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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
Akiba ben Joseph This isa
plaj-
"Imth").
on the Hebrew
-n-onl
ropD(" I'f pe
"
and
In opposition to the Christian insistence
love, Akiha upliolils God's rrlrihutive justice elevated above all chance or arbilnirincss (MeHut he is far from rcprcscntinjr kilta. Beshallah, (i).
on God's
tlic only attribute of God: in airriMincnt with the ancient PaUsliuian thcolojiy of the j'Tn ("the allribule of justice) and rno
justice as
God's
mO
Two D'Dmn fthe
Attributes. (Gen. H.
xii.,
attribute of
end; the
mercy") and
x"l""'"<'/
of Philo. "Quis Rer. Div. Heres," 34 Mangey, i. 49ti), lie teaches that God combines goodness and mercy with strict justice The idea of justice, however, .so (Hag. 14aj. strongly dominates Akiba's system that he will not allow God's grace and kindness to be underHence his ma.im, rcfcrnd to stood as arbitrary. above, "God rules the world iu mercy, but according to the preponderance of good or bad in human KolacTiaij
acts."
As to the question concerning the frequent sufferings of the pious and the prosperity of the wicked this is antruly a burning one in Akiba's timi swered 1)V the explanation that the Eschatol- pious are punished iu this life for their ogy and few sins, in order that in the next they may receive only reward; while Ethics. the wicked obtain in this world all the recompense for the little good they have done, and in the next world will receive only punishment for their misdeeds (Gen. K. xxxiii. Pesik. ccl. Buber. ix. "I'iiii). Consistent as Akiba always was. his ethics and his views of justice were only the strict consequences of .Justice as an attribute of his i)liilosophieal system. God must also be exemplary for man. " No mercy in [civil] justice! " is his liasic principle in the doctrine concerning law (Ket. ix. 3); and he does not conceal his opinion that the action of the .lews in taking the spoil of the Egyi)tiaus is to be condemned (Gen. R. xxviii. 7). From his views as to the relation between God and man he deduces the inference that he who sheds the blood of a fellow man is to be considered as committing the crime a.gainst the divine archetype (JIIDT) of man (Gen. R. xxxiv. 14). He therefore recognizes as the chief and greatest principle of .Judaism the couunand, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself " (I^ev. xix. He docs not, indeed, 18; 8ifra, Ivedoshim, iv. ). maintain thereby that the execution of this command is eipiivalent to the i)erformanee of the whole Law; and in one of his polemic interpretations of Scripture he protests strou,gly a.gainst the contrary opinion of the Christians, according to whom .Judaism is "simply morality " (Jlek.. Sliirah, 3, 44(7. cd. For, in sjiite of his ]ihilosiiphy. Akiba was eiss). an extremely strict and national .Jew. His doctrine concerning the .Mes.siah was the realistic and thor-
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oughly Jewish one, as his declaration that Bar Kokba was the Messiah shows. He accordingly limited the Messianic age to forty years, as being within the scope of a man's life .similar to the reigns of David and Solomon against the usual conception of a millennium (Midr. Teh. xc. 1,5). A distinction is. however, to be made between the Jlessianic a.ire and the future world (Xan D^IV- This latter
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The Messi-
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come after the dcsi ruction of this world, lasting for 1.01)0 years (R. H. and 31rt). To the future world all Israel the Future will be admitted, with the exception World. of the generation of t he Wilderness and the Ten Tribes(Sanh. xi. 3. 1106). But even this futtue world is painted by Akiba in colors anic
will
Age
by his nationalist inclinations: for he makes Messiah (whom, according to Ezek. xxxvii. 24. he selected
308
with David) the judge of world (Hag. 14<i). identille.s
the heathen
all
