[rmlew]

Ok, on behalf of all us goys who is Rabbi Akiva?
Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph (or in Aramaic, Akiba bar Yosef) was one of the great Talmudic sages and one of the major martyrs of Roman occupation.
Akiva, a son of converts, was an unlettered shepherd until he was 40. Thereafter, he turned his life over to study of God's Law. Rabbi Akiva was the greatest sage of his day and became leader of the academe in Yavneh. However, in 132, he declared Simon ben Kosiba to be the Messiah. Renamed "Bar Kochba", this rebel leader retook the remains of Jerusalem and reinstituted Temple services for a time, before the Romans put down the rebellion. Thereafter, they sought end the Jewish problem by banning the practice of Judaism. (The Romans also renamed Israel, Syria Palestinia out of spite.)Akiva was later captured and put to death for teaching the Torah.

http://judaism.about.com/library/2_history/leaders/bldef-p_akiva.htm
http://www.njop.org/html/akiva.html
http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/r/rabbi-akiva.html

[Valin]

Oh Oh! I may have learned something(gulp). I'm scared.




Thank you.

[Alouette]

You left out the details of Rabbi Akiva's love life.

His first wife, Rachel, who defied her father, the richest man in all of Judea, when she fell in love with an illiterate shepherd who eventually became the greatest of the rabbis.

His second wife, a Roman, sent by the Roman governor Turnus Rufus to tempt Rabbi Akiva into immorality. She converted to Judaism and married Rabbi Akiva after his first wife passed away.