Maskilim

Maskilim (singular: maskil) were adherents of the Haskalah, a Jewish Enlightenment movement that emerged in the late 18th century in Central Europe and spread through the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire. The term maskil, meaning "enlightened one," was used by opponents to label those who sought modern Jewish learning, secular knowledge, and engagement with European culture alongside traditional study.

The movement’s roots are associated with figures such as Moses Mendelssohn, who argued for rational study, access to European languages and philosophy, and the integration of Jews into broader society while preserving Jewish faith. Other early maskilim included Naftali Herz Wessely and Isaac Euchel, who edited Ha-Meassef, one of the first maskilic periodicals that published Hebrew and German essays, poetry, and debates. Maskilim often promoted education reform, literacy, and critical inquiry as means to improve Jewish communities.

A central program of the maskilim was the modernization of Jewish education, the study of secular subjects and European languages, and the revival and elevation of Hebrew as a language of literature and public life. They used newspapers, journals, and translations to disseminate ideas and to cultivate a bilingual or multilingual Jewish public sphere. Traditional rabbinic authorities frequently opposed these changes, viewing them as threats to halachic authority and communal norms.

Impact and legacy: the maskilim contributed to the modernization of Jewish scholarship, the growth of modern Hebrew literature, and the emergence of later currents in Jewish reform and nationalism. Their emphasis on education, institutional reform, and cultural adaptation helped shape 19th-century Jewish life, even as opinions about assimilation and religious change varied within the movement.