A man like .kiba would naturally be the subject of many legends (see Akih. m;x .Joskimi i.s LkgKXD), The following two examples indicati' iu what li.nht the ])ersonality of this great teacher appeared to later generations. " When Moses ascended into heaven, he saw God occui)ied iu making little crowns for the letters of the Torah. L'pon his intiuiry as to what these might be for, he received the answer, There will come a num. nameii .Vkiba ben Joseph, who will deduce Halakot Le^nds. from every little curve and crown of the lett<'rs'of the J^aw.' Moses' re(|uest to be allowed to see this man was granted; but he beeanie nuich dismayed as he listened to Akilm's teaching; for he could not tmderstand it" (.Men. 'i'Mi) This story gives in naive style a i)icture of Akiba's activity as the father of Talmudical Judai.sm. The following acc<iunt of his martyrdom is on a somewhat higher jilane an<l contains When Riia proper appreciation of his principles: fus "Tyraniuis Hiifus," as h<- is calleil in Jewish .sources who was the pliant tool of Hadrian's vengeance, condemned the venerable Akiba to the hand of the executioner, it was just the time to recite the "Shema'." Full of devotion, Akiba recited his prayers calmly, though sud'ering agonies; and when Rufus asked him wlielher he was a .sorcerer, since he felt no ])ain. Akiba replied. "I am no sorcerer; but I rejoice at tlie opportunity now given to me to love my God with all my lifi-,' seeing that 1 have hilherto been able to love Him only with all my means and with all my might, " and with the word "Onel " heex|)ired (Yer. Ber. ix. Mb, and somewhat moditied in Bab. 61i). Pure nionotlieism was for Akiba the essence of Judaism: he lived, worked, and died for it. See also Akiba ben JOSKI'II IN I^IiOKXD. Bini.iocRAPiiv FrankPl. Dmlic ha-MiKhnah, pp. 111-123; J. '
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MettKlut-Mi.-ihmOi. pii. llli-li.': Weiss, Jxir. 11. 107-llS; H. oppi'iilifiin, In lift rnlmuit. 11. :J(r 2411. ai!l 271 I. liastfreuml. liiinimiihif dffi 1{. Akiha^ I.cmlH'r(r. 1871 J. S. nii>ch, In Mimizmh ii-Miina'arah, IS'M, pp. il-'A; (inltz, Ofxeh. il. Judciu iv. (see index); Ewulti. Ocxch. </. l*o?)icv* I)<nn:t, vii. 367 ft scf/. Derenbourg, Ktfstii, pp. ."MKKJl, 395 ct ttrq,, liriill,
Baclier, vly. 418 et neq. ; Hamburger, li. B. T. li. ;ti-)3 Tan. 1. 271-:WS: .tost, (ifsch. dfn .Tudcnthumi* unit Seiner Sihtfu. ii. .V.I rt sfij. ; I.andau. in Miiiutt.'<^fltrift. 1H>4, pp. 4.^;
51,
Sl-W.
i:iii
14.'*:
Iiiinn.T. iMl. ls:i. pp.
4."il;
4.'il
Ni-nliUnrer.
Z»r Kui-
ihiit. lS7:i. pp. .I'i-i ;i!ir. 4:1:1 41.-).."i-1i-.".:icl: O. IldfTniiinn. leituuii in ilie llnim in.-^tfini Miilrnsriiiui, pp. .'rl2;
(inotttici^mnn, pp.
.s:i-i:,ii; y.
Rnsi-nlluil.
]'ii
r
(Iriitz,
.iimhritph.ltH^
Cher . K. Akihci. esp.'.iiillv pp. Ifi-lici, 124-i:il S. Kiink, Akilia (Jena DlssiTUiUcMii. l.s'.Ki; ,M. 1'o|«t. /'ir/.f li. Akihu. Vifinia. 1H(IS; M. l,*'hinann, -4/i'i7*a. Histori.«}ir Krz<'iliinn<i, .
.
Fninktort-on-the-Main. LSSd; J. Wittklnd, IJnt
- Braunsi-tiwelger, Die Lchrcr i/i
Wilna, 1877
}i„-M...clnibi.-'h, 1
Jii«)i
i«-ii«-
nah, pp.
L. G.
In Legend Akiba. who sprang from the ranks of the "]ilain jieople." loved the people; and they testified their ailmimtion of his extraordinary accomin legend. plishments in the language of the peopU The Haggadah. embodying the rabbinical legend beginning with that iill-imixirtant change in Akiba's life when, in the prime of life, he commenced to study dwells upon every jihase of his career and does not relin(|uisli him even in death. Legendary allusion to that change in Akiba's life is made in two slightly varying forms, of which the following is jirobably the older: Akiba, noticing a stone at a well that had been hollowed out by drippings from the buckets, .said " If these drii)pings can. by continuous action, penetrate this solid stone, how much more can the [lersistent word of (iod penetrate the pliant, fleshly human heart, if that word but be presented with patient insisteucv" (Ab. R. X. ed. Schechter, vi. 28).
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