Free shipping when you preorder Teens and 20-Somethings

Posted on October 8, 2010 by goldys

“Kosher By Design: Teens and 20-Somethings” is coming on Oct. 27! We’re offering our blog readers a special deal – preorder today and receive free shipping (continental U.S.) on your entire order from ArtScroll.com. Just enter the code “KBDBLOG” at checkout.

Since her first cookbook bearing the Kosher by Design moniker appeared in 2003, self-taught chef Susie Fishbein has become the culinary liberator of borscht-bored kosher cooks throughout North America. So influential is the home-based wife and mother of four that in May 2010 Fishbein was invited to the White House in recognition of Jewish American Heritage Month.

Popularly known as the Kosher Diva, Fishbein is releasing her seventh cookbook, Kosher by Design Teens & 20-Somethings: cooking for the next generation, aimed at the young and digital-savvy fast food generation and those who cook for them. Commenting on how her family life has influenced her career as a cookbook author, Fishbein notes, “When my kids were younger, I published Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen. They learned to cook amazing recipes with me. I have a couple of teens now and their appetites have changed. And they are my proof-positive! This new cookbook equips young adults with knowledge and skills to create their own amazing foods, from a quick and delicious snack to a whole party.”kosherbydesign-teens-20somethings-susie-fishbein-kosher-cookbook

While unapologetically a Jewish mother, Fishbein’s recipes are light–years beyond traditional chicken soup, gefilte fish, and kasha varnishkes. In fact, among the 100 new recipes, little is discernibly Jewish (OK — the Hot Pretzel Challah, perhaps — and there is a good recipe for Chicken Soup). Teens & 20-Somethings serves up tantalizing American-style dishes such as Turkey Sliders, Peanut Butter and Banana French Toast, Tater Tot Casserole, and Tie-Dye Cookies.

But the international influences are abundant. Imagine coming home to a dinner made by your college student, featuring Mexican Pizza Empanadas, Creamy Gnocchi Pesto Salad, Thai Chicken Burgers, Hoisin Vegetables, and finishing with a Chocolate Tart in Pretzel Crust. There are dozens of suggestions here to “eat your way around the world.”

Award-winning food photographer John Uher, whose client list includes Godiva Chocolates and Bacardi Rum, has worked with Susie since the original Kosher by Design was released in 2003. Uher’s 100+ images in Teens & 20-Somethings are vivid and motivating.

Fishbein provides clear and simple guidance throughout the cookbook to help young cooks develop confidence in preparing dishes that appeal equally to the eye and palette. She offers important tips for healthy eating, safety in the kitchen, essential utensils, and menu planning.

Anyone with food sensitivities will appreciate the convenient sidebar symbols that indicate gluten-free, fat-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian recipes. In accordance with kosher cooking requirements, each recipe is clearly marked as meat, dairy, or parve (neither meat nor dairy).

She also encourages her culinary protégés to go beyond personal or family cooking; she offers four lively party templates, including a baseball theme and a board game night.

Susie’s sold-out coast-to-coast cooking demos, along with her appearances on national television and radio, have elevated kosher cuisine to a more sophisticated level in public perception. Book critic Benyamin Cohen, former editor of youth-oriented Jewsweek.com and American Jewish Life, says of Susie Fishbein, “She’s a phenom — singlehandedly redefining kosher cooking.”

But bottom line: What can the average digital-centric teen or 20-something expect to find in this curiously different cookbook? Susie quips, “Delicious fun — LOL!”

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ArtScroll ebooks on iBooks – But what happened to the Kindle, the Nook and the Sony reader!?

Posted on September 15, 2010 by mayerp

We are very excited to be presenting our first round of ArtScroll ebooks to the public. I am sure many of you are wondering – what about the other ebook devices on the market – why just the iBooks app – which only works on the iPhone, iPad and iTouch.  What about Kindle?

