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.”

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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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A Vital New Book by Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski M.D. and leah Shifrin Averick, LCSW: In-Laws: It’s All Relative

Posted on February 1, 2010 by goldys

Mazel tov! The happy chosson beams, the kallah glows – a new Jewish home is being created.
Also being created are: a new son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law and two sets of mechatunim.
Wow. New home. New relationships. And a whole set of new challenges.

Leah Shifrin Averick knows all about those challenges. The Chicago-based social worker remembers, “When I became a mother-in-law I got interested in the dynamics of in-law relationships. I researched the topic by interviewing more than two hundred people from various backgrounds.” The research eventually turned into a successful book on in-law relations.

Mrs. Averick approached Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, the famed psychiatrist and author, for a blurb for that book, which he gave. Some years later, they decided to collaborate on a book on in-law relationships for the Jewish world. The result: the acclaimed new book, In-Laws: It’s All Relative.

Rabbi Dr. Twerski explains the importance of such a book. “I have seen many cases of marriages that were seriously affected by in-law problems,” he says. “I came up with the RESPECT formula. If we exercise Restraint, Effort, Sensitivity, Patience, Empathy, Consideration and Tolerance, many in-law problems can be prevented or resolved.”

In-Laws: It’s All Relative is a fascinating compendium of Rabbi Dr. Twerski’s trademark combination of psychiatric insight and Torah wisdom, together with Mrs. Averick’s clinical experience and understanding of the many issues that in-laws – both married children and their parents – must deal with. We learn how unconscious processes might be affecting our in-law relationships and how following the wisdom of Torah teachings can smooth out the rocky paths in front of us. We get practical guidelines in the day-to-day interactions that mark the in-law relationship, and answers to many common questions: What should I call my new mother-in-law? How often should I visit my newly-married son and his wife? How do I deal with mechatunim who have very different ideas of how lavish a wedding our children should have? And, of course, we enjoy the many stories of in-law interactions, both failed and successful, that two top therapists have encountered in their decades of experience.

Excellent in-law relationships, maintain the authors, are possible, and vital. “King David is the great-great grandson of Ruth, the woman who was good to her mother-in-law,” Mrs. Averick reminds us. “From this woman shall come Mashiach ben David. Out of that seed of kindness and understanding shall come forth peace.”

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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!

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Mothers to Mothers: The story behind the stories

Posted on October 22, 2009 by goldys


In Mothers to Mothers, author Julie Hauser looks at mothering through the eyes – and voices –  of thirty different mothers, as well as experts in chinuch and childrearing. Below, Julie talks about how this remarkable new book came to be:

As part of my studies, I participated in a research project focusing on mothering. My task was to interview two Orthodox Jewish mothers with more than five children each.  I was a newlywed with no idea how rich the mothering experience could be.
One of the women, a rebbetzin, said that when she was a young mother she enjoyed camaraderie with women her own age, but for serious advice she looked to older, more experienced mothers who had already been there. That observation planted a seed that didn’t begin to take root until I became a mother myself.

I’d looked, but couldn’t find books about the experience of being a frum mother. I found excellent Jewish books about discipline, chinuch, communication, etc. But there was nothing about the identity of the Jewish mother. The secular books available were incomplete without Torah hashkafah, without an understanding of our unique culture, and without a spin of positivity and Jewish growth. I enjoy listening to people and I have access to a large variety of people.  So I took on the challenge to write a book like that myself!

The interviews:

I really loved the moments when I saw women begin realizing things about their own selves, and watching them appreciate themselves in new ways, prompted by the thoughts my questions spurred.
 
I loved hearing the hashgachah pratis stories, and I loved joining other women in their homes, following them around while they made rugelach, folded laundry, prepared for Pesach, or just sipped tea in their homes or mine. I felt like a fly on the wall, a fly with a mission.

