AKIVA'S ORCHARD

The novel, "Akiva's Orchard," tells the life story of famous Rabbi Akiva who proclaimed Bar Kochba to be the Messiah in the revolt against Rome in 132 AD. Much of the novel revolves around the conflict between Akiva and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkanos, who was Akiva's mentor. In some ancient Jewish sources, he is reported to have become a believer in Yeshua. The main drama of the novel is the tension between these two great rabbis over the issue of faith in Yeshua. Eliezer tells Akiva how he met Saul (Paul) when he was a young man, and became convinced that Yeshua is indeed the Messiah. Brandeis describes the development of several streams within Judaism during those 100 years following Yeshua's death and resurrection. She depicts the Messianic or "Natzerene" Jews as parallel to the emerging post-Pharisaic stream of rabbinic Judaism. Both the Pharisees and Natzerenes were in agreement in their rejection of the corrupt Sadducean priesthood. Some Pharisees were favorable to the Natzerenes, and others opposed. The book includes descriptions of persecution of the Natzerenes by religious Jews and Roman authorities alike. At one point Akiva has a supernatural vision of the persecution of Jews by Christians ("Notsrim") in future history. When his wife asked how that could happen, he answers that the Notsrim denied the faith of the original Natzerenes. Brandeis is not a believer in Yeshua, yet her portrayal of 1st and 2nd century Judaism, the background of the New Testament, the early Messianic movement, and how faith in Yeshua was seen by religious Jews at that time is well-researched, even-handed, thought-provoking, and at times brilliant. Yochi Brandeis is among the top three most read authors in Israel (according to sales and the yearly reports of the central library). Her enormous success is due, among other reasons, to the fact that she is able to do the impossible and turn the complex and rich Jewish culture (which most of the Israeli public is unfamiliar with) into fluent, fascinating prose. Her novels are based on secret stories created many years ago by the groups that lost out in Jewish history (such as the House of Saul, the Kingdom of Samaria, women, the House of Shamai, the first Christians and others). Brandeis exposes these stories through literary detective work, and weaves them together into a uniform, suspenseful tale that reveals surprising new faces in Jewish culture.