The Blog @ ArtScroll.com

“When I first became religious,” the young man told me, “the English Kitzur that I received for my bar mitzvah taught me everything. It became my ‘rav.’”
No sefer can ever really replace a flesh and blood rabbi, of course, but if there is one halachah work that can give every Jew, scholar and layman alike,  a concise and understandable explanation of halachah, it is the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch.
Now, with the publication of the fifth volume of The Kleinman Edition Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, the set is complete.
Written in 1864, reprinted more than twenty times in the lifetime of its author, Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried, and hundreds of times since, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch is one of the most widely disseminated halachah sefarim of all time. It is a masterpiece of clarity, the classic guide to the laws of daily living for Ashkkenazic Torah-observant Jewry – as usable and relevant today as it was 125 years ago.
Dedicated with great vision by Elly and Brochie Kleinman, The Kleinman Edition Kitzur Shulchan Aruch has made the timeless words of the Kitzur widely available to the English-speaking public, making this classic work useful in an unprecedented way. Using the integrated style of ArtScroll’s Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud, the Kleinman Edition of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch offers readers a fully vowelized Hebrew text, followed by a phrase by phrase translation and elucidation, as well as introductions to explain unfamiliar concepts. To make the Kitzur even more useful as a contemporary halachic reference, the footnotes include rulings from the Chofetz Chaim’s halachic classic, Mishneh Berurah, and from Rav Moshe Feinstein’s Igros Moshe, whenever their rulings differed from those of Rav Ganzfried.
The newly-released fifth, final volume in the set covers the gamut of the Jewish life cycle, including the laws of marriage, chupah and sheva berachos and an extraordinarily comprehensive yet concise section on hilchos nidah; the halachos of bris milah and chinuch banim, bikur cholim and aveilus. Also included is a section on the halachos of business law, loans and interest, damages and beis din.
The Kitzur is, in a sense, the “rav” of the Jewish people. And now, with the completion of The Kleinman Edition Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, we can all learn from this  beloved “rav.”

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We were all at Sinai together — and now some of us cannot even read the alef-beis.
Think about it. More than 80% of American Jews, it is estimated, cannot read Hebrew. If Torah is what defines us, what sets us apart, how can we expect someone who has never heard of Avraham Avinu to become aware of the rich heritage and literature of Judaism?
For fifteen years ArtScroll’s Stone Edition Tanach, with its Hebrew text and English translation, has brought the wisdom and beauty of the Torah to the English-speaking world. Hundreds of thousands have studied its illuminating translation and through it have developed a better understanding of the words of Torah.

There are so many Jews, though, who might feel uncomfortable using a Bible that includes the original Hebrew, a language they do not understand. It is for these millions of Jews that ArtScroll has published the ArtScroll English Tanach: The Jewish Bible with insights from classic rabbinic thought.

The English Tanach is drawn from the Stone Edition Tanach, both in the English translation and in much of the commentary, but there is no Hebrew text at all, making it appropriate for Jews who have no Hebrew skills. In addition, there are many enhancements and modifications that make it suitable for the novice. The English Tanach includes biblical reference maps, timelines, and lists of genealogies, as well as a unique “Tanach at a Glance” section to help the beginner. A “Suggested Guide for Further Jewish Study” helps curious Jews learn more about their heritage.

Without true Torah knowledge, Jews are particularly vulnerable to the dangers of assimilation. Moreover, missionaries have budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars – and “bibles” that are designed to push their own agendas. An authentic Bible based on the rabbinical commentaries of two millennia will become an important weapon in the battle against Jewish ignorance and illiteracy.

For those of us blessed with Torah education and knowledge, The English Tanach is a meaningful and effective way for us to gently help our less educated brethren. Whether it is a Jewish co-worker who has shown curiosity about the Torah or relatives who think that bar or bat mitzvahs mark the end of all things Jewish in their lives, The English Tanach can be a life-transforming gift and a non-threatening way to begin our efforts at kiruv.