What surprised me most was that certain people whom I would have never suspected told me they experienced PPD- postpartum depression. Out of more than 30 women whom I interviewed, 4 of them told me they had experienced it! That’s a pretty high percentage. That’s why I felt it necessary to include the separate section on PPD, including their personal accounts as well as resources for help for the condition.
 
Putting this whole book together has been an absolute pleasure, eye-opener, and huge growth vehicle for me, both as a mother and as a Jewish woman.

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The Many Facets of Torah: ArtScroll’s Library of Chumash Commentaries

Posted on October 19, 2009 by goldys

For centuries our wisest men have turned their discerning eyes to the eternal words of the Torah, and each of their commentaries have revealed some aspect of its truths to us. As we begin a new cycle of the Torah readings, ArtScroll has more than forty commentaries on the parashah. The full selection can be found at Artscroll.com, but here is a small sampling:

The Sapirstein Rashi:. The depth and clarity of Rashi’s commentary has engaged the minds of the Jewish People for over 800 years. In this masterful treatment, with its flowing translation, notes, and elucidation within the text, we learn just what is bothering Rashi, why he chooses to cite certain Midrashim, and why he explains the p’shat, the simple meaning, of a verse in a specific way. You can’t understand the Chumash without Rashi, and this exceptional work ensures that you can, indeed, comprehend Rashi in all its many facets.

Ramban on the Torah: An international team of exceptional scholars, writers, and editors have opened Ramban’s (Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman) commentary to the English-speaking world. In this brilliant work, Ramban is presented in the manner of the Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud, with each original Hebrew phrase followed by a literal English translation, followed by an “elucidation” that explains Ramban’s words  in greater detail. Introductions to each section make even the Ramban’s most complex insights understandable.

The Davis Edition Ba’al HaTurim: In addition to his masterwork, Arba Turim, which formed the basis for the Shulchan Aruch, the Baal HaTurim examined the Torah’s words through the lens of gematria (number patterns), acrostics, formations of letters, and Scriptural word patterns. Though it appeared in virtually every Chumash, the terse style made it very difficult for even scholars to understand. This work, with flowing translation, notes and annotations, opens the author’s unique understanding of Chumash to all of us.

 Sforno on Torah: Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno was a 16th-century Italian commentator whose insights are as relevant today as they were then. This volume includes the entire Chumash text and translation as well as the most accurate version of Sforno, complete in one volume.

Bereishis/Genesis: This classic work features a flowing translation, overviews, and a commentary anthologized from 2,000 years of Talmudic and Rabbinic sources.
Whether you want to better understand a classic commentary, need a comprehensive digest of major commentators, or are looking for a contemporary classic – such as ArtScroll’s new instant bestseller, Aleinu L’Shabei’ach — there is an ArtScroll Chumash commentary for you.

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“In the beginning”: Three important new books as we begin Sefer Bereishis

Posted on October 16, 2009 by goldys

Parashas hashavuah, the weekly Torah portion, sets our agenda:  for the Torah reading, for the Shabbos table, and, hopefully, for our lives. As another cycle of the Torah reading begins, ArtScroll offers three new and important books to enrich our understanding of the weekly parashah:

The Essential Malbim: Flashes of Insight on Bereishis: Since its publication almost 150 years ago, the Torah commentary of Malbim has made a major contribution to our understanding of Torah thought. In order to open this treasure of Jewish thought to the general public, Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Ohr Somayach, and Rabbi Reuven Subar, have written a series of essays based on the essentials of Malbim’s commentary on Sefer Bereishis. These brilliant essays deepen our awe for the Torah’s infinite wisdom; give us a new understanding of the connection between the Oral and Written law; and introduce us to a masterful Torah giant.

