[Avodah] R Akiva

[Eli Turkel]

<<RYS (OY #10) picks up on a later line, "miyad, CHAZAR lilmod Torah".
According to his take on the story, R' Aqiva was raised in a Torah
observant home and had an education. By age 40, he had left it all and
wasn't learning any longer. After this story, he returned to learning.>>

The problem is that many of these legends are contradictory.
According to this story he had a son and then went (returned) to learning
at the age of 40. According to the other story with Rachel (BTW her
name isnt mentioned)
He was convinced by his wife and it doesnt appear that he had children.
Also he was separated from his wife for 24 years. What happened to any children?
Some claim R. Yehoshua Ben Korcha was a son others deny it.

One story is that in early life he hated Talmidei Chachamim and would be willing
to bite them. In another story he worked for Hyrcanus (father of R. Eliezer) and
believed every possible reason why he was not paid after his work. Makes him
into a great chassid (not modern type) doesnt sound like someone who had
bitter hatred towards learning.

More generally it is unclear when he lived. He dies about 135 during
the Bar Kochba revolt.
Accepting the standard calendar (which is too exact 40+40+40 just like
R. Yochanan Ben Zakai), he was born about 15 CE. He started learning
(or relearning) at age 40 in
the year 55 ie before the churban habayit. Why did he go to R. Yehoshua and
R. Eliezer and not R. Yochanan ben Zakai or R. Shimon ben Gamliel?
Thus the 24 years he was gone from home included the churban habayit.
Where was he then and how could he not return during the war years?
According to legend then he was a student for 40 years (or was it 24?) taking
us to the year 95. However, in Yavne he was already considered a candidate
for being Nasi after R Gamliel was deposed.

Furthermore there are numerous stories about the wives of R. Akiva and so he
had at least 3 if not more wives (successively not at one time).

Most academics assume that these are legends that grew up to explain the
early life of a great figure and hsould not be taken literally.

-- 
Eli Turkel