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It’s an emotional moment as ArtScroll gears up to mark its “Siyum Mishnayos.” There are many feeling being shared in the office at the completion of this monumental 31-year project: feelings of satisfaction and pride, feelings of great joy and gratitude – to the dedicators who made this monumental project possible, to the writers and editors who have produced this unparalleled piece of work, and to the hundreds of thousands of readers who have made the Yad Avraham Mishnah Series the most highly acclaimed translation and commentary of its kind.
The Yad Avraham Mishnah Series was introduced more than three decades ago with its inaugural volume, Volume 4 of Seder Moed, which includes Masechtos Taanis, Megillah, Moed Katan, and Chagigah. The “ArtScroll Revolution,” which would transform the English-speaking Torah world, was in its infancy; ArtScroll had published its first groundbreaking book, Megillas Esther, less than four years earlier. The ArtScroll Siddur, the Stone Chumash, the Schottenstein Talmud – all household words today – were still just dreams and hopes.
It was an exciting, ambitious idea: a new, clear translation of Mishnah, with a commentary that would cover the range of all major, and many secondary, commentaries. In-depth introductions would precede each tractate, and new concepts would be introduced and explained. Illustrative diagrams would be included to explain concepts difficult to grasp without the help of graphics.
The first volume – and the ones that followed – were hailed by readers, talmidei chachamim and laymen alike. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of people have enriched their lives and their Torah studies with the Yad Avraham Mishnah. With the release of the personal-size Yad Avraham Mishnah, commuters and students found it even more convenient to make the study of Mishnah an integral part of their day.
Now, with the publication of the 44th volume, Masechtos Tvul Yom/Yadayim/Uktzin in Seder Tohoros, the Yad Avraham Mishnah is complete.
To mark this very special moment, ArtScroll is offering a 35% discount off the list price on all volumes of the Yad Avraham Mishnah Series. This is the perfect opportunity to fill in any missing volumes or to buy full size or personal size sets, both for yourself and for gifts.

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Chanukah is coming to an end. The sufganiyot and latkes and elegant cheese dishes will soon be just a memory (and maybe a few added inches around the waist…). The dancing glow of the menorah’s lights reflected in children’s eyes, the parties and get-togethers and games of dreidel, the holiday’s eternal message of faith and miracles – all these beloved traditions of Chanukah are over.
But even though Chanukah is gone, ArtScroll’s annual Chanukah sale is still going strong, something to warm us in the upcoming cold winter days. Until December 20th, you can save 20% on every single ArtScroll book.
In this leap year, with its two Adars, you’re going to need some serious inspiration to get through the extra long winter. Treat yourself to Malky Feig’s latest bestseller, Mountain Climbers 2 and meet a varied assortment of amazing people who have faced their challenges with grace and courage.
If you’re one of the few people who didn’t give, or get, Susie Fishbein’s incredible new cookbook, Kosher by Design Teens and Twenty-somethings, for Chanukah, grab it now. You can taste those Mexican Pizza Empanadas that everyone’s been talking about, defy the winter with Frozen Banana Pops, or get cozy with Mexican Hot Chocolate with Cinnamon Stick garnish. It’s yum – and it’s 20% off!
Winter and summer, holidays and everyday – a Jew learns. During this incredible sale you’ll save 20% on every volume of the Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud. Now would be the perfect time to add the inaugural volume of ArtScroll/Mesorah’s monumental new project, Midrash Rabbah, or the newly-released 7-volume, slip-cased Popular Size Ramban, to your library.
As our weekly Torah reading approaches Sefer Shemos, with its detailed descriptions of the Mishkan, take a unique interactive tour of the Mishkan and its vessels, in The Kleinman Edition Mishkan DVD. Or think ahead: you can get Hagaddahs, Megillos, Selichos – all at (you guessed it) 20% off the retail price.
Whether you choose brand new, engrossing novels like Yael Mermelstein’s Second Chances or serious, classic works like the Sapirstein Rashi; whether you want to enjoy Shmuel Blitz’s beloved children’s books or the acclaimed new Expanded Wasserman Edition ArtScroll Siddur – whatever your needs, whatever your taste, now is the time to treat yourself or a loved one to a surprise post-Chanukah gift – an ArtScroll/Mesorah book, at 20% off!

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“Have you got the canvas unrolled?” “Sure.”
“Did you find the hammer and the screws?” “Yup.”
“Are the lanterns and posters ready to be hung up?” “Absolutely.”
“Did you get the esrog you were hoping for?” “Baruch Hashem.”
“Have you thought at all about the meaning of Succos?”  “Uhh…”

Yes, it’s the busiest time of year, with succah preparations, purchase of the most mehudar esrog we can afford, and all that holiday cooking. As we come into the Succos and Shemini Atzeres holidays, though, let us ensure that we have also prepared ourselves for “the time of our joy” – through the many ArtScroll books that open the beauty and significance of the yom tov to us. Here’s a sampling:

Succos machzor: On Rosh Hashanah our prayers were passionate and heartfelt; on Yom Kippur they were deep with our tears. Now, on Succos, it’s harder to achieve those transcendent spiritual moments. The ArtScroll Succos machzor, with its readable translation, illuminating commentary, attractive design and clear halachos and instructions helps bring put the fervor back into our prayers.

