Religion - 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. Adherents of the haskalah movement were called maskilim.
In a more restricted sense, haskalah denotes 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.
Jews and Judaism
As long as the Jews lived in segregated communities, and as long as all
avenues of social intercourse with their gentile neighbors were closed
to them, the rabbi was the most influential member of the Jewish
community. In addition to being a religious scholar and clergy, a rabbi
also acted as a civil judge in all cases in which both parties were
Jews. Rabbis sometimes had other important administrative powers,
together with the community elders. The rabbinate was the highest aim of
many Jewish boys, and the study of the Talmud was the means of obtaining
that coveted position, or one of many other important communal
distinctions. Haskalah followers advocated "coming out of ghetto," not
just physically but also mentally and spiritually.
The example of Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786), a Prussian Jew, served to
lead this movement. Mendelssohn's extraordinary success as a popular
philosopher and man of letters revealed hitherto unsuspected
possibilities of integration and acceptance of Jews among non-Jews.
Mendelssohn also provided methods for Jews to enter the general society
of Germany. A good knowledge of the German language was necessary to
secure entrance into cultured German circles, and an excellent means of
acquiring it was provided by Mendelssohn in his German translation of
the Torah. This work became a bridge over which ambitious young Jews
could pass to the great world of secular knowledge. The Biur, or
grammatical commentary, prepared under Mendelssohn's supervision, was
designed to counteract the influence of traditional rabbinical methods
of exegesis. Together with the translation, it became, as it were, the
primer of haskalah. Haskalah did not stay restricted to Germany,
however, and the movement quickly spread throughout Europe.
Language played a key role in the haskalah movement, as Mendelssohn and
others called for a revival in Hebrew and a reduction in the use of
Yiddish. The result was an outpouring of new, secular literature, as
well as critical studies of religious texts. Jews also began to study
and communicate in the languages of the countries in which they settled,
providing another gateway for integration.
Even as it eased integration, haskalah also resulted in a revival of
Jewish secular identity, with an emphasis on Jewish history and Jewish
identity. It would pave the way for the development of Zionism in the
face of the persecutions of the late 1800s.
Haskalah resulted in a increased rate of assimilation, as Jews became
estranged from their traditional religious beliefs. As a result, the
Reform movement was started to make Judasim seem more compelling to the
more integrated Jewish community. A relaxing of some strictures, along
with an emphasis on the ethical teachings of Judaism, were hallmarks of
this movement. The Orthodox community, meanwhile, responded with the
Mussar Movement in Eastern Europe and Torah im Derech Eretz in Germany.
Haskalah also spawned a number of Jewish political movements.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskalah
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