Editing Ahad Ha'am (section)

=== Childhood education ===
[[File:Yeshaya Ginsberg D22-092.jpg|thumb|Ginsberg's father, Isaiah (Yeshaya) Ginsberg]]
Ginsberg's childhood education was fundamentally steeped in Orthodox Judaism. At the age of 3, he was sent to Heder. He had a desire to learn the Russian alphabet, but had to do so in secret as his family forbade instruction in languages other than Hebrew; according to Ginsberg, "my mother's father had with his own ears heard one of the great ''[[Tzadik|tsaddikim]]'' [Hasidic leaders] say that the sight of a foreign letter made the eyes unclean."<ref name=":4" /> Still, he was able to persuade some of his classmates to teach him the letters of the Russian alphabet. From a young age, Ginsberg displayed intellectual independence from the doctrine of Hasidism. He attempted to further his knowledge of Russian by reading street signs on his way home from Heder. His learning of Russian was exposed, however, when he returned home late, and his habit was subsequently banned. Ginsberg was also interested in algebra and geometry and began to teach himself the subjects using a book he found in his father's study. His pursuit was cut short again, though, when his grandmother told his parents he was practicing witchcraft after witnessing algebraic formulae written on the windows of the family's home.<ref name=":1" />