Haskalah

[ hah-skuh-lah; Ashkenazic Hebrew hah-skaw-luh; Sephardic Hebrew hah-skah-lah ]

noun

1. an 18th–19th-century movement among central and eastern European Jews, begun in Germany under the leadership of Moses Mendelssohn, designed to make Jews and Judaism more cosmopolitan in character by promoting knowledge of and contributions to the secular arts and sciences and encouraging adoption of the dress, customs, and language of the general population.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Haskalah¹

From the Hebrew word haśkālāh enlightenment