Morris Jacob Raphall

Morris Jacob Raphall was born in Sweden to a banking family and was educated in Copenhagen and England. A university lecturer, translator, and secretary to the chief rabbi of Great Britain, he published translations of parts of the Mishnah and defended Judaism against the blood libel in Damascus in 1840. In 1849 Raphall moved to New York City and served as rabbi of B’nai Jeshurun congregation. Raphall’s treatise on slavery, published in 1861, shocked Jews especially in the North during the Civil War. His defense was based on his analysis of biblical laws concerning slaves.