Israel Abrahams, MA ''(

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

)'' (b.

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, 26 November 1858; d.

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, 6 October 1925) was one of the most distinguished

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish scholars of his generation. He wrote a number of classics on

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, most notably, ''Jewish Life in the Middle Ages'' (1896).

Life and writings

He was educated at Jews' College, where his father Barnett Abrahams served as principal, and at

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. In 1881, he received the degree of MA from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. Abrahams taught secular subjects as well as

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or studies homiletics may be ...

at Jews' College, and was appointed senior tutor of that institution in 1900. He was a forceful lecturer and an earnest lay preacher. As honorary secretary of the Jewish Historical Society of England and as a member of the Committee for Training Jewish Teachers, he was very active. He was also a member of the Committee of the Anglo-Jewish Association, and of several other institutions of the community. He co-founded the newspaper '. Abrahams collaborated with

Claude Montefiore Claude Joseph Goldsmid Montefiore, also Goldsmid–Montefiore or just Goldsmid Montefiore (1858–1938) was the intellectual founder of Anglo-Liberal Judaism (UK), Liberal Judaism and the founding president of the World Union for Progress ...

to write the book ''Aspects of Judaism'', which was published in 1895. His chief works were ''Jewish Life in the Middle Ages'' (1896) and ''Chapters on Jewish Literature'' (1898). In 1889, he became joint editor of the '' Jewish Quarterly Review'' and helped materially to raise the prestige of the publication. He was a prolific contributor to periodical literature, and was especially well known for his articles on literary subjects, which appeared weekly in the ''Jewish Chronicle'' under the title of "Books and Bookmen." He also contributed to the ''

Encyclopaedia Biblica ''Encyclopaedia Biblica: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religion History, the Archeology, Geography and Natural History of the Bible'' (1899), edited by Thomas Kelly Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black, is a critical encycloped ...

'' (1903). In 1902, after teaching for several years at Jews' College, Abrahams succeeded

Solomon Schechter Solomon Schechter (‎; 7 December 1847 – 19 November 1915) was a Moldavian-born British-American rabbi, academic scholar and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the ...

, who was moving to New York to head the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism as well as a hub for academic scholarship in Jewish studies ...

, as reader in

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic and

Rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He received the

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) from the university in late May 1902. In 1914, he published ''A Companion to the Authorised Prayer Book'', a helpful commentary on and supplement to the prayer book edited by Simeon Singer. Singer himself had intended to write such a work, but died before he had progressed very far. Revised editions appeared in 1922 and 1932. In 1922 he was invited to deliver the Schweich Lecture of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

. The lectures were published under the title ''Campaigns in Palestine from Alexander the Great.'' Abrahams died on 6 October 1925, at the age of 66. He was cremated on 8 October, and memorial services were held on 11 October (at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in the City of Westminster) and 21 October (at the Senate House in the University of Cambridge). The library of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue would later be named after him.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abrahams, Israel 1858 births 1925 deaths 19th-century British educators 20th-century British writers Judaic scholars Alumni of University College London English Jews Academics of the University of Cambridge Jewish historians 19th-century British writers