Monis, Judah, 1683-1764

Monis taught Hebrew at Harvard College.

From the description of A grammar of the Hebrew tongue : manuscript, [not before 1735] (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612819312

Judah Monis (1683-1764), a Jewish scholar and educator, was an instructor of Hebrew at Harvard College between 1722 and 1760. Monis was born on February 4, 1683, likely in Italy or the Barbary States. He immigrated to New York City in the early 1700s, and later moved to Massachusetts. Monis converted to Christianity and, on April 30, 1722, the Harvard Corporation appointed Monis an "instructor of the Hebrew Language." In 1723, Monis received an AM from Harvard, becoming the first Jewish person to receive an advanced degree in the colonies. In 1735, with the financial support of the Corporation, Monis published the first Hebrew textbook in America: "Dickdook leshon gnebreet, A Grammar of the Hebrew tongue." Monis taught at Harvard for almost forty years, but his teaching responsibilities waned over time, and Monis struggled with a reputation as an ineffective teacher and disciplinarian. Monis had married Abigail Marret (d. 1760) in 1724, and in 1760, Monis retired from Harvard and went to live with his brother-in-law John Martyn, minister of the second parish in Westboro, Mass. Monis died on April 25, 1764.

From the description of Biblical texts in Hebrew, ca. 1740s?. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 743411219

Judah Monis (1683-1764) was the first instructor of Hebrew (1722-1760) at Harvard; he received an honorary degree in 1720.

From the description of Received of Mr. Judah Monis the sum of twenty four shillings for dining twelve times it being two shillings a dinner, in full, [?] Timothy Green, Boston Sept. 4, 1734. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 77067910

Judah Monis (1683-1764) was the first instructor of Hebrew (1722-1760) at Harvard; he received an honorary degree in 1720. In this era, all Harvard instructors were required to be Christians. Monis converted to Christianity. Although printed in England, his grammar the first Hebrew textbook published in North America.

From the description of Papers of Judah Monis, 1722-1735. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 76972813

Monis received an honorary degree in 1720 and was the first instructor of Hebrew at Harvard.

From the description of Papers of Judah Monis, 1722-1735 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 17267294

Judah Monis (1683-1764), a Jewish scholar and educator, was an instructor of Hebrew at Harvard College between 1722 and 1760. Monis was instrumental in importing Hebrew type to the colonies, and in 1735, he published the first Hebrew textbook in America.

Monis was born on February 4, 1683, likely in Italy or the Barbary States. He was educated at Jewish academies in Leghorn, Italy and Amsterdam, Holland. Monis immigrated to New York City in the early 1700s, and later moved to Massachusetts where he petitioned the Harvard Corporation in 1720 to appoint him an instructor of Hebrew. On March 27, 1722, Monis converted to Christianity and was baptized in a public ceremony at Harvard. A month later, on April 30, 1722, the Corporation appointed Monis an "instructor of the Hebrew Language." In 1723, Monis received an AM from Harvard, becoming the first Jewish person to receive an advanced degree in the colonies. Beginning in the mid 1720s, Monis worked to secure funding to print a Hebrew grammar book he had compiled. Finally, in 1735, with the financial support of the Corporation, Monis published the first Hebrew textbook in America: Dickdook leshon gnebreet, A Grammar of the Hebrew tongue.

While administrators considered Hebrew an important part of the Harvard curriculum, the subject was unpopular among students and Monis struggled with his reputation as an ineffective teacher and disciplinarian. Monis taught at Harvard for almost forty years, but his teaching responsibilities waned over time. Monis had married Abigail Marret (d. 1760) in 1724, and in 1760, Monis retired from Harvard and went to live with his brother-in-law John Martyn, minister of the second parish in Westboro, Mass. Monis died on April 25, 1764.

In the 17th and early 18th centuries, Harvard's undergraduate curriculum included regular Hebrew course work to facilitate close reading and interpretation of the Old Testament and rabbinical writings. On June 29, 1720, Judah Monis presented the Corporation with "an essay to facilitate the Instruction of Youth in the Hebrew Language." Monis was hired in 1722 to provide Hebrew instruction and all students except freshmen attended four days of classes with him each week. Concerns with Monis's teaching abilities surfaced soon after his appointment, and on May 5, 1724, the Corporation voted to investigate Monis's teaching methods to determine if they were indeed "so tedious as to be discouraging to many," and also to "consider what may facilitate and encourage the study of the Hebrew language." Subsequently, on June 8, 1724, the Harvard Board of Overseers recommended that the Corporation committee help Monis in revising his Hebrew grammar book, and then compare it "with others that so a suitable one may be agreed upon." Students initially copied Monis's Hebrew Grammar by hand into personal notebooks, but by 1726, Monis began working to raise money to publish the textbook.

Monis advertised his Hebrew Grammar publicly in the Boston Newsletter (April 21-28, 1726), but after failing to raise sufficient subscriptions, he petitioned the Corporation in 1728 for financial backing. On May 6, 1728, the Corporation requested Monis to correct his grammar and print a sample page for the Corporation to review. In order to print the Hebrew Grammar, the Corporation needed to collect a complete set of Hebrew typeset. Harvard's wealthy English benefactor, Thomas Hollis, donated some type, and on June 24, 1728, the Corporation directed the College Treasurer to purchase "so many Hebrew Types & points, as are necessary to compleet ye sett sent us by ye worthy mr Hollis." The Corporation voted in July 1734 to advance Monis the money to print a thousand copies of the Hebrew Grammar, and on September 9, 1734, with the Grammar "in press," the Corporation determined that, "Every Sophomore should purchase it at a price to be appointed by the Corporation."

On September 30, 1734, the Corporation appointed a committee comprised of President Benjamin Wadsworth, Tutor Henry Flynt, Professor Edward Wigglesworth, and Rev. Nathaniel Appleton to review the volume (as recommended by the Overseers in 1724). The Committee reported on March 10, 1734/5 that the Hebrew Grammar "is a very suitable one to answer ye end of his office and station." Monis presented a bound copy of the Hebrew Grammar printed by Jonas Green to the Corporation on March 31, 1735.

The textbook was used for many years and the price of a copy was added to each student's bill with the College Steward. By 1755, with a diminishing role in Harvard's undergraduate curriculum, Hebrew had become an elective subject. Two years after Monis's retirement from Harvard, during the October 14, 1762 meeting of the Board of Overseers, a committee recommended that the undergraduates' knowledge of Hebrew would be improved "if there was a better Hebrew Grammar to instruct them by than the present." In 1763 the College printed a new Hebrew Grammar, and in 1765, the Corporation appointed Stephen Sewall as Monis's successor as Hebrew Instructor and the first Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages.

From the guide to the Judah Monis collection, 1725-1735, (Harvard University Archives)