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.

---

Etymology

Origin of Haskalah

From the Hebrew word haśkālāh enlightenment

Example Sentences

But the Gaon's influence on the Haskalah movement by far surpassed his influence on the study of the Talmud or on the ceremonials of the synagogue.

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Raisin, Jacob S.

To understand the raison d'Être of the Haskalah movement, it may not be superfluous to cast a glance at the inner social and religious life of the Slavonic Jews during pre-Haskalah times.

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Raisin, Jacob S.

To each of them Haskalah implied different ideals, and through each it promulgated diverse doctrines.

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Raisin, Jacob S.

Though Russian Jewry "has never experienced any of the ritualistic struggles that Germany has witnessed,"14 yet reform and Haskalah always went hand in hand.

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Raisin, Jacob S.

But the clouds were gathering and overspreading the camp of Haskalah.

From The Haskalah Movement in Russia by Raisin, Jacob S.