Haskalah

American  

[hah-skuh-lah, hah-skaw-luh, hah-skah-lah] / ˌhɑ skəˈlɑ, hɑˈskɔ lə, hɑ skɑˈlɑ /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of Haskalah

From the Hebrew word haśkālāh enlightenment

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Haskalah

But at the worst this was the result of mistaken zeal for the cause of Haskalah.

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Jacob S. Raisin

Haskalah itself was not impugned, and as theretofore translations and original works on science were encouraged, and the wish was entertained that "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Jacob S. Raisin

The Society for the Promotion of Haskalah, too, owes its existence to some of the most prominent Russo-Jewish merchants.

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Jacob S. Raisin

They might have condemned a Maskil, they had not yet condemned Haskalah.

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Jacob S. Raisin

For this reason also I have marked the boundaries of the Haskalah epochs in correspondence to the dates of the reigns of the several czars, though the correspondence is not always exact.

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Jacob S. Raisin