I asked Perplexity AI to remix the Tosefta into a rhyme.
Unedited:
In halls of Torah, warriors clash,
Their words like swords, a verbal bash.
Rabbi Yose and Akiva, fierce,
Their arguments, the air they pierce.A cow that drank, then met its fate,
Pure or impure? A grand debate.
Yose says clean, Akiva not,
Tarfon joins in, the plot gets hot.Akiva’s might, at first prevails,
But Yose’s wisdom never fails.
A new response, he finds with time,
His logic sharp, his words sublime.Like rams they butt, with horns so strong,
Each sure their view could not be wrong.
But Yose’s answer, clear and bright,
Turns thirty-two elders to his side.In Lod they gather, wise and old,
Declare the cow pure, Yose is bold.
Akiva’s strength, once thought supreme,
Now toppled by Yose’s gleam.So in this clash of Torah might,
Both warriors shine in wisdom’s light.
For in debate, truth often lies,
Where sharpened minds can touch the skies.