Haskala

Also known as the Jewish Enlightenment, the Haskala was a major intellectual movement among European Jews which sought to both maintain the linguistic, literary, and cultural integrity of Jewish communities, and to establish a stable place for them in European society. As such, the Haskala entailed an intensification of Hebrew studies as well as, in many cases, interaction with Western languages, culture, and economics. Although Jewish Enlightenment thinkers existed on a wide spectrum of conservatism versus progressivism, aspects of the Haskala coincided with the European Enlightenment, espousing rationalism, scientific and moral inquiry, and liberalism. The Haskala also produced various ways in which Jewish individuals and communities saw their relationship to their gentile surroundings. Some urged assimilation and integration, while others fought to relieve persecution of Jewish communities; the movement also generated ideas which contributed to later Jewish Nationalism.