Haskalah
[ hah-skuh-lah; Ashkenazic Hebrew hah-skaw-luh; Sephardic Hebrew hah-skah-lah ]
/ ˌhɑ skəˈlɑ; Ashkenazic Hebrew hɑˈskɔ lə; Sephardic Hebrew hɑ skɑˈlɑ /
noun
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.
Origin of Haskalah
From the Hebrew word
haśkālāh enlightenment