DOCSLIB.ORG

Rabbi Akiva the Judaism Site

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Rabbi Akiva the Judaism Site Torah.org Rabbi Akiva The Judaism Site https://torah.org/interest/rabbiakiva/ RABBI AKIVA by Rabbi Berel Wein The current period of time between the holidays of Pesach and Shavuos are the times of the sefiras haoemer - the counting of the seven weeks of forty-nine days that are between these two major holidays on the Jewish calendar. As is well known this period of time is also a period of semi-mourning because of historical tragedies that occurred to the Jewish people during this particular period of the time of the year. The earliest tragic event of this period as recorded for us in the Talmud was the death of twenty-four thousand students of Rabbi Akiva during the Hadrianic era of the second century CE. Because of this, Rabbi Akiva has been forever linked to the sefira period of the calendar. Rabbi Akiva is one of the leading figures in the Mishna and Talmud and one of the heroic figures in all of Jewish history. One may even say that his life is a classic example of holy accomplishment under most adverse and negative circumstances. It is the very tragedy of the events of his life that lend him the grandeur and stature as being the heroic role model of all later generations of Jews. Rabbi Akiva came from a family of converts. Even later in life when he was recognized as the greatest scholar of his generation, his lack of pedigree held him back from being appointed the nassi -- the leader of the Sanhedrin. Yet, he remains the prime example of the greatness that converts and those born of converts have brought to the Jewish people over the ages. For the first decades of his life, Rabbi Akiva was a completely unlettered and ignorant Jew. Not only that, but he freely admitted later in life that when he was such an ignorant Jew he possessed a deep and abiding hatred towards the Torah scholars of his time. His inspiration to study Torah came from his wife, Rachel, the daughter of Kalba Savua, the wealthiest Jew of his time. Rabbi Akiva was a shepherd -- as was Jacob, Moses and David -- in the employ of Kalba Savua. Rachel loved Rabbi Akiva and sent him away to study at the yeshiva of the great Rabbi Eliezer, while her father, angry over the "mismatch," disowned them both. Rabbi Akiva saw a stone that had been worn away by the drops of water that were constantly Page: 1 Torah.org Rabbi Akiva The Judaism Site https://torah.org/interest/rabbiakiva/ falling on it. He applied himself diligently to the study of Torah which is compared always to water and the rock of ignorance and hatred within him was washed away. When he returned to Rachel revered as the greatest scholar of his time with tens of thousands of students, Kalba Savua was quick to reinstate Rachel and Rabbi Akiva into his largesse and good graces. Rabbi Akiva thus became the inspiration not only for converts and their descendants but for those who come to Torah study even later in life. Rabbi Akiva supported the abortive rebellion of Bar Kochba against Roman rule. Rabbi Akiva even saw in the early Bar Kochba messianic potential and opportunity. However, as the rebellion began to falter and Bar Kochba himself turned out to have clay feet, Rabbi Akiva ruefully admitted his error in supporting the revolt. The persecutions of the Romans against the Jews and against all observances and study of Torah were horrific. Rabbi Akiva himself would be arrested and tortured to death. Yet, Rabbi Akiva remained as the symbol of Jewish optimism throughout the ages of exile and despair. His faith in the better tomorrow for Jews and humanity, his rock-solid belief in the literal fulfillment of the words of the prophets regarding the redemption of Israel and his upbeat outlook on life in spite of all adversities never wavered. Other great scholars wept in despair when they witnessed jackals roaming through the ruins of the Temple and its Holy of Holies. Rabbi Akiva laughed at viewing the same scene, serene in his faith that just as the negative prophecies regarding the Jewish future were fulfilled literally, so too would the positive blessings of Israel recorded in the book of Zecharya occur in a most literal and perfect sense. The ability of all later generations of Jews to look beyond current troubles and tragedies and to see a great dawn of hope and light in their future was now predicated on Rabbi Akiva's example and teachings. Thus the hero of the converts and the unlettered became the hero of all of Israel through all of its ages and experiences. The sefira period reminds us of this great Jew and renews our own hopes for triumph of Torah and Israel. Reprinted with permission from RabbiWein.com Page: 2.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 12 Torah Pesukim & Maamorei Chazal
