Judah Monis - at Harvard

At Harvard

At Harvard University in Cambridge Monis received his M.A. in 1720, marking the first time a Jew had received a college degree in the American colonies and to receive an Honorary degree. As part of his graduation, Monis wrote a Hebrew grammar, entitled A Grammar of the Hebrew Tongue, and in 1720 submitted a handwritten copy to the Harvard Corporation for its "judicious perusal."

In accord with the general assumption that a scholar should be able to study the Bible in its original languages, all upperclassmen at Harvard were required to study Hebrew. A similar policy was to be instituted at Yale by Ezra Stiles later in the century. This was regarded as a difficult and unpleasant course, one reason for this being that there was no textbook available. On April 30, 1722, the corporation voted "That Mr. Judah Monis be approved instructor of the Hebrew Language," the first such position in America. He was also granted a salary of 50 pounds a year for two years. However, at that time, Harvard required all faculty to be professing Christians, and so Monis, the descendant of conversos, converted to Christianity a month before beginning his Harvard career. He was baptized in private in Harvard's College Hall and later in public. After the second baptism, Monis gave a speech in which he proved that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.