Faith
How many wives did Rabbi Akiva have?
Question
How many wives did Rabbi Akiva have? I was told three or two.
Thank you in advance
Answer
Greetings,
It would appear that Rabbi Akiva had two wives. The first was the daughter of Kalba Savua (see Ketubot 62b and Nedarim 50a), and her name was Rachel (this is stated explicitly in Avot de-Rabbi Natan, chapter 6, paragraph 2). The second was the wife of the wicked Turnus Rufus, who, after converting, married him (see Avodah Zarah 20a, and Rashi and Ran on Nedarim 50b, s.v. uman). The Tiferet Yisrael also wrote in Mishnah Yadayim (chapter 3, letter 35) that we do not find that Rabbi Akiva had more than two wives.
With blessings,
Hillel Meirs