Aleinu L’Shabei’ach – Bereishis: Wisdom, stories, and inspiration: A huge bestseller in Hebrew, tens of thousands of copies of Aleinu L’Shabei’ach have been read and re-read by a vast and varied group: Torah scholars and laymen, students and teachers, men and women. Based on the private writings, shiurim, and conversations with Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein, a son-in-law of Rav Elyashiv shlita, and a noted rav and posek in his own right, Aleinu L’Shabei’ach is a remarkable compendium of Torah wisdom, stories of great men, anecdotes, mussar, and insight into our daily lives and challenges. Far more than a storybook, every tale, every moral teaching, is infused with emunah and bitachon.

Torah for Your Table: Compiled by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, bestselling author, renowned speaker, and founder of the pioneering outreach organization Hineni, this is a beautifully crafted collection of essays on the parashah, written by her sons, Rabbis Yisroel and Osher Anshel Jungreis. The authors draw deeply upon the wisdom of Chazal to help us better understand the parashah — and our own lives. With this new book, the Jungreis family continues their holy mission to bring Torah to Jews; wherever they are and whatever their level of observance.  Whether you are a newcomer to Torah thought or have dedicated many years to its study, this is a book that will enhance your Shabbos table, and your life.

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“Pure Frand”: It’s Never Too Little; It’s Never Too Late; It’s Never Enough

Posted on September 18, 2009 by goldys

intlh[1]In a spellbinding address to more than 100,000 participants in the 11th Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi, Rabbi Yissocher Frand beautifully encapsulated the Jews’ obligation to study Torah: “It’s never too little; it’s never too late; it’s never enough.” Those electrifying words also serve as the title to his just-released and eagerly awaited new book: It’s Never Too Little; It’s Never Too Late; It’s Never Enough — and other timeless insights for challenging times.
Like his other hugely popular books, including Frand in Print, An Offer You Can’t Refuse, and Listen to Your Messages, this new book is “pure Frand” — containing insights based on profound Torah scholarship, illustrated by unusual stories of great people, both famed Torah personalities and the neighbor next door. These are ideas firmly rooted in Torah’s eternity, but speaking clearly to our 21st-century concerns and challenges.
It’s never too late, proclaims Rabbi Frand — never too late to do teshuvah. Rabbi Frand helps us with our own process of teshuvah by showing us how to create our very own “mission statement” through examining the esoteric concept of gilgulim, reincarnation. That’s pure Frand. At first glance it’s hard to find the connection between the evil King Menashe’s incredible act of repentance and the very last cheeseburger eaten by a college football fan in Omaha, Nebraska, but it turns out that we can learn from them both one of the most effective means of doing teshuvah. Pure Frand.
What does the collapse of the Wall Street firm Bear Stearns have to do with the sa’ir hamishtalei’ach, the scapegoat thrown over a cliff during the Yom Kippur avodah — and what do they both have to do with our lives and our teshuvah? With brilliance, empathy, understanding, and humor, Rabbi Frand pulls together varying threads and weaves them into an essay that transforms lives.
When reading Rabbi Frand’s unforgettable new work, we realize that, indeed, it’s never too little — even one essay can change the way we look at the world; it’s never too late — if you are one of the few readers whose life hasn’t yet been touched by Rabbi Frand’s books, you can start right now!; and, yes, it’s never enough — every essay is a gem, every insight is a treasure, and when we’ve finished Rabbi Frand’s book we’re waiting, eagerly waiting, for the next one!

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“Little Dovi” comes to shul: The Elefant Edition ArtScroll Children’s Machzor

Posted on September 3, 2009 by mzjerusalem

Rosh HaShanah. Mid-morning. Stillness descends upon the congregation, broken only by the powerful yet trembling voice of the chazzan as he begins the sacred words of the timeless prayer, “Unesaneh Tokef.”
And then little Dovi crunches on his pretzels.

It’s not easy, being a youngster in shul. You don’t know what the words mean. You don’t understand why all the big people look so sad (though, after being told for the third time to sit still, you’re feeling pretty sad yourself…) You finished the snacks that were supposed to last you through lunchtime in the first fifteen minutes, and now you’re bored, bored, BORED!
Unless your parents were wise enough to give you The Elefant Edition ArtScroll Children’s Machzor for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur by popular children’s author, Shmuel Blitz.

