The Orchard

The Orchard by Yochi Brandes, 381 pages.


This fictional account of the life of Rabbi Akiva and the sages and Rabbis living in the first and early second centuries is engrossing and makes the remote past come to life. Brandes does a great job of telling a story that feels real, with a good sense for these historical figures as characters and with a setting that is believable. We read as the Sages and leaders of Israel have to contend with the longstanding disputes between the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Essenes, and the Nazarenes. Rabbi Akiva, who started formal study of the Torah in his forties is at the center of the later stages of these struggles, ending with the Bar Kakhba revolt against the Romans, and is, along with his wife, Rachel at the heart of this book. Renowned Rabbis of the era, Rabbi Elisha, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Joshua, Rabbi Tarfon, Rabban Gamaliel also play central roles in the narrative.