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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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.”

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

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.

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

Nachum speaks with Rabbi Shimshon Sherer about his brand new book: Rabbi Sherer

Posted on December 3, 2009 by goldys

Nachum speaks with Rabbi Shimshon Sherer about his brand new book: Rabbi Sherer . Click here to listen to the full show.

Filed under: ArtScroll In the News, Audio Interviews, Author Appearances, In the News, Radio, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

The Public and the Private Man: Rabbi Sherer: The paramount Torah spokesman of our era

Posted on November 16, 2009 by goldys

Last week, when the biography of Rabbi Moshe Sherer went to press, the excitement in the ArtScroll office was palpable. Many ArtScroll staffers had personally known Rabbi Sherer, who led Agudath Israel of America for over four decades, and who was arguably the most effective Jewish lay leader of his time. They had experienced firsthand his warmth and caring; they had seen his rock-like dedication to the principles of emunas chachamim and selfless service to the Jewish people, as well as his wisdom.
Capturing both the achievements and the personality of a man as talented, energetic, and multi-faceted as Rabbi Sherer was a challenge – and a pleasure, says author Yonoson Rosenblum, biographer of such luminaries as Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, and Reb Elimelech Gavriel (Mike)  Tress. Reb Yonoson interviewed over 100 people before beginning to write. He spent hours poring over Rabbi Sherer’s thousands of letters, memos, and notes, as well as boxes of transcripts of the “aides-memoire” that he dictated at the end of every event-filled day. “Rabbi Sherer had an eye to the future and a sense of history – a biographer’s delight,” says Yonoson.

Rabbi Sherer was at home in many worlds. He was the servant and confidant of great Torah sages and a friend and adviser of people in the highest echelons of power, but he was attentive to the needs of the humblest Jew. Much that we take for granted today was shepherded by him through Congress and the courts. Even more: He rescued Torah life from the American melting pot, and helped build it into the vibrant and growing entity of today.
In this beautifully crafted biography we learn about both the public and private Rabbi Sherer. We meet those who inspired him and shaped him: his mother; his mentor, Mike Tress; and two generations of gedolei hador. We get an inside look at governors, mayors, and legislators — even Presidents. We go behind the scenes of the legal battles to strengthen Torah life and secret activities to rescue Jews in danger.

This is a book of history, but it is much more; it is a life-transforming work. As Yonoson Rosenblum says, “No one can read this book and not know what his responsibility is to each and every person, and each and every Jew, that he meets.”

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Westhampton Hadassah Chapter Honors Susie Fishbein as Woman of the Year

Posted on July 21, 2008 by sandersny

Susie Fishbein, Author, Kosher by Design Series

The Westhampton Beach area Pioneer Chapter of Hadassah Women has named Susie Fishbein, creator of the Kosher by Design cookbook series, Woman of the Year.  She was honored at a gala luncheon at the Bath and Tennis Club in Westhampton Beach on Monday, August 11th.  Fishbein conducted a cooking demonstration, with the lunch menu drawn from her popular recipes.

Emerging from near obscurity with the publication of the original “Kosher by Design” (ArtScroll Mesorah Publications) in 2003, Fishbein is credited with launching a makeover in kosher cuisine. Her five best selling cookbooks have sold over 300,000 copies.  In April, her fifth book, “Passover by Design”, captured front page attention in the New York Times.

While Fishbein’s recipes have inspired tens of thousands to new heights of culinary creativity at home, the Hadassah chapter’s choice to honor her as Woman of the Year was more of a relational decision.

”She’s my ‘famous’ sister-in-law,” says Elisa Greenbaum, VP of Education for the Westhampton Pioneer Chapter.  “Women and men who have her cookbooks get excited when they learn that I’m related to the kosher equivalent of Martha Stewart and Rachel Ray.  Plus she is a wife and mother with a busy career who understands what the rest of us feel and face when it comes to cooking and entertaining today.”

Booked deep into 2010, Fishbein’s coast-to-coast lectures and cooking demonstrations are frequently sold out, standing room only events. Two unusual upcoming events for Fishbein include a Thanksgiving week cooking clinic at the exclusive Bayit Ba’Galil Spa, nestled in a forested part of Israel’s Upper Galilee region, as well as a cooking demo cruise to the Caribbean the week of Jan. 18th on Kosherica Cruise Lines. She has just completed work on her sixth project, “Kosher by Design Lightens Up: Fabulous food for healthier living”, due out in November. 

This year’s Hadassah luncheon was the Pioneer chapter’s thirteenth year. “Our bar mitzvah year,” says Elisa Greenbaum, who also was one of the chairpersons for the popular event.  Attendees were treated to informal modeling by chapter members, with fashions provided by Saks Fifth Avenue of Southampton. Trendy boutiques, unique raffle prizes, and gift bags filled with fine samples rounded out the event.

Filed under: Author Tour, In the News, Susie Fishbein News! | Leave a Comment »

Five Towns Jewish Times Reviews "A Mother’s Musings"

Posted on June 30, 2008 by sandersny

Bassi Gruen’s brand new book A Mother’s Musings was just reviewed by another musing mother, Five Town’s resident Phyllis Lubin, who authors a weekly column ironically by the same name as Bassi’s book! Following her review, it appears her column’s title is shifting.

Here’s a link to A(nother) Mother’s Musings as featured in the Five Towns Jewish Times. Click HERE.

Also, we’ve included a previous review of A Mother’s Musings here on the Inside ArtScroll Blog, viewable HERE.

Filed under: Book Reviews, In the News | Leave a Comment »

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