Here is the inside scoop:

Sorry I don’t speak Hebrew:
I have been testing various dedicated ebook readers for the past 10 years for ArtScroll – I still have my original RocketReader (paperweight anyone?)!  We have watched the technology slowly evolve over the years  – but until the iPad and iBooks application came out – we simply did not have a platform that could support ALL of the ArtScroll publications. This is due to one critical factor – Hebrew – ArtScroll’s best selling books have Hebrew in them –  and lots of it – and the current popular eReaders on the market (like Kindle and Nook) don’t support Hebrew.  Hebrew on these eReaders either looks like a bunch of little squares or the letters are backwards and there is no Nikkud – the little vowel marks.

Our goal was simple – find a device that supported interspersed Hebrew and English (Right to left and Left to Right characters) in the same paragraph – with the Nikkud (vowel marks) – with resizable and reflowable text. The iBooks family of devices do this! Finally we can present Hebrew English books with Nikkud – that can be resized and reflowed on a massively popular platform. There are still some minor aesthetic issues with the positioning of the Nikkud on the ibooks devices – but it is functional and correct.

It’s just too complicated for me to handle:
But our real dream is to have the classic ArtScroll texts like the Talmud, Torah, Tanach, Siddur and other translated works in digital format – these just cant be presented on the Kindle and the Nook! Firstly they don’t support Hebrew and secondly the page layout is too complex for these devices.  For example, a page of the Stone Chumash has 5 different text blocks that have to be kept in sync with each other in order to work properly – the Kindle and Nook can’t support that level of complexity.

I am just way too insecure:
Did you know that you can find instructions online on how to hack a Kindle book and remove its security protection in about 30 seconds?  It is no secret that Kindle books aren’t secure – you may not know how to – but there are many thousands of people that do. So why don’t other publishers care? We assume its because the lifespan of the average mass-market book is not very long – its here today and gone tomorrow – read it once and done! What about a Chumash or a volume of the Talmud – these books have a shelf life of a lifetime – if not multiple generations.  This makes ArtScroll books a high value target for hackers. We are committed to protect the intellectual property of our authors and to safeguard the enormous investment put into the classic works that we have produced over the years.

The iBookstore is secure (at least for today)  and we feel that the rights of our authors are being properly protected.

This is clearly an evolving market. We are working to produce all of our books in digital format.  But one thing we do know for sure – as of today there are 120,000,000 devices in the world that will support the reading of the first round of  ArtScroll ebooks – and there will be more to come.

You can visit our current offering of eBooks at artscroll.com/ebooks

- the ArtScroll eBook Maven

Filed under: ArtScroll News You Can Use, Book Features, Webmaster News | 3 Comments »

Standing Before the Judge: The ArtScroll Rosh Hashanah Machzors

Posted on September 5, 2010 by goldys

When defendants stand before a jury, they want the best possible legal representation. And when they stand before the judge for sentencing, they pray for mercy.
On Rosh Hashanah we all stand before the true Judge. As the poignant words of Unesaneh Tokef remind us: “You alone are the One Who judges… who will live and who will die…”  We are awed – but we are not paralyzed. We know there are things we can do to turn the judgment in our favor. “Repentance, prayer and charity remove the evil of the decree!”
We’ve been examining our lives and deeds, seeking teshuvah, repentance. We’ve been giving more charity than ever. And, like hundreds of thousands of Jews the world over, on Rosh Hashanah we will use an ArtScroll machzor to help us make our tefillos, our prayers, focused, sincere and heartfelt.
As we await the positive verdict we know we are using the ArtScroll machzor that will help us most effectively daven for a favorable judgment – and a sweet year.

The Classic ArtScroll Machzor: With its lyrical and yet readable translation by Rabbi Nosson Scherman, beautiful graphics, comprehensive directions, and engrossing commentary, this is the machzor that started “the ArtScroll Revolution.” Available in Nusach Ashkenaz and Sefard, in hardcover and paperback, in full and pocket size, and in elegant leather binding.

 

The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Machzor: The interlinear format is perfect for those who want to follow the Hebrew text but quickly access the English translation. The translation appears directly beneath the Hebrew, with ArtScroll’s patented icon gently leading the eyes in the proper direction. Includes full commentary. Available in Nusach Ashkenaz and Sefard, in full and pocket size.

