The Sage, Desire and Temptation

Abstract

This chapter discusses a number of stories recounted in Rabbinic literature about occasions on which beautiful women sought to seduce Rabbi Akiva, putting his love to the test. There is more to these stories than the resolve of a great sage and important rabbi, whose failure would have had great public and moral ramifications. These temptations challenged his ability to adhere to the philosophy of love that he had developed and which was a cornerstone of his teachings in general. Through these stories of temptation, the rabbis wished to show how easily the commitment to harmonious love between a man and a woman can be undermined by fleeting desire and immediate gratification, and how resistance to casual temptation demonstrates the feasibility of harmonious love.