Akiba (or Akiva) ben Joseph Talmudic Sage, Biblical exegete and mystic (1st–2nd Century). [Rabbi Akiba] is arguably the most celebrated figure in the Talmud. [In a famous Kabalistic story, he] was the only one of four sages who entered pardes and returned unscathed. His prayers were credited with ending a drought. He encountered a ghost and subsequently exorcised it by teaching the dead man’s son the daily liturgy; this is credited by some with establishing the tradition of reciting Kaddish [memorial prayer for the dead].