The Seif Edition Transliterated Machzor: The ideal choice for those less familiar with Hebrew, this machzor includes the Hebrew text, with phrase-by-phrase transliteration and translation, and a full commentary.

The ArtScroll Hebrew Machzor: For those familiar with the Hebrew text of the prayers, this beautifully typeset machzor is clear and easy to follow. Includes a full Hebrew commentary and a choice of instructions in either Hebrew or English.

The Large Type Machzor: If you’re constantly taking on and removing those reading glasses, this is the machzor for you! With extra-large, clear type, uncluttered pages, and a comfortable, manageable page size.

ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications Ltd. wishes all of our readers, and all of Klal Yisrael, a kesivah v’chasimah tovah, and a happy and healthy New Year.

Filed under: ArtScroll In the News, ArtScroll News You Can Use, Book Reviews, Holiday Related, Holidays | Leave a Comment »

Pride in the Past, Looking towards the Future: The New Wasserman Edition Expanded ArtScroll Siddur

Posted on August 25, 2010 by goldys

In the ArtScroll office the emotion is almost palpable; you can practically touch the excitement. Actually, you can touch the excitement: just run your hands over the beautiful, dignified, gold-stamped cover of the new Wasserman Edition Expanded ArtScroll Siddur. That’s excitement for you. And pride in the past. And looking towards the future.

Rabbi Nosson Scherman, whose name has become synonymous with the ArtScroll Siddur, remembers: “More than 25 years ago, the original ArtScroll Siddur revolutionized Jewish awareness of prayer, and in just a few years it became the most popular Siddur in the world.”  People had never seen anything like it: crisp, modern typography and page layouts that made the prayers readable and clear; a luminous translation that captured the beauty and depth of the original; easy-to-follow, comprehensive instructions; a commentary that inspired and lent a new dimension to the prayer experience. “The ArtScroll Siddur was a historic work,” says Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, General Editor of ArtScroll and Co-Editor of the Siddur. “Never before had a Siddur enriched the tefillah of so many Jews across the Jewish spectrum worldwide.”  With more than a million copies in print, “The ArtScroll,” as it came to be known, became the Siddur of choice for a generation.
And now, for the first time in more than two decades, comes an expanded edition of the ArtScroll Siddur.
The first thing the reader sees when glancing through the Wasserman Edition is the superb, crystal clear typography. “The design was particularly challenging, since we did not want to change the page numbers from the original ArtScroll Siddur,” says Rabbi Sheah Brander, who designed both the original and the expanded Wasserman Siddur. “The world of typography has changed a lot over the years, and using state-of-the-art techniques we were able to pull off a miracle: clearer, larger type with the same page numbering!”
The Expanded Wasserman Siddur includes more than 100 pages of additional material, including a new Overview; Yom Kippur Kattan; Megillas Esther, Ruth and Koheles; Perek Shirah; the Six Constant Mitzvahs; Iggeres HaRamban; Prayer of the Sh’lah; Prayer at the Holy places in Israel, and a special section: The Laws, Customs, and Prayers in the Land of Israel.
Says Rabbi Zlotowitz: “I am especially proud of the historic association on this project with the princely Wasserman family. The new Wasserman Edition Siddur brings a user-friendly, expanded ArtScroll Siddur, in all its magnificence, to a new generation.”

Filed under: ArtScroll In the News, Book Reviews, Books, In the News, Inside ArtScroll Weekly, Media | Leave a Comment »

The Story behind the Story: A Talk with Yair Weinstock

Posted on July 22, 2010 by goldys

 As the author of many bestselling novels, including  Gordian Knot and Blackout, Yair Weinstock knows how to use the power of words to tell a gripping, unforgettable story. And as a collector of true tales, author of the popular Tales of the Soul and Once Upon a Story series, he knows how transformative (and entertaining!) a true story can be.
With the release of his newest book, Once Upon a Story 2, I asked Rabbi Weinstock to tell me a little about his stories.
And he told me a true story…

