Rakeffet's Bernard Revel Biography Republished; Yeshiva University Presents May 4 Book Launch and Lecture Yeshiva University Press, in conjunction with OU Press, announces the republication of two landmark books by Rabbi Dr. Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff, professor of rabbinic literature at YU’s Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Institute, Bernard Revel: Builder of American Orthodoxy and The Silver Era: Rabbi Eliezer Silver and His Generation. Out of print but in demand for many years, these biographies tell the stories of two of the most important leaders of American Orthodox Judaism in the 20th century. Rabbi Dr. Bernard Revel, the founder of Yeshiva University and its first president, and Rabbi Eliezer Silver, the president and moving force behind Agudath HaRabanim and Vaad Hatzalah, stand as representatives of different communities within Orthodoxy, but they transcended partisan labels. They were each recognized as leaders beyond their own communities because of their passionate dedication to the Jewish people as a whole. Through the lives of Revel and Silver, Rakeffet brings to life the fascinating history of Orthodox Judaism in America, in all its diversity. In these books, Rakeffet’s thorough historical research and his engaging style combine to provide his readers with an appreciation for the life and times of these two visionary leaders. Each book also contains a new preface by Rakeffet. In addition, Bernard Revel: Builder of American Orthodoxy also contains a new introduction by Mordecai D. Katz, Chairman of the Bernard Revel Graduate School Board of Overseers. In honor of the publication of Bernard Revel: Builder of American Orthodoxy, Yeshiva University’s Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and the Center for the Jewish Future will be hosting a book launch and lecture featuring Rakeffet on Sunday, May 4, 2014 in the David H. Zysman Hall Lamport Auditorium, 2540 Amsterdam Avenue at 9:30 AM. Rakeffet is a noted scholar, author and teacher who has taught thousands of students over the course of his career of more than half a century and has authored numerous articles, essays and books.