Rachel, wife of Rabbi Akiva
| Rachel, wife of Rabbi Akiva | |
|---|---|
Rachel's tomb in Tiberias
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| Native name | רחל אשת רבי עקיבא |
| Burial place | Tiberias, Israel |
| Residence | Judea |
| Era | 1st century CE |
| Spouse(s) | Rabbi Akiva |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) |
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Rachel, wife of Rabbi Akiva (Hebrew: רחל אשת רבי עקיבא) was a late 1st-century CE Jewish resident of Judea who is cited by the Talmud and Aggadah as a paragon of the Jewish wife who encourages her husband to pursue Torah study and is willing to make personal sacrifices to achieve that goal. She was the wife of the Tanna Rabbi Akiva, who became one of the greatest Torah scholars in Jewish history. Rachel played a significant role in encouraging Akiva to pursue Torah study, as he was uneducated when they married. Her father, the wealthy Kalba Savu'a, disowned her over her choice of husband, and the couple lived in dire poverty. With Rachel's blessing, Akiva left to study in a Torah academy for 24 years. He returned home a renowned scholar accompanied by 24,000 disciples. When Rachel came out in ragged clothing to greet him, his disciples tried to push her aside. Akiva told them, "Leave her. What is mine and what is yours is hers". Upon seeing his son-in-law's Torah scholarship, Kalba Savu'a reconciled with him and gave him half his wealth. Later Akiva had a special golden diadem fashioned for Rachel, depicting the city of Jerusalem. The tomb of Rachel in Tiberias is a pilgrimage site for men and women.
In rabbinic literature, women are exempt from Torah study. The Talmud states that women gain the merit of Torah study by encouraging their husbands and sons to go learn:
Rav said to Rabbi Hiyyah: Whereby do women gain this merit [of Torah study]? By making their sons go to the synagogue to learn and their husbands go to the beit midrash to study the teachings of the rabbis, and by waiting for their husbands until they return from the beit midrash (Berakhot 17a).
Rachel is considered a prime example of a wife who encourages her husband to pursue Torah study and is willing to make personal sacrifices to achieve that goal.
The story of Rachel's marriage to Akiva and their subsequent lives appears in three classical sources. They are:
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Wikipedia