"[18]
But the Gaon's influence on the Haskalah movement by far surpassed his
influence on the study of the Talmud or on the ceremonials of the
synagogue. Many, in point of fact, regard him as the originator of the
movement. As he was the first to oppose the authority of the Talmudists,
so he was the first to inveigh against the educational system among the
Jews of his day and country. The mania for distinction in rabbinical
learning plunged the child into the mazes of Talmudic casuistry as soon
as he could read; frequently he had not read the Bible or studied the
rudiments of grammar. The Gaon insisted that every one should first
master the twenty-four books of the Bible, their etymology, prosody, and
syntax, then the six divisions of the Mishnah with the important
commentaries and the suggested emendations, and finally the Talmud in
general, without wasting much time on pilpul, which brings no practical
result. "These few lines," says a writer, "contain a more thorough
course of study than Wessely suggested in his _Words of Peace and
Truth_. Though they did not entirely change the system in vogue--for
great is the power of habit--they produced a wholesome effect, which was
visible in a short time among the people.
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