“I once wrote a story about a certain Chassidic rebbe who had a son who went off the derech, despite all his father’s efforts. After the rebbe died, he came to his son in a dream, telling him that if he didn’t do teshuvah he would be punished.
“The rebellious son laughed at the dream, even though it was repeated a few times. Finally, he had another dream. His father, the rebbe, told him he had no choice but to punish him, and he threw a heavy branch on his son’s legs. ‘You didn’t do teshuvah,’ the rebbe told his son, ‘and for seven generations your sons will limp.’
“And, indeed, the rebellious son awoke, and from that day forward he, and his children, walked with a limp.
“Not long after the story appeared, I got a call from a stranger in Petach Tikvah. ‘My father, and my grandfather, limp,’ the man told me, ‘and I do not. And do you know what: I am the eighth generation descendant of that famed rebbe. Rabbi Weinstock,’ the man continued, ‘I am a completely secular Jew, but after I read that story, I put on tefillin for the first time.’”

Stories, wonderful Jewish stories, are in Yair Weinstock’s blood. “My father was always full of stories,” he remembers. “Even when I was small, I would listen as he told them over to the older children. And then I would hear stories told over by the Chassidim of Lelov, at melaveh malkahs, rosh chodesh gatherings, and just general ‘after-davening’ talk.”
Now, he adds, after so many hundreds of his true stories have delighted tens of thousands of readers, the stories find him. “Readers call me, send letters,” Rabbi Weinstock says. “I see tremendous siyata d’Shmaya: just when I need a story, someone tells me one!”

And that is the story behind the story.

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Opening Hearts: A Conversation with Rabbi Binyomin Pruzansky

Posted on May 13, 2010 by goldys

Did you hear the story about the rebbe who became an open-heart surgeon without ever going to med school?

Okay, not quite. The rebbe is Rabbi Binyomin Pruzansky. And while he’s not actually putting in stents and pacemakers, he has been opening the hearts (not to mention touching the emotions and elevating the spirits) of the tens of thousands of readers of his Stories for the Jewish Heart series.

We caught up with Rabbi Pruzansky and spoke to him about his newest collection, Stories that Warm the Heart.

How did you become a storyteller?

I have always wanted to help people realize their potential. As a rebbe I realized that the way to a person’s heart is through a great story. A story is a powerful tool. When you hear about a person who overcame a challenge or did something remarkable you begin to realize that you too can overcome anything, you too can reach for the stars. It’s relevant, it’s real, and it’s inspiring.

How do you find those marvelous, one-of-a-kind stories that readers love?

The kind of story I like is one that is different, unpredictable and, of course, heartwarming. As I developed into a published writer and public speaker I found that people opened up to me more. People have so much hashgachah pratis in their lives but sometimes they fail to see it. I encourage people to dig a bit deeper into their lives and see the “Hand” of Hashem.
 Can stories change people’s lives?

Absolutely! Many of the stories in this book are personal accounts of people who had a life changing experience. They share how they grew spiritually or realized the power of one person to make a difference, and it imbued them with hope in Hashem and in themselves. When you read this kind of account it inspires you to be a better person, a better Jew. It gives you the power to believe in the incredible heart of Am Yisrael.
Tell us about your newest collection, Stories that Warm the Heart.

The stories are very diverse and speak to the hearts of men, women and teenagers alike. There’s a story about Holocaust-era menorah that leads a person back to Yiddishkeit and another about the miraculous answer to an autistic child’s prayer. There are stories of at-risk teenagers and stories about gedolim. Am Yisrael is so diverse and so remarkable, and these stories reflect that.

Filed under: ArtScroll In the News, Authors, Book Reviews, Books, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

The Story Behind the Stories: Two exciting new collections of stories from ArtScroll

Posted on March 2, 2010 by goldys

There’s something so special about a true story. The best true stories touch us and teach us; the very best will change the way we look at the world.
Two new books from ArtScroll are very different from each other, but they share one very important quality: as we read them we are entertained, we are inspired and, yes, we are changed.

