He said: "Let me go to him, perhaps he may annul my vow." Rebbi 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!" Rebbi Akiva then said: "I am him." He prostrated himself and kissed him on his feet, and gave him half his assets. Rebbi Akiva was very rich. Throughout his life Rebbi Akiva defended the Jewish people many times in the Roman high courts. He had contact many times with the Emperor Hadrian and the Emperor Domitian, as well as other high Roman officials such as Flavus Clemens, and the wife of Governor Tinius Rufus named Rufina who eventually converted to JudaismThe religion of the Jewish people and married Rebbi Akiva; after his first wife Rachel had died. When Shimon bar Kozieva's revolt took place, Rebbi Akiva expounded the following verse homiletically: "A star has shot off Jacob" and so nicknamed the rebel as Kochva, "the star", rather than Kozieva. When Rabbi Akivaone of the most central contributors to the early Oral Torah would see bar Kochba, he would say: "This is the Messiah!" Rebbi Akiva abandoned Bar Kochba after discovering that he wanted to join armies with the Samaritans, as a result of his lack of faith in G-d. Rebbi Akiva left JerusalemThe capital of Israel and Bar Kochba, months before the end of the revolt. Following the failure of bar Kokhba's revolt, the Romans prohibited the public study of Torahthe central and most important document of Judaism. Rebbi Akiva defied this order, and was imprisoned. The Roman Governor of Palestine Tinius Rufus sentenced Rebbi Akiva to death. It was at dawn of the Jewish Day of Atonement when the burnt offering that day was to be the great Rebbi Akiva. He had attained the same age as Moses, one hundred twenty, yet his body was still powerful, his eyes undimmed and his spirit unbroken. They tied him to a stake, and the Roman torturers tore lumps of living flesh from him with red-hot pincers. But no cry of pain escaped him. As the sun rose in the East, Rebbi Akiva put his hand over his eyes and cried out with a loud voice: "Hear O IsraelNation of the Jewish People, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is One. Blessed be His Name forever and ever. And thou shalt love the Lord thy G-d with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might." His disciple Rebbi Meir said: "Rebbi, our heart bleeds to see you suffer so." He replied: "My children, be not sad because of me. I have reached the goal of my desires. I was worried about this verse "And you shall love the Lord your God ...with all your soul," even if He takes away your soul. This endless love, how can we prove it better than by giving up one's life, one's soul for the sanctification of G-d's Name!" The he began again, "Hear O IsraelNation of the Jewish People, the Lord our G-d, the Lord is One". The final word 'One', Echad, he extended until his life expired with that word. A heavenly voice went out and announced: "Blessed are you, Rebbi Akiva, that your life expired with "Echad." The Mishna of Rebbi Akiva, as his pupil Rebbi Meir had taken it from him, became the basis of the Six Orders of the Mishnahentire body of Jewish religious law that was passed down and developed before 200 CE by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi.