Morais, Henry Samuel, 1860-1924

Henry Samuel Morais was born on May 13, 1860, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of the Reverend Sabato Morais, a well-known national Jewish leader, Rabbi of Congregation Mikveh Israel of Philadelphia, and founder of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Morais attended different private and public schools for his secular education, while he received a traditional religious education from his father. After his schooling he taught for twelve years in the schools of the Hebrew Education Society and in the Hebrew Sabbath-Schools of Philadelphia.

He was interested for a time in law but abandoned it to pursue a literary career. He contributed articles on various subjects to secular and Jewish papers including current matters in Judaism, Jewish literary topics, and other general questions. He wrote for journals all over the United States, although, of course, most of his material was published along the east coast, especially in Philadelphia. In 1887 he was the principal founder of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, a weekly newspaper that represented a traditional religious point-of-view, and served as managing editor for its first two years. After leaving the Jewish Exponent he joined the special staff of the Philadelphia Public Ledger and became its editor in 1894. He was also the editor of two other journals in Philadelphia during this time: the Musical and Dramatic Standard and the Hebrew Watchword and Instructor.

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