 It Could Have Been You, by master storyteller Nachman Seltzer, takes us on a breathtaking journey to many different worlds. These never before published true stories are set in places as varied as Holocaust-era France and modern-day Jerusalem. They take place in a luxurious Swiss villa, an abandoned Ukrainian factory, a department store in Long Island. Wherever they are, they are unforgettable.
“When I started writing, I wrote the kind of stories that I felt I’d like to read,” Rabbi Seltzer says. “I saw that people really connected with them so I looked for more, and before I knew it there was a genre called ‘the Nachman Seltzer story’.”
So what makes a “Nachman Seltzer story” so good, so unusual, so memorable  — and so beloved by thousands of readers? It’s a mixture of Rabbi Seltzer’s fresh, vibrant writing – and stories with endings that surprise and astonish us. “Every single person has at least one amazing story that happened to them,” Rabbi Seltzer says. “The trick is being able to listen.”
Hidden Gems: Our Special Children by Ruchi Eisenbach is a collection of true stories about raising special children. We hear the voices of parents,
siblings, grandparents, and teachers, sharing the triumphs and the disappointments, the day-to-day challenges and the lifelong lessons. The word “inspiration” has become a cliché, but in this book the inspiration is truly there: in the story of the family that adopted five (!) children with Down’s syndrome; in the honest words of the mother who speaks about the difficult choice of putting her daughter into an institution. A blind woman tells how one woman’s kindness changed her life, and a disabled student walks a few steps and teaches his class an unforgettable lesson.
The author, herself the mother of a special needs child, remembers: “I started writing about three years ago. B’chasdei Hashem I found that when I wrote from my heart, the words just came. I thought it would strengthen others… but it truly strengthened me.”

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From Radin to Your Dining Room: The Family Lesson a Day

Posted on January 11, 2010 by goldys

The shemiras halashon revolution began in the town of Radin, with the writings of Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan, zt’l: Sefer Chofetz Chaim and Sefer Shemiras HaLashon. Decades later, the Manchester Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Yehuda Zev Segal zt’l, suggested that his talmidim study the laws of shemiras halashon, of guarding one’s tongue from forbidden speech, on a daily basis, following a set calendar. This daily cycle of study – which Rav Segal called “my passport to olam haba” – became accepted throughout many yeshivas.

Then, in 1989, with the inspiration and active participation of Rav Segal, the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation was founded. Working together with ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, they launched the daily study of these laws in hundreds of thousands of homes through the bestselling books, A Lesson a Day and Chofetz Chaim: A Daily Companion.

And now – just in time for the new cycle of shemiras halashon study, which begins on Rosh Chodesh Shevat (January 16), comes the next step in the revolution: The Family Lesson a Day.

Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, coauthor (with Rabbi Yitzchak Berkowitz) of A Lesson a Day, speaks of his newest book, The Family Lesson a Day: “The past few summers in Camp Agudah I delivered a daily fifteen minute shiur in Sefer Chofetz Chaim for senior campers and staff. I endeavored to spice each lesson with stories and parables that bring the laws to life and show their relevance today. I thought a book of this style would be appreciated by all ages, and I embarked on the project. The book follows Rav Segal’s calendar. Each lesson is based on Sefer Chofetz Chaim, with a sidebar that has an inspirational excerpt from Sefer Shemiras HaLashon.”

 A CCHF staffer explains the goals of this newest work. “We wanted a book that would appeal to youngsters, to teens, and to the oldest members of the family. One with stories to inspire, explain, and enlighten, so that a parent could easily read it together with the children at a supper table. What Daf Yomi study is for men – shemiras halashon study is for families. This is the easiest way to bring the blessing of shemiras halashon to the family.”

Tens of thousands have already felt those blessings – in improved relationships, greater shalom bayis, and in the abundant berachos promised to those who are careful in their speech. Now the entire family can together bring these blessings into the home, with The Family Lesson a Day.

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“My Father’s Voice”: Rabbi Moshe Schwab talks about his illustrious father, Rabbi Shimon Schwab zt’l, and his newly released book Rav Schwab on Yeshayahu

Posted on December 31, 2009 by goldys

Rabbi Moshe Schwab, eldest son of Rav Shimon Schwab zt’l, has adapted his father’s shiurim into the written word, bringing their wisdom and insight to tens of thousands of readers in Rav Schwab on Prayer, Rav Schwab on Iyov and the recently  published Rav Schwab on Yeshayahu. Here are Rabbi Moshe Schwab’s memories of his illustrious father and his thoughts and insights on his books.

