הרב עקילס הגר

Akilas HaGer was a tanna whose name marks him as a convert (“HaGer”). The Midrash describes him as a nephew of the emperor Hadrian who wished to convert and was at first afraid of his uncle (Shemot Rabbah, Mishpatim). His story is brought as an illustration of the verse “He declares His words to Yaakov” (Tehillim 147) and of the love Hashem shows the convert, the verse “He loves the ger, giving him bread and clothing” (Devarim 10), which he discusses before Rabbi Eliezer in Bereshit Rabbah.

He is best remembered for his renderings of Scripture, and the Midrash preserves several of his translations. In Bereshit Rabbah he renders “apples of gold in settings of silver” (Mishlei 25) into a vivid Aramaic phrasing of golden fruit within silver baskets. His teachings appear across the aggadic Midrashim — Bereshit Rabbah, Shemot Rabbah, Vayikra Rabbah, Bamidbar Rabbah, and Kohelet Rabbah — often touching on themes of the convert, the fear of Hashem, and the meaning of the verses he interprets.