    Here are many of Judaism’s fundamental beliefs brought forth through 12 Torah Pesukim and Maamorei Chazal (teachings of the Sages) which are impor- For tant for every child to know and recite each day. Torah LevI Please check off each box when memorized. 1. TORAH TZIVAH LONU MOSHE MOROSHOH KEHILAS YAAKOV “The Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the congregation of Yaakov.” (Deuteronomy 33:4) 2. SHEMA YISROEL, AD-DO-NOI ELO-HAI-NOO, AH-DO-NOI ECHOD “Hear O Israel, G-d is our L-rd, G-d is One.” (Deuteronomy 6:4) 3. B’CHOL DOR VODOR CHAYOV ODOM LEEROS ES ATZMO KI-EELOO HOO YOTZO MEE-MITZROYIM “In every generation one must look upon himself as if he personally had gone out of Egypt .” (Pesachim 116b) 4. KOL YIS-RO-EL YEISH LO-HEM CHEI-LEK L-O-LAM HA-BOH SHE-NE- E-MAR V-AMEICH KOO-LAM TZADIKIM, L-O-LAM YIR-SHOO O-RETZ, NEIT-ZER MA-TO-AIY MA’A-SEI YO-DYE LE-HIS-PO-EIR “All Israel have a share in the World To Come, as it is stated (Isaiah 60:21): ‘And Your people are tzadikkim (righteous).’ They shall inherit the land for- ever. They are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in which I take pride.” (Sanhedrin 90a) 5. KEE KOROV AILECHO HADOVOR ME’OD B’FEECHO U’VIL’VOVCHO LA’ASOSO “It is within your close reach to follow the Torah in speech, feeling and deed.” (Deuteronomy. 30:14). 6.
    [Show full text]
  • Humor in Torah and Talmud, Part 5
    Sat 18 Aug 2018 – 7 Elul 5778 B”H Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Congregation Adat Reyim Lunch and Learn Humor in Torah and Talmud, Part 5 Torah (Theme: God is angry at us) 1-God loses it [The Israelites repeatedly ask Moses for meat in the desert. God tells Moses:] And say to the people... you shall eat meat. You shall not eat it for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days; but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and you become disgusted by it. [Numbers 11:18-20] 2-This, too, shall happen to you! The most dreaded Torah portion is Ki Tavo, where God lists all the curses that will befall those who do not follow His commandments: But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the voice of the Lord your God, to take care to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. [Deut. 28:15] Follows a long string of dreaded curses, beginning with: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field… [Deut. 28:16] And ending with: Also, every illness and every plague, that is not written in this Book of the Torah, the Lord will bring it upon you, until you are destroyed. [Deut 28:61] It’s not even exclusive: Whatever you dread most, whatever it is, shall happen to you! 3-Moses’ masterful plea The Israelites revert to idolatry by building and worshiping the Golden Calf.
    [Show full text]
  • Shavuot Daf Hashavua
    בס״ד ׁשָ בֻ עוֹת SHAVUOT In loving memory of Harav Yitzchak Yoel ben Shlomo Halevi Volume 32 | #35 Welcome to a special, expanded Daf Hashavua 30 May 2020 for Shavuot at home this year, to help bring its 7 Sivan 5780 messages and study into your home. Chag Sameach from the Daf team Shabbat ends: London 10.09pm Sheffield 10.40pm “And on the day of the first fruits…” Edinburgh 11.05pm Birmingham 10.22pm (Bemidbar 28:26) Jerusalem 8.21pm Shavuot starts on Thursday evening 28 May and ends after Shabbat on 30 May. An Eruv Tavshilin should be made before Shavuot starts. INSIDE: Shavuot message Please look regularly at the social media and websites by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of the US, Tribe and your community for ongoing updates relating to Coronavirus as well as educational programming Megillat Rut and community support. You do not need to sign by Pnina Savery into Facebook to access the US Facebook page. The US Coronavirus Helpline is on 020 8343 5696. Mount Sinai to Jerusalem to… May God bless us and the whole world. the future Daf Hashavua by Harry and Leora Salter ׁשָ בֻ עוֹת Shavuot Shavuot message by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis It was the most New York, commented that from stunning, awe- here we learn that the Divine inspiring event revelation was intended to send a that the world has message of truth to everyone on ever known. Some earth - because the Torah is both three and a half a blueprint for how we as Jews millennia ago, we should live our lives and also the gathered as a fledgling nation at the foundational document of morality foot of Mount Sinai and experienced for the whole world.
