Haskalah

Haskalah (Hebrew: השכלה; "enlightenment," "intellect," from sekhel, "common sense") was a religious movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew, and Jewish history. Haskalah in this sense marked the beginning of the wider engagement of European Jews with the secular world, resulting, ultimately, in the first Jewish political movements and the struggle for Jewish emancipation.

Related Topics:
Hebrew - Enlightenment - Intellect - Common sense - Europe - Jew - 18th century - Enlightenment - Integration - Jewish history - Jewish political movements - Jewish emancipation

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In a more restricted sense, haskalah can also denote the study of Biblical Hebrew and of the poetical, scientific, and critical parts of Hebrew literature. The term is sometimes used to describe modern critical study of Jewish religious books, such as the Mishnah and Talmud, when used to differentiate these modern modes of study from the older methods used by Orthodox Jews. All these approaches deviate from the more traditional Torah study that had been practiced before the advent of the haskalah.

Related Topics:
Biblical Hebrew - Mishnah - Talmud - Orthodox Jews - Torah study

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