TO AARON S. RAISIN

Your name, dear father, will not be found in the following pages, for,
like "the waters of the Siloam that run softly," you ever preferred to
pursue your useful course in unassuming silence. Yet, as it is your
life, devoted entirely to meditating, learning, and teaching, that
inspired me in my effort, I dedicate this book to you; and I am happy to
know that I thus not only dedicate it to one of the noblest of Maskilim,
but at the same time offer you some slight token of the esteem and
affection felt for you by

Your Son,

JACOB S. RAISIN




CONTENTS


PREFACE 11

CHAPTER I. THE PRE-HASKALAH PERIOD 17

CHAPTER II. THE PERIOD OF TRANSITION 53