    [Show full text]
  • The Eye in the Torah: Ocular Desire in Midrashic Hermeneutic Author(S): Daniel Boyarin Source: Critical Inquiry, Vol
    The Eye in the Torah: Ocular Desire in Midrashic Hermeneutic Author(s): Daniel Boyarin Source: Critical Inquiry, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Spring, 1990), pp. 532-550 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343638 Accessed: 09/02/2010 04:26 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucpress. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Critical Inquiry. http://www.jstor.org The Eye in the Torah: Ocular Desire in Midrashic Hermeneutic Daniel Boyarin It seems to have become a commonplace of critical discourse that Juda- ism is the religion in which God is heard but not seen.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Status of the Tannaitic Midrashim Author(S): Daniel Boyarin Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol
    Review: On the Status of the Tannaitic Midrashim Author(s): Daniel Boyarin Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 112, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1992), pp. 455- 465 Published by: American Oriental Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/603081 Accessed: 19/08/2010 19:11 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aos. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. American Oriental Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of the American Oriental Society. http://www.jstor.org REVIEW ARTICLES ON THE STATUS OF THE TANNAITIC MIDRASHIM* DANIEL BOYARIN UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY A critique of Jacob Neusner's latest contribution to Midrashic studies.
    [Show full text]
  • A Bnei Akiva Shabbaton Guide for the Whole Family
    CH G BA-bayit A Bnei Akiva Shabbaton Guide for the Whole Family Wednesday, April 8 - Sunday, April 12 2020 י״ד - י״ז ניסן תש״פ TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from Rav Shaul Feldman .......................................................1 Wednesday .............................................................................................2 Seder Schedule ......................................................................................6 Thursday ...................................................................................................3 Friday .........................................................................................................4 Shabbat .....................................................................................................5 Resources: Wednesday ....................................................................................7 Thursday ...................................................................................... 23 Friday ............................................................................................ 34 Shabbat ........................................................................................44 Submit all rooming and seating See Packing requests by Wednesday, 12pm to List: Page 2 your madrichim: Mom & Dad LETTER FROM RAV SHAUL It’s All About Community Dear friends, In challenging times we look back to our roots and our sources to try to find a sense of direction. I feel that the days we are in, the Month of redemption, our direction is pretty clear. Yetziat Mitzraim
    [Show full text]
  • Second Power”
    Andrei A. Orlov Yahoel as the “Second Power” [an excerpt from A.A. Orlov, Yahoel and Metatron: Aural Apocalypticism and the Origins of Early Jewish Mysticism (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017)] ... In his evaluation of Alan Segal's seminal study, “Two Powers in Heaven,” Daniel Boyarin pointed out that Segal's study treated the "two powers heresy” as a phenomenon external to rabbinic Judaism.1 Indeed, Segal viewed the underlying ideology as being foreign to the core of rabbinic orthodoxy,2 and for him, in Boyarin’s words, the problem was "to discover which of the heretical groups were actually called ‘Two Powers in Heaven’ by the earliest tannaitic sages.”3 Yet, Boyarin argues that this so-called “heresy,” as in many other instances in Judaism and Christianity, appears to represent not external, but internal development. Boyarin reminds us that, "almost always the so-called ‘heresy’ is not a new invader from outside but an integral and usually more ancient version of the religious tradition that is now being displaced by a newer set of conceptions...." 4 For Boyarin, the “two powers controversy” thus represents “internal” development, and “it was the Rabbis who invented the ‘heresy’ via a rejection of that which was once (and continued to be) very much within Judaism.”5 The difference between the two approaches, then, is the following: “where Segal seems clearly to imagine an ‘orthodox core’ to Judaism that pre-exists and then develops into what would become rabbinism,” Boyarin 1 Boyarin, “Beyond Judaisms,” 324. 2 Segal argues that, although some scholars have suggested that there was no concept of orthodoxy in rabbinic Judaism, “two powers in heaven” reports show “that the rabbis, in common with their brethren in the diaspora, were concerned about the theological and orthodox center of Judaism when other sectarian groups of their day seemed willing to compromise Judaism’s integrity.” Segal, Two Powers in Heaven, x.
