Barnett Abrahams
Encyclopedia
Barnett Abrahams was the Principal of Jews' College
Jews' College
-Origins and Remit Today:Jews' College, now known as the London School of Jewish Studies , was opened in Finsbury Square, London as a rabbinical seminary in 1855 with the support of Chief Rabbi Nathan Adler and of Sir Moses Montefiore, who had conceived the idea for such a venture as early as...

.

His father emigrated to England in 1839; his wife and son arrived in 1841, and two more sons were born in 1843 and 1844.

Education

Abrahams was educated by his father and later by Chief rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...

 Nathan Marcus Adler
Nathan Marcus Adler
Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler was the Orthodox Chief Rabbi of the British Empire from 1845 until his death, probably the most prominent 19th century rabbi in the English-speaking world.-Life:...

. In 1849 he joined the Spanish and Portuguese congregation's theological college. The elders paid for him to attend the City of London School
City of London School
The City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...

 and University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

, from which he graduated BA.

Career

In 1851 he began to preach at Bevis Marks synagogue
Bevis Marks Synagogue
----Bevis Marks Synagogue is located off Bevis Marks, in the City of London. The synagogue, affiliated to London's historic Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community, is the oldest synagogue in the United Kingdom still in use...

. He became assistant dayan in 1854, and in 1856 was made head of its ecclesiastical court. He was the youngest man to act as dayan in the London Jewish community and the first English Jewish minister to hold a British university degree.

Abrahams married in 1854. He had 6 children; Joseph and Moses became Jewish ministers, and Israel
Israel Abrahams
Israel Abrahams was one of the most distinguished Jewish scholars of his generation. He wrote a number of classics on Judaism, most notably, Jewish Life in the Middle Ages ....

 became an author and teacher. In 1858, on the resignation of Adophe Loewe as headmaster of Jews' College, Abrahams succeeded him while continuing to carry out his religious duties.

Abrahams was most concerned aboute educating the young, and in 1860 he founded the Association for the Diffusion of Religious Knowledge, the precursor of the Jewish Religious Education Board.
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