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Henry A. Henry
Portrait of Henry, formerly held at the Western Jewish History Center
Personal life
Born	1800 or 1801 London, England
Died	August 28, 1879 (aged 80) San Francisco, California
Religious life
Religion	Judaism
Denomination	Orthodox Judaism

Henry Abraham Henry (Hebrew: צבי בן אברהם הענרי; 1800 or 1801 – August 28, 1879) was a British-American rabbi, educator, and Hebraist.

Biography

Early life and career

Henry A. Henry was born in London around 1800 into a Jewish family likely of Prussian Polish origin. He was educated at the Jews' Free School, and received rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Solomon Hirschell.

Henry served as tutor for the Rothschild family, and led the Jews' Free School as headmaster until early 1842. While headmaster, he frequently officiated in London synagogues, and in 1844 became rabbi of the St. Alban's Congregation, where he remained until 1849. During his tenure, he introduced regular English-language sermons, then a novel practice.

Henry became prominent figure in London's Jewish community, particularly noted for his resistance to the efforts of the Society for the Conversion of the Jews. He was also one of the founders of the Jews' Hospital and Orphan Asylum. In 1836 he compiled a volume of daily prayers according to the German and Polish rites, and around 1840 published Biblical Class Book for Jewish Youth and a Synopsis of Jewish History.

Life in the United States

In 1849 Henry emigrated to the United States, bringing with him an extensive library of Jewish books. While he intended to serve the Jewish community of Louisville, Kentucky, he was delayed in Cincinnati and accepted instead a position at the B'nai Jeshurun Synagogue. In 1851 he moved to Syracuse, New York, where he served as rabbi for three years. Though himself Orthodox, Henry delivered a sermon at the Reform Temple Emanu-El in New York City in September 1851, leading to him being banned from the then-Orthodox Congregation Shaaray Tefila.

In 1854, Henry moved to New York City, where he resided until 1857. While in New York he served the Henry Street Congregation and later the Clinton Street Synagogue. During this period, he also superintended a religious school and established a boarding school for Jewish children.

In 1857, he relovated to San Francisco, California, where he became the rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in San Francisco, which he served as rabbi until 1871. While in California he edited The Pacific Messenger.

Death and legacy

Henry died in San Francisco on August 28, 1879, and is buried at the Hills of Eternity Memorial Park. His library was presented after his death to the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati.

Publications

• Daily Prayers, According to the Custom of the German and Polish Jews. London: John Wertheimer. 1835.
• A Class Book for Jewish Youth of Both Sexes. London: H. A. Henry. 1839. 2nd edition, 1866.
• A Series of Six Discourses on the Principles of Belief of Israel. London: H. A. Henry. 1845.
• Antiquity of Freemasonry in General. Cincinnati: German Republican Office. 1850.
• A Synopsis of Jewish History from the Return of the Jews from the Babylonish Captivity, to the Days of Herod the Great. San Francisco: Towne & Bacon. 1859.
• Discourses on the Book of Genesis. San Francisco: H. H. Bancroft & Co. 1864.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jacobs, Joseph; Lipkind, Goodman (1904). "Henry, Henry A.". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 349.

1. Kahn, Ava, ed. (2002). Jewish Voices of the California Gold Rush: A Documentary History, 1849–1880. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 91. ISBN 0-8143-2859-8.
2.  Jacobs, Joseph; Lipkind, Goodman (1904). "Henry, Henry A.". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 349.
3. Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. (1887). "Henry, Henry A.". Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography. Vol. 3. New York: D. Appleton.
4. Rosenbaum, Fred (2009). Cosmopolitans: A Social and Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area. University of California Press. pp. 22–26, 32–33. doi:10.1525/9780520945029. ISBN 978-0-520-94502-9.
5. ^ Rochlin, Harriet; Rochlin, Fred (2000). Pioneer Jews: A New Life in the Far West. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-618-00196-5.
6. Levy, Matthias (1897). The Western Synagogue: Some Materials for Its History. London: G. Barber. p. 51.
7. "Death of the Rev. H. A. Henry". The Jewish Chronicle. No. 549. London. October 3, 1879. p. 10.
8. Eleff, Zev (2016). Modern Orthodox Judaism: A Documentary History. JPS Anthologies of Jewish Thought. University of Nebraska Press & Jewish Publication Society. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-8276-1291-4. JSTOR j.ctt1d4v0sk.
9. "Rabbi Henry Abraham Henry". Find a Grave. March 24, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
10. "Rabbi Tzvi Abroham Henry". Kevarim.com. January 18, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2025.

Further reading

• Henry, Marcus H. (October 1977). "Henry Abraham Henry: San Francisco Rabbi, 1857–1869". Western States Jewish Historical Quarterly. 10 (1): 31–37.
• Moses, Jay Henry (1997). Henry A. Henry: The Life and Work of an American Rabbi, 1849–1869 (Thesis). Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion.

• 1800 births
• 1879 deaths
• 19th-century American educators
• 19th-century American rabbis
• 19th-century English educators
• 19th-century English rabbis
• American editors
• American Freemasons
• American Orthodox rabbis
• Clergy from San Francisco
• English emigrants to the United States
• English Orthodox rabbis
• Heads of schools in London
• Jewish educators
• Jews and Judaism in San Francisco
• People educated at JFS (school)
• Rabbis from London