    [Show full text]
  • What Sugyot Should an Educated Jew Know?
    What Sugyot Should An Educated Jew Know? Jon A. Levisohn Updated: May, 2009 What are the Talmudic sugyot (topics or discussions) that every educated Jew ought to know, the most famous or significant Talmudic discussions? Beginning in the fall of 2008, about 25 responses to this question were collected: some formal Top Ten lists, many informal nominations, and some recommendations for further reading. Setting aside the recommendations for further reading, 82 sugyot were mentioned, with (only!) 16 of them duplicates, leaving 66 distinct nominated sugyot. This is hardly a Top Ten list; while twelve sugyot received multiple nominations, the methodology does not generate any confidence in a differentiation between these and the others. And the criteria clearly range widely, with the result that the nominees include both aggadic and halakhic sugyot, and sugyot chosen for their theological and ideological significance, their contemporary practical significance, or their centrality in discussions among commentators. Or in some cases, perhaps simply their idiosyncrasy. Presumably because of the way the question was framed, they are all sugyot in the Babylonian Talmud (although one response did point to texts in Sefer ha-Aggadah). Furthermore, the framing of the question tended to generate sugyot in the sense of specific texts, rather than sugyot in the sense of centrally important rabbinic concepts; in cases of the latter, the cited text is sometimes the locus classicus but sometimes just one of many. Consider, for example, mitzvot aseh she-ha-zeman gerama (time-bound positive mitzvoth, no. 38). The resulting list is quite obviously the product of a committee, via a process of addition without subtraction or prioritization.
    [Show full text]
  • Rabban Gamliel New Testament
    Rabban Gamliel New Testament Apeak Rik clads that characteries occasion salutatorily and clangors apically. Leucoderma Alain gammons or silt some Karoos ungraciously, however shock-headed Gil debarks best or capitalizing. Ruling Jean-Luc usually dramatized some octette or exscind ternately. It was a visit to pharisees as rabban gamliel new testament hebrew of individuals in a threat to like other race, from a brood of rabbi akiva famously would definitely like a very important. Why do they match no sources for this? Jewish law now those who accept jesus of rabban, i struggle my pupil in essence, rabban gamliel new testament of the testament, who belonged to my will not the positive. Council exchange the elders can testify. Share photos, of Stephen, or it later have free a natural death took the embrace either the culture that update first given abundant life. And prudential judgment, he was a wide range of hillel the legal assembly of cilicia, or even more. Gamaliel died before the insurrections under Trajan had put fresh unrest into Palestine. These brothers of view that is true one recite them, stood almost a great influence within a formal or rabban gamliel new testament of shammai, for more diverse beliefs according to. An important works that persons of rabban gamaliel had a child with jesus to praise god, rabban gamliel new testament. One is by second century anonymous text called II Clement. Get experience on the same. What was rabban gamliel new testament as rabban simeon his faith and thinking at first apostles, to do not until you for this site you? The tradition of the elders might believe of wish in some instances, many patriarchs, he would need to sew a follower of Christ.
