Akiva ben Joseph

Akiva ben Joseph (Hebrew: עקיבא בן יוסף‎; c. 40 – c. 137 CE), widely known as Rabbi Akiva (Hebrew: רבי עקיבא‎), was a tanna of the latter part of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century (3rd tannaitic generation). Rabbi Akiva was a leading contributor to the Mishnah and Midrash Halakha. He is referred to in the Talmud as Rosh la-Chachamim (Head of all the Sages).

He recognized Bar Kokhba as Messiah, and was executed by the Romans in the disastrous aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Biography

Akiva ben Joseph (written עקיבא in the Babylonian Talmud, and עקיבה in the Jerusalem Talmud — another form for עקביה) came of humble parentage. When he married the daughter of Kalba Savu'a, a wealthy citizen of Jerusalem, Akiva was an uneducated shepherd in Kalba Savua's employ. His wife's first name is not given in the earlier sources, but a later version of the tradition gives it as Rachel (Ab. R. N. ed. S. Schechter, vi. 29). She stood loyally by her husband during that critical period of his life in which Akiva dedicated himself to the study of Torah. Rabbi Akiva has many famous quotes in the Babylonian Talmud.

Rabbi

In Judaism, a rabbi /ˈræbaɪ/ is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רַבִּי rabi [ˈʁäbi], meaning "My Master" (irregular plural רבנים rabanim [ʁäbäˈnim]), which is the way a student would address a master of Torah. The word "master" רב rav [ˈʁäv] literally means "great one".

The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic era, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. In more recent centuries, the duties of the rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance.

Within the various Jewish denominations there are different requirements for rabbinic ordination, and differences in opinion regarding who is to be recognized as a rabbi. Orthodox Judaism does not ordain women as rabbis, but other strands do.

Akiva Tatz

Akiva Tatz is a prominent South African Orthodox rabbi, inspirational speaker and writer who is heavily involved in Orthodox Jewish outreach. He is also a physician and world-renowned expert in Jewish medical ethics.

Biography

Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, graduating with distinction in surgery. He then spent a year in St. Louis, Missouri as an American Field Service Scholar and subsequently returned there for elective work in internal medicine at Washington University. He then served as a medical officer in the South African Defense Forces and served in the Angolan Bush War. After practicing in both South Africa and the United States, he moved to Israel, and worked both in private practice as well as in a hospital setting in Jerusalem.

Although not raised as an observant Jew, Tatz later rediscovered Judaism and became a baal teshuva, or returnee. He is currently on staff at the Jewish Learning Exchange and Ohr Somayach, and in the past has been a guest lecturer at Gateways. Rabbi Tatz gives lectures to Jewish student groups and organisations across the UK, including an annual medical ethics lecture at University College London hosted by both the Jewish Society and Medical Ethics Society. He is also a regular lecturer on the Jewish Learning Exchange Genesis leadership programme. He has become a recognized expert in matters of Jewish thought and philosophy, which he covers in his authored texts. Zoketsu Norman Fischer, former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center and founder of and teacher at the Everyday Zen Foundation, describes Tatz's work, Letters to a Buddhist Jew, as "a fascinating book - the most serious contribution in this field to date."