Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph, an illiterate shepherd who began studying Torah at age 40, became the greatest sage of his generation, and died a martyr's death during the Bar Kokhba revolt. The Romans combed his flesh with iron combs as he recited the Shema. He taught that "love your neighbor as yourself" is the great principle of Torah. He did not minimize suffering; he passed through it singing.
On their voice
Tannaitic period, 1st–2nd c. CE. Akiva is both the supreme exegete — he found new meanings in every letter of Torah — and the emblematic Jewish martyr. He came to learning late and became its master. His death is among the most quoted in Jewish tradition.
Talk to Rabbi Akiva.
Ask anything. In their own voice, from their own era, grounded in their own canon.
