Award-winning author and editor Rabbi Reuven Hammer will discuss his book, Akiva: Life, Legend, Legacy, in which he details one of the most important of the Tannaim, or early Jewish sages. In the book, Hammer reassesses Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef's life during the period before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE until the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE, as it led to a martyr's death. Akiva left a rich legacy that played an extraordinary role in helping the Jewish people survive difficult challenges to forge a vibrant religious life, and it continues to influence Jewish law, ethics, and theology.  

Rabbi Hammer is the former director and dean of the Jerusalem branch of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), where he served as a professor of Rabbinic literature. He holds a Doctor of Humane Letters from JTS and a PhD from Northwestern University. He was also the founding director of the Seminary of Jewish Studies.

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