Born in Neede, Simon Philip de Vries received Jewish tuition in nearby Borculo. He attended the Dutch-Jewish Seminary in Amsterdam but left the institute before taking the highest exam (for rabbi). Chief rabbi Dünner nevertheless gave him the right to call himself rabbi.
Simon Philip de Vries was appointed religious education teacher in 1892 in Haarlem. He was furthermore secretary of the Jewish community in Haarlem.
Simon Philip de Vries is de author of the classic Jewish rites and symbols which was initially publised in serial format in the Haarlemse Courant. The book is written for a non-Jewish target group. Rabbi de Vries was an avid Zionist. He played a leading role in the Dutch Mizrachi-movement. In 1905, he wrote the brochure Maäneh le-Zion with subtitle In defence of Zionism from a traditional Jewish point of view. His Zionist stance attracted much criticism, particularly from the other rabbis.
M.H. Gans, Memorboek. Platenatlas van het leven der joden in Nederland van de middeleeuwen tot 1940 (6e bijgewerkte druk; Baarn 1988) 614-615
N. Benninga, Oorlogsherinneringen. Met achtergrondinformatie van H. Hamburger en J.C. Regtien (Bedum 1997) 15-16;
Eli Dasberg wrote the biography: Rabbijn Simon Philip de Vries, Neede 1870 - Bergen Belsen 1944. De geschiedenis van zijn leven (Lochem 1973).
See also the Biographical dictionary of the Netherlands on the website of the Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis.
This person is commemorated on a memorial in Haarlem. More information on this memorial can be found (in Dutch) on the website of the Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei.