Rabbi Akiva

Uncommon card · No. 162313

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 and a tanna of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second. Rabbi Akiva was a member of the Sanhedrin that determined the final canon of the Hebrew bible and played a decisive part in the inclusion of both the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. This canon was later adopted by early Christian writers. He was a leading contributor to the Mishnah and to Midrash Halakha. He is referred to in Tosafot as Rosh la-Hakhamim ("Chief of the Sages"). He was executed by the Romans in the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt. He has also been described as a philosopher.

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