Reuven Hammer

 ( 1933 Births ) 

Reuven Hammer (; June 30, 1933 – August 12, 2019) was an American-Israeli Conservative rabbi, scholar of Jewish prayer, author and lecturer who was born in New York. He was a founder of the "Masorti" (Conservative) movement in Israel and a president of the International Rabbinical Assembly. He served many years as head of the Masorti Beth Din in Israel. A prolific writer in both the Israeli and international press, he was a regular columnist for The Jerusalem Post "Tradition Today" column. He lived in Jerusalem.

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Biography Hammer earned a doctorate in theology and Semikhah from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. "Beacon of Masorti Judaism, Rabbi Reuven Hammer, dies at 86", Jerusalem Post (Aug. 13, 2019)

As president of the 1,500-member Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative movement in Israel, Hammer authored the movement's official commentary on the prayer book, Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, published in March 2003. This work contains the complete text of Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Jewish holiday, surrounded by a comprehensive commentary. The page layout loosely resembles that of the Talmud. In 2008 Rabbi Hammer, also authored the commentary for Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Weekdays.

From October 2005 to July 2007 Hammer was the Interim Rabbi at the New London Synagogue in London, England.

Hammer died of a brain tumour on 12 August 2019 in Jerusalem at the age of 86. Masorti pioneer and ex New London Synagogue rabbi, Reuven Hammer, dies at 86

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Honors and awards In 2003 Hammer was named to the Forward 50 as one of the most influential Jews in the American Jewish community for his achievements as president of the Rabbinical Assembly. That same year, he received the Simon Greenberg Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Rabbinate by the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University).

His books Sifre: A Taanaitic commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy (1986) and Entering the High Holy Days: A guide to origins, themes, and prayers (2005) were awarded the National Jewish Book Award as the best book of scholarship for their respective years.

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Bibliography

• (1986). 9780300033458, Yale University Press. . ISBN 9780300033458
• (1995). 9780805210224, Schocken Books. . ISBN 9780805210224
• (1995). 9780809135035, Paulist Press. . ISBN 9780809135035
• (1995). 082760551X, Jewish Publication Society. . 082760551X
• (2025). 9780916219208, Rabbinical Assembly. ISBN 9780916219208
• (2025). 9780827608214, Jewish Publication Society of America. . ISBN 9780827608214
• (2025). 9780916219383, Rabbinical Assembly. . ISBN 9780916219383
  (with Jules Harlow, Harold Kushner, and Avram Israel Reisner)
• (2025). 9789652294340, Gefen Publishing House. . ISBN 9789652294340
• (2025). 9781580234573, Jewish Lights Publishing. . ISBN 9781580234573
• (2025). 9780827612488, University of Nebraska Press. . ISBN 9780827612488
• (2025). 9789655644210, מכון שכטר ללימודי היהדות. . ISBN 9789655644210
• (2025). 9780827613119, University of Nebraska Press. . ISBN 9780827613119

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See also

• Conservative and Masorti rabbis

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External links

• List of "Tradition Today" columns by Rabbi Reuven Hammer in The Jerusalem Post
• List of columns by Rabbi Reuven Hammer in Haaretz
• The Pope and I by Reuven Hammer

Categories: 1933 Births, 2019 Deaths, 20th-century American Male Writers, 20th-century American Non-fiction Writers, 20th-century American Rabbis, 21st-century American Male Writers, 21st-century American Non-fiction Writers, 21st-century American Rabbis, American Conservative Rabbis, American Emigrants To Israel, American Male Non-fiction Writers, Deaths From Brain Cancer In Israel, Israeli Conservative Rabbis, The Jerusalem Post People, Jewish American Non-fiction Writers, Jewish Theological Seminary Of America Semikhah Recipients, Religious Leaders From Syracuse, New York

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