author
Henry Iliowizi
1850–1911
A widely traveled rabbi and storyteller, he brought Jewish life in the Russian Empire to English-language readers through fiction, essays, and historical romances. His work draws on years spent in Eastern Europe, North Africa, Britain, and the United States.
1 Audiobook
The Weird Orient: Nine Mystic Tales
by Henry Iliowizi
About the author
Born on January 2, 1850, in Choinick in the Minsk region of the Russian Empire, he was educated first in traditional Jewish schools and later studied in cities including Frankfurt, Berlin, Breslau, London, and Paris. As a young man he left home to avoid military conscription, and his life went on to span several countries and cultures.
He taught in Tétouan, Morocco, before moving to the United States in 1880, where he served as a rabbi in communities including Harrisonburg, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia. Alongside his religious work, he wrote poetry, fiction, travel sketches, and retellings drawn from Jewish history and folklore.
His books include In the Pale, The Archierey of Samara, and The Weird Orient. They are remembered for their vivid storytelling and for opening a window onto Jewish experience, especially the world of Russian Jewish life at the turn of the century. He died in London in 1911.