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

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

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

Reform Judaism, and the Haskalah, 242-248;   sermons in Russian, 246;   Smolenskin on, 264-265.

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

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

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

Society for the Promotion of Haskalah among the Russian Jews, 237-239, 246, 252, 291-292.

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

The Hebrew language being the best vehicle for the purpose, it was soon impressed into the service of Haskalah.

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