"Rabbi Akiba and His Contemporaries" relates the story told by and about the great rabbis and scholars of the talmudic period, and includes their critical and moral teachings, their understanding of biblical tales, and historical and biographical information. This fascinating collection of legends and anecdotes bring to life the giants of the Talmud, including Rabbi Akiba who is known as "the father of rabbinic Judaism," Rabbi Tarfon, Rabbi Ishmael, Rabbi Jose the Galilean, the famous pair of life-long students Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma, and the intriguing "heretic," Elisha ben Abuyah. Revealed through these tales are their practical wisdom, the standards of right conduct they advocated, the values they prized, and the goals and the purpose of life as they saw them - all of which shaped Judaism from the early part of the second century of the common era until the present time.
by Judah Nadich