The Lulav and Esrog Handbook:  A clear presentation of the laws of the Four Species, with full color photos and diagrams, as well as fascinating divrei Torah. A must for anyone who is choosing his own esrog and lulav!
Succos: Its Significance, Laws, and Prayers: Of all the holy days in the Jewish calendar, only Succos is called “the time of our joy.” Why is this week marked by an explosion of jubilation? What is the significance of the humble, fragile succah-booth? What is the lesson of the Four Species? This volume contains a rich treasury of observances, laws, insights, and prayers.
Simchas Torah/Shemini Atzeres: Its Significance, Laws, and Prayers: Another in the acclaimed ArtScroll Holiday Series, this book captures the mood, the traditions, the laws, the significance, the history, the beauty of Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah.

And for the children…

Succos with Bina, Benny, and Chaggai HaYonah: Join Bina, Benny and their winged friend, Chaggai the holiday dove, in these fun-filled, fact-filled adventures by beloved children’s author Yaffa Ganz.
My First Book of Jewish Holidays:  The story of every Jewish holiday, and the laws that even youngsters can understand, are explained and beautifully illustrated. Bring a sparkle to your children’s yom tov with this bestseller from master storyteller Shmuel Blitz.
  (more…)

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For me, Chodesh Elul came early this year.
It was in the steaming month of Tammuz, and my assignment for the day was to write cover copy for A Touch of Purity, Rabbi Yechiel Spero’s new book on teshuvah, repentance.
In the first chapter I read how the great men of previous generations reacted to Elul. This was classic Rabbi Spero: a combination of stories that left me feeling inspired to be the best person I could become together with Rabbi Spero’s insights on repentance. Though I had never met Rabbi Spero personally, I felt that I was in the presence of a master teacher, a person who thoroughly understood me, my challenges, my strengths and limitations.
In Chapter 2 I was treated to a Spero-esque (is there such a word? There should be!) combination of personalities and stories: tales of contemporary gedolim, Chassidic masters, mussar personalities, and little-known people who had accomplished great acts of growth. There were mashalim and mission statements, as Rabbi Spero shared the questions we should be asking ourselves in the month of Elul: “Who am I? Who do I want to be? Where am I heading?  What do I want for my children? What do my spouse and I want to accomplish as a couple? As a family?”
By now, I admit (this is, after all, the season for confessions!) I had more than enough material to write the copy, but I read on. I couldn’t pull myself away from the engaging stories and from Rabbi Spero’s sincere and unabashedly emotional words of chizuk.
Subsequent chapters were just as packed with information and inspiration. I read about the importance of unity and how chesed facilitates repentance and forgiveness. I learned how to recognize, and touch, the “pintele Yid,” the essence of every Jew (including me!). Cheshbon hanefesh, always a daunting task in today’s non-introspective world, became clearer when viewed through the lens of Rabbi Spero’s marvelous stories;  Selichos came to life as I read how Rav Dessler, author of Michtav M’Eliyahu, prepared himself for those beautiful but difficult penitential prayers.
As I finished the book and the copy I had set out to write I knew that, though summer vacation had just begun and “bein hazemanim” was still weeks away, for me, at least, Elul had come. And thanks to Rabbi Spero and his important new book, A Touch of Purity, I would make the most of it.

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The Book Everyone is Talking About: Women Talk 

“I picked it up, and couldn’t put it down. I read it cover to cover, like a novel.”

That’s what one woman told me when we discussed the new book that so many women are talking about: Women Talk by Debbie Shapiro.

Readers are talking about Women Talk, and especially about the amazing variety of women who are interviewed in its pages. We meet a chareidi woman taxi driver who discusses her unusual job choice; the founder of a Bais Yaakov school in a tiny desert community who shares her memories of Rebbetzin Kaplan o’h. A woman who survived Bergen Belsen as a young child tells the story of the “many mothers” who raised her behind the barbed wire fence, and a ba’alas teshuvah talks about her experiences during Hurricane Katrina. We meet a convert from Germany whose Christian parents opposed the Nazi regime and the granddaughter of Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz zt’l, who grew up in the Mir Yeshiva in Yerushalayim. They are so different from each other, these women, yet they all share a love for Torah and the Jewish People, and a fervent desire to serve Hashem.

