if possible the eradication, of Hasidism, the fountainhead,
as they thought, of ignorance and superstition; the establishment of
rabbinical seminaries, after the model of those in Padua and Amsterdam,
to supply congregations with educated rabbis. It was further agreed that
a Consistory be created, to supervise Jewish affairs and establish
schools and technical institutes wherever necessary. To these main
points were added several others of minor importance. The Maskilim of
Besascz insisted that steps be taken to stop the prevailing custom of
premature marriages. Those of Brest proposed that Government aid be
invoked to compel Jews to dress in the German style, to use authorized
text-books in the hadarim, and interdict the study of the Talmud except
by those preparing themselves for the rabbinate.[4]

Even in Vilna and Minsk, towns which later put themselves on record as
opposed to Government schools, the Jews yielded gladly to the
innovations of such Maskilim as S. Perl, G. Klaczke, I. Bompi, and the
distinguished philanthropist David Luria, who took the initiative in
transforming the educational system of these cities. Under the
superintendence of Luria, the Minsk Talmud Torah became a model
institution; the training conferred there on the poor and orphaned
surpassed that given to the children of the rich in their private
schools. This aroused jealousy in the parents of the latter, and at
their request Luria organized a merchants' school, for the wealthier
class. He then established what he called Midrash Ezrahim, or Citizens'
Institute, in which he met with such success that he attracted the
attention of the authorities, and received a special acknowledgment from
the czar.[5]

Russian Jewry was astir with new life. In many places secular education
was divorced for the first time from rabbinical speculation. Knowledge
became an end in itself, and learning increased greatly. An
investigation by Nicholas I convinced all who were interested that
though the Talmud remained the chief subject of study, the number of
educated Jews was far greater than commonly supposed. The upliftment of
the masses was the beau-ideal of every Maskil, and Hebrew and even the
much-despised Yiddish were employed to effect it. Ignorance was regarded
as the bane of life, and enlightenment as the panacea for all the ills
to which their downtrodden brethren were heirs. As their pious
coreligionists deemed it the universal duty to be well-versed in