Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph, who lived from about 40 c.e. to 125 c.e., was a descendant of righteous converts. Unlearned until the age of 40, he was encouraged by his wife Rachel, to study Torah in the Academy at Yavneh. Eventually considered one of our greatest rabbis, he 22,000 students, mainly at his academy in Bnei Brak. He was an outstanding interpreter of Written Torah, and arranged the entire Oral Torah according to subjects, forming a basis for the Mishna. He was martyred by the Romans for teaching Torah in disregard of their ban.
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