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Hebraic Literature

Jewish Sacred Texts

Hebraic Literature

Kabbalah is an academic component of Judaism that helps people with their perception of Rabbinic Judaism. The word “kabbalah” means “reception” and in Rabbinic Judaism the word expresses the reception of divine instruction. The Kabbalah is an assemblage of mystical concepts from the Rabbinic era, Kabbalah came about in the middle Ages as part of an accepted practice of Hebrew life that measured the extent of religious mysteries; outlined the avenues for communication with God; and gathered spiritual power for the atonement of the universe.
Even though Kabbalah regarded its traditions as eternal revelations declared by God when he conceived the world, it was a cultural invention whose traditions and observances evolved in reply to shifts within Judaism and through their dealings with non-Jewish societies.


Maurice Henry Harris



  • Maurice Henry Harris was born on November 9, 1859, in London, England and died on June 23, 1930, in New York City. He was educated in London before going to Columbia College in New York City, where he earned a both his Masters and PhD degree in 1887. Later, he went to the Emanu-El Theological Seminary of New York City. Harris was classified as a notable rabbi by Marquis Who’s Who. Maurice Henry Harris married Kitty Green, of London, on August 14, 1888, they had 3 children.
  • In 1883, Harris was appointed rabbi of Temple Israel of Harlem, New York, a position he kept till 1904. He was elected vice-president of the Society for the Aid of Jewish Prisoners, second vice-president of the New York Board of Jewish Ministers, and an administrator of the Jewish Protectory.
  • Amongst his most famous publications are: “The People of the Book: A Biblical History” (3 vols.); “Selected Addresses” (3 vols.); and Hebraic Literature. Harris also wrote articles for the “Jewish Quarterly Review” and the “North American Review.”

Books by Maurice H. Harris

  • Hebraic Literature; Translations from the Talmud, Midrashim and Kabbala, (Washington, London: M.W. Dunne, [1901])
  • History of the Mediaeval Jews, from the Moslem Conquest of Spain to the Discovery of America, (New York, Bloch Publishing Co., 1916)
  • Jewish History and Literature: A Course of Lessons from the Rise of the Kabbala to the Expulsion of the Jews by Spain. (Philadelphia : Jewish Chautauqua Society, 1899)
  • The People of the Book: A Bible History for School and Home / (New York: Block Pub. Co., 1922)
  • Selected Addresses, (New York: P. Cowen, 1896)
  • The Story of the Jew: Briefly told from the Patriarchal Era to the Present Day, Together with a Confirmation Manual / (New York: Bloch, 1919)
  • Temple Israel Pulpit: Selected Addresses / (New York: P. Cowen, 1895)

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