Akiba ben Joseph or simply Rabbi Akiva was a Judean tanna of the latter part of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century . He was a great authority in the matter of Jewish tradition, and one of the most central and essential contributors to the Mishnah and Midrash Halakha. He is referred to in the Talmud as "Rosh la-Chachomim" . He is considered by many to be the godfather of rabbinical Judaism.