“My father zt’l taught his congregants almost all of Tanach in his Sunday morning series of shiurim during his 37 year tenure as Rav of K’Hal  Adas  Jeshurun of Washington Heights. Fortunately, most of these shiurim were audio-taped, so I had a treasure-trove of material from which to work. I selected Father’s shiurim on tefillah as the first to be adapted, in Rav Schwab on Prayer, because these were his last public shiurim and represented his final interpretation of the meaning of our tefillos.

“As my next project,  I selected  Father’s shiurim on Iyov because of its treatment of the  classic  dilemma  of the  suffering tzaddik, and my father’s  highly  insightful and unflinchingly human, yet emunah-based, treatment of it. He often talked about this problem. In the shiurim on Iyov, my father’s deep-seated, unshakeable faith in the truth of God’s judgment comes to the fore. 

“Next, I selected Yeshayahu because of my father’s understanding of the timeless messages of this greatest of our Neviim Acharonim, and his interpretation of them as they relate to our times. Another reason I selected Yeshayahu was because in these shiurim my father wove his vast knowledge of Jewish and world history into the context of the prophecies of Yeshayahu, making them more readily understandable.

“As I listened to my father’s rich voice on the tapes, his voice rising or falling, emulating the Navi’s emotions as he alternated between powerful blasts of condemnation and touchingly beautiful promises of a blissful future for the Jewish people, I transferred these into a literary style which I believe my father would have used had he written his thoughts instead of articulating them in lectures. I chose style and language that were both easy to follow and true to the intent of my father. I wanted my father’s voice to come through, so that those who knew him and heard him could read the text and imagine hearing him speak the words that they were reading.”

Filed under: Author Interviews, Authors, Book Reviews | Leave a Comment »

Posted on December 10, 2009 by goldys

“The Stories Find Me”:
A conversation with Rabbi Yechiel Spero

As I read through Rabbi Yechiel Spero’s newest book, A Touch of Inspiration, what amazes me most is the variety of the stories. This is his thirteenth  book and the stories are still fresh, unusual, and, yes, totally inspiring. The people he introduces us to are incredibly varied: a banker in Haifa, a “kid-at-risk” in 19th century Europe, a rabbi in a Staten Island ice-cream store,  a bestselling author (yes, it’s Rabbi Spero himself!) on a lecture tour.
Let’s hear what this beloved author has to tell us about his stories.

ArtScroll: Thirteen books, hundreds of stories! Where do you find them?
Rabbi Spero: Stories surround all of us; every day there are new ones. Most often the stories find me. Whenever I am writing, I have the siyata D’Shmaya to find more.  Many people email me their stories. I once leafed through a 50-year-old Jewish textbook that my mother had used in high school. The pages were brittle, but the story I found in it was magnificent.

ArtScroll: Your stories all touch the hearts and souls of your tens of thousands of readers. How do you choose them?
Rabbi Spero: The moment I hear a good story I write down the highlights so that I don’t forget it. After that, I share the story with others. Sometimes I think I have a great story but the audience might not agree. Almost always, I will defer to them.

ArtScroll: What makes a good story great?
Rabbi Spero: One secret of a good story is to find the underdog and rally the reader to root for him.  And a story without a lesson is no story at all. Stories are meant to teach us, we have to think about the story and reflect on its message.

ArtScroll: Do you have any personal favorites?
Rabbi Spero: A story about the Stropkover Rebbe, which appears in A Touch of Inspiration. The Rebbe survived the concentration camps with nothing. No family. Nothing but a few scraps of paper. On them were the names of men who died in the camps, with witnesses testifying to their death. He saved them so that he could help their wives remarry if they survived. Picture the scene: a man with nothing but a few scraps of paper. For himself, he has nothing. But for others he is prepared to do anything. Living for someone else. Isn’t  that what life is all about? That’s a beautiful story!

Filed under: Authors, Book Reviews, Books, Inside ArtScroll Weekly, New Releases, Non-Fiction | Leave a Comment »

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