In an interview with master interviewer Debbie Shapiro, I asked how she made contact with so many different women. “Word of mouth, mostly,” she told me. “I’m a real people person – people seem to naturally open up to me. Most important, I love people, and I love hearing about people’s lives. My friends know that I’m always searching for new ‘victims.’ I read a newspaper article about a rebbetzin who was a convert, born to a Mormon family, and I just knew I had to speak with her. I ‘cold called’ her to ask if she would let me interview her – and she said yes!” 

And what, I ask Debbie, are the ingredients that make a remarkable Jewish woman?  “We are all remarkable women! It’s really a matter of priorities. It takes the ability to make choices that are Hashem-centered. These women ask themselves what Hashem wants of them at this time in their life, which ultimately means stretching themselves to their limits, without going beyond their limits. It’s a delicate balance, one that we Jewish women are pros at!”

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Here at ArtScroll’s acquisition desk, we’re used to getting large numbers of submissions. Lately, though, we’ve seen mail coming in that looks different from the usual manuscripts.  These submissions are written on lined paper with crisply sharpened pencils or carefully drawn in crayons or colored markers. They are short, they are fun – and they are utterly charming.
Welcome to Children’s Jewish Book Month’s “Write, Draw, and Win!” contest, sponsored by ArtScroll.
As the world’s largest English-language publisher of Jewish books, ArtScroll takes its commitment to Torah literacy very seriously. Realizing that a love of books, of reading, and of a Torah perspective on life begins very early, we have long been publishing high-quality Jewish books for children, from beautifully illustrated easy readers and wonderful “read-to-me” books for the little ones to well-received middle grade and young adult fiction and non-fiction.
Encouraging our children to read – and encouraging them to read books invested with Torah values – has become more vital than ever.  In a world increasingly made up of flickering digital images, reading books develop children’s attention spans, their analytical skills and, of course, their imaginations. Study after study has shown that children who read books do better in school.
And because books have a marked impact on a child’s worldview, it is vitally important to offer children books that reflect Jewish values.
A year ago, in recognition of the importance of introducing our youth to authentic Torah literature, ArtScroll initiated the concept “May is…Children’s Jewish Book Month” with a poster campaign and special sale on all children’s books.  The idea was enthusiastically embraced by educators, librarians and parents. This year the project has been expanded to include a writing and drawing contest for students from first to eighth grades. Children submit short essays or drawings on topics connected to Jewish books, with winners in different categories and age groups.
Over seventy Jewish schools nationwide have registered for the contest, and the kids’ submissions are flowing in. Principals and teachers, realizing the importance of getting children interested in Jewish books, have enthusiastically endorsed the idea.
Top winners – and their schools – will receive $500 gift certificates from ArtScroll. But in this contest everyone is a winner, as we get our children involved and excited about reading Jewish books.

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Here at ArtScroll’s acquisition desk, we’re used to getting large numbers of submissions. Lately, though, we’ve seen mail coming in that looks different from the usual manuscripts.  These submissions are written on lined paper with crisply sharpened pencils or carefully drawn in crayons or colored markers. They are short, they are fun – and they are utterly charming.

Welcome to Children’s Jewish Book Month’s “Write, Draw, and Win!” contest, sponsored by ArtScroll.
As the world’s largest English-language publisher of Jewish books, ArtScroll takes its commitment to Torah literacy very seriously. Realizing that a love of books, of reading, and of a Torah perspective on life begins very early, we have long been publishing high-quality Jewish books for children, from beautifully illustrated easy readers and wonderful “read-to-me” books for the little ones to well-received middle grade and young adult fiction and non-fiction.
Encouraging our children to read – and encouraging them to read books invested with Torah values – has become more vital than ever.  In a world increasingly made up of flickering digital images, reading books develop children’s attention spans, their analytical skills and, of course, their imaginations. Study after study has shown that children who read books do better in school.

And because books have a marked impact on a child’s worldview, it is vitally important to offer children books that reflect Jewish values.
A year ago, in recognition of the importance of introducing our youth to authentic Torah literature, ArtScroll initiated the concept “May is…Children’s Jewish Book Month” with a poster campaign and special sale on all children’s books.  The idea was enthusiastically embraced by educators, librarians and parents. This year the project has been expanded to include a writing and drawing contest for students from first to eighth grades. Children submit short essays or drawings on topics connected to Jewish books, with winners in different categories and age groups.
Over seventy Jewish schools nationwide have registered for the contest, and the kids’ submissions are flowing in. Principals and teachers, realizing the importance of getting children interested in Jewish books, have enthusiastically endorsed the idea.
Top winners – and their schools – will receive $500 gift certificates from ArtScroll. But in this contest everyone is a winner, as we get our children involved and excited about reading Jewish books.

To print a submission form, please click here.

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