    [Show full text]
  • Humor in Talmud and Midrash
    Tue 14, 21, 28 Apr 2015 B”H Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia Adult Learning Institute Jewish Humor Through the Sages Contents Introduction Warning Humor in Tanach Humor in Talmud and Midrash Desire for accuracy Humor in the phrasing The A-Fortiori argument Stories of the rabbis Not for ladies The Jewish Sherlock Holmes Checks and balances Trying to fault the Torah Fervor Dreams Lying How many infractions? Conclusion Introduction -Not general presentation on Jewish humor: Just humor in Tanach, Talmud, Midrash, and other ancient Jewish sources. -Far from exhaustive. -Tanach mentions “laughter” 50 times (root: tz-cho-q) [excluding Yitzhaq] -Talmud: Records teachings of more than 1,000 rabbis spanning 7 centuries (2nd BCE to 5th CE). Basis of all Jewish law. -Savoraim improved style in 6th-7th centuries CE. -Rabbis dream up hypothetical situations that are strange, farfetched, improbable, or even impossible. -To illustrate legal issues, entertain to make study less boring, and sharpen the mind with brainteasers. 1 -Going to extremes helps to understand difficult concepts. (E.g., Einstein's “thought experiments”.) -Some commentators say humor is not intentional: -Maybe sometimes, but one cannot avoid the feeling it is. -Reason for humor not always clear. -Rabbah (4th century CE) always began his lectures with a joke: Before he began his lecture to the scholars, [Rabbah] used to say something funny, and the scholars were cheered. After that, he sat in awe and began the lecture. [Shabbat 30b] -Laughing and entertaining are important. Talmud: -Rabbi Beroka Hoza'ah often went to the marketplace at Be Lapat, where [the prophet] Elijah often appeared to him.
    [Show full text]
  • Yehudakurtzer Greatbooksenlig
    HartmanSummer@Home Great Books: Enlightenment—A Parable Yehuda Kurtzer June 29 – July 2, 2020 1. Mishna Hagigah 1:1 1 2. Mishna Hagigah 2:1 1 3. Mishna Megillah 4:9-10 4 4. Babylonian Talmud Hagigah 11b-14b 5 5. Jerusalem Talmud Hagigah 2:1 16 6. Tosefta Hagigah 2:3-7 16 7. Bereishit Rabbah 19:3 17 8. Ruth Rabbah 6:4 / Kohelet Rabbah 7:8 18 9. Mishnah Avot 4:20 18 The Shalom Hartman Institute is a leading center of Jewish thought and education, serving Israel and North America. Our mission is to strengthen Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism; to enhance the Jewish and democratic character of Israel; and to ensure that Judaism is a compelling force for good in the 21st century. Share what you’re learning this summer! #hartmansummer @SHI_america shalomhartmaninstitute hartmaninstitute 475 Riverside Dr., Suite 1450 New York, NY 10115 212-268-0300 [email protected] | shalomhartman.org 1. Mishna Hagigah 1:1 All are obligated in seeing [the Temple Mount], except for a deaf mute, an incompetent, or a minor; an intersexual, an androgyne; women, unfreed slaves; a lame person, a blind person, or a sick person; or an old person who cannot stand upon his feet. Who is a minor? Anyone who cannot ride on his father's shoulders and go up from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount, according to the House of Shammai; The House of Hillel say: Anyone who cannot hold his father's hand and go up from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount, for it says, "Three regalim" (Exodus 23:14).
    [Show full text]
  • The Coiled Serpent of Argument: Reason, Authority, and Law in a Talmudic Tale
    Chicago-Kent Law Review Volume 79 Issue 3 Symposium: "Law &": Philosophical, Psychological, Linguistic, and Biological Article 33 Perspectives on Legal Scholarship October 2004 The Coiled Serpent of Argument: Reason, Authority, and Law in a Talmudic Tale David Luban Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation David Luban, The Coiled Serpent of Argument: Reason, Authority, and Law in a Talmudic Tale, 79 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 1253 (2004). Available at: https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol79/iss3/33 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Chicago-Kent Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholarly Commons @ IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. THE COILED SERPENT OF ARGUMENT: REASON, AUTHORITY, AND LAW IN A TALMUDIC TALE DAVID LUBAN* I. THE OVEN OF AKHNAI One of the most celebrated Talmudic parables begins with a re- markably dry legal issue debated among a group of rabbis. A modern reader should think of the rabbis as a collegial court, very much like a secular appellate court, because the purpose of their debate is to gen- erate edicts that will bind the community. The issue under debate concerns the ritual cleanliness of a baked earthenware stove, sliced horizontally into rings and cemented back together with unbaked mortar. Do the laws of purity that apply to uncut stoves apply to this one as well? This stove is the so-called "oven of Akhnai" (oven of serpents).
    [Show full text]