1. Definition
The term haskala (Hebrew: “having insight,” “making wise,” “education”; from sekel, “insight,” “understanding”) denotes the Jewish equivalent to the general Enlightenment movement in early modern Europe; its adherents are called maskilim. Both terms are first attested in the philosophical literature of the late Middle Ages, for example in Joseph Albo’s (1380–1444) sefer ha-iqqarim (“Book of Principles”)…