Shmuel Blitz began his career as an author by putting kids to sleep. His Bedtime Stories for Children series, which debuted 13 years ago, was hailed by tens of thousands of parents and their children, and “Blitz-at-bedtime’’ became a recognized phenomena in Jewish homes throughout the world.
But if the carefully chosen stories, short format (beautifully suited to a tired child’s attention span), and entertaining illustrations of the Bedtime Stories was the perfect way to put a child to sleep, what could keep that same youngster awake, alert, and engaged during the hours he or she would spend in shul? How could the beauty of Jewish prayer be conveyed in a way that a young child would most appreciate?
Using his popular, kid-friendly format, that had been so successful, Shmuel Blitz created the ArtScroll Children’s Siddur. For the first time, youngsters had a siddur designed especially for them. It contained eye-catching illustrations, translations that they could understand, and fun facts and “did-you-know’s” that entertained as they educated. The Children’s Siddur – and the Children’s Hagaddah, Megillahs, and Tehillim — became a beloved part of school, home, and, particularly, the shul experience.
And now, finally, youngsters can enrich their Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur davening as well, with the newly-released Elefant Editon ArtScroll Children’s Machzor. The machzor has all the features children have learned to love: wonderful pictures, age-appropriate translations, and fascinating facts. Children will learn why we blow shofar, what the simanim stand for, and what Yom Kippur really means. They will follow along the major prayers. Most important of all, children – yes, even “little Dovi’’ –  will develop warm and positive feelings for the tefillos and for shul, feelings that will stay with them long after they’ve grown up.

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When Reality Meets Imagination: Two absorbing novels for great summer reading

Posted on July 12, 2009 by mzjerusalem

 “Rebbe,” the sulky young man said, avoiding his teacher’s eyes, “you talk about teshuvah, you say a person can change, but you don’t really believe it. You think Yom Kippur only works for you, not for anyone else.”

Dov Haller, a young teacher in a New York high school realized, with a start, that his angry student was correct.

This teenager was sulky, but he was also observant. He’d noticed the look on Rabbi Haller’s face when the name of a certain student who’d been caught shoplifting some years before was mentioned. Though the student had confessed and had changed his ways, the memory of his lapse was still following him, as the boy’s astute friend realized. “It’s all about labels,” he told Rabbi Haller. “You mess up once; you keep the label forever.”

Years later Rabbi Haller, now a bestselling author, remembered the scene and, with the courage to tackle sensitive issues that characterizes him, decided to examine the problem of stigma and labeling. A Promising Past, Dov Haller’s newest novel, centers around Ezzy Markstein, who, like that real-life student so long ago, “messed up” once – and cannot live down his failure.

The best fiction comes when imagination meets reality, when a core of truth combines with the novelist’s eye and pen. Rabbi Haller incorporates true personalities and events even in his wildest flights of imagination – and that’s makes his novels so readable.

This same combination of reality and imagination fuels another can’t-put-down novel:  The Network by Nachman Seltzer. At first glance the two books couldn’t seem more different: A Promising Past takes place in contemporary Torah-observant society, The Network’s non-stop action travels the globe, involving neo-Nazis, Mossad agents, yeshivah students and the Vatican. And yet in The Network, too, there is that core of truth.  “The Network is about what is happening all around the world,” says Nachman Seltzer. “Anti-Semitism is real.  The question I’m trying to answer is: Where does it begin?” Though the plot twists leave the reader breathless, Rabbi Seltzer insists that he’s reflecting reality. “People think it can’t happen,” he says. “If I would have told you that a few Arabs in planes would bring down the World Trade Center, no one would have believed that either. Events like these can happen – and sometimes do.”

A Promising Past and The Network: two very different novels that combine reality and imagination to create unforgettable reading experiences, perfect for summer reading!

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