Author: ArtScroll Staff

For centuries, the brilliant light of Rashi has illuminated the world of Torah. Behind his seemingly simple words lie treasures of knowledge and profound thought. The study of the Torah through the lens of Rashi has become a sacred tradition for generations, allowing us to “sit in Rashi’s beis medrash” and partake of his explanation of the Torah’s words and his exploration of its depths.

For decades, English speakers have relied on the Sapirstein Edition Rashi for a translation and basic explanation of the Torah’s foremost commentary. Baruch Hashem, the world of Torah has grown. There are more people studying Torah today than in many centuries, and they want more. They wish to dig deeper, understanding not just what Rashi says, but the underlying concepts, along with enlightening glimpses into Rashi’s thought process. What motivated this comment? What counterargument does the Ramban put forth, and how might Rashi respond? How do the Torah’s words prompt Rashi’s interpretation? Beneath the deceptively straightforward exterior of Rashi’s commentary lies a depth that has captivated talmidei chachamim for more than eight centuries.

Enter The Elucidated Rashi on Chumash.

The first volume in this groundbreaking 10-volume series, on Parashiyos Bereishis through Toldos, presents Rashi’s wisdom with unexcelled depth and clarity. Explanatory words ensure the seamless flow of his commentary, clarifying his points and connecting them with the text of the Chumash. Comprehensive notes offer additional insights into Rashi’s ideas and provide clarifications from other commentators.

“The Elucidated Rashi culls from literally hundreds of commentaries,” says Rabbi Eliezer Herzka, General Editor of the project, “distilling them into a clear, comprehensive approach to Rashi. The work is designed to give a broad and in-depth presentation of Rashi, clear enough for even the student to understand, yet thorough enough for even the talmid chacham to appreciate.”

“The Elucidated Rashi on Chumash is unlike anything published before in any language, Hebrew, English or otherwise,” says Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz, president of the Mesorah Heritage Foundation. “Calling it ‘revolutionary’ is not an overstatement. No work on Rashi has ever been produced on this level.”

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It began, as so many good things do, with a story.

It was the story of a great talmid chacham who, lo aleinu, lost his only son. And how he took that personal tragedy and turned it into a gift for future generations, by writing a Torah commentary in memory of his son — and including in his Introduction a promise: “… [those who learn my Torah] will see children, and children’s children … wise and discerning, and homes filled with everything good, and wealth and honor ….”

We’re talking, of course, about Rav Shimshon Chaim Nachmani, the Zera Shimshon, whose sefarim and the segulah connected with them have become household words.

But the story — and the many stories of people who were helped through this segulah — was just the beginning. Because when word of the recently rediscovered commentary came out, thousands flocked to learn it. They realized that the commentary, written in 18th-century Italy, was a hidden treasure of Torah thought. A treasure indeed, but one difficult to access, since the commentary is complex, with countless allusions to concepts and texts from all over the vastness of the Written and Oral Torah.

Again and again, we at ArtScroll heard the request: Give us an elucidated translation so that we, too, can truly understand this beautiful but difficult commentary!

And so began the Haas Family Edition Sefer Zera Shimshon — an elucidation of the Zera Shimshon on Torah, which has just celebrated the release of the final edition in the 10- volume project. (An additional three volumes cover Zera Shimshon on Megillas Esther, Rus, and Eichah. Koheles and Shir HaShirim are in advanced stages of preparation.)

It wasn’t easy. The style of the commentary often included complex reasoning and esoteric ideas, difficult to make understandable. “The very excellent staff was notfamiliar with the sefer — we all learned on the job!” says Rabbi Shmuel Kirzner, General Editor of the project. But the huge effort was successful: One who learns Zera Shimshon is immediately catapulted to the realms of Derush and Remez, usually in the framework of an exquisite tapestry of interwoven ideas. The combination of breadth and depth make the sefer truly unique — and ArtScroll’s elucidation makes it very understandable.

The story of Zera Shimshon’s author does not end. It lives on, in the eternal words of his Torah.

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Unwrapping Our Gifts: Days of Reflection, Days of Awe, by Rabbi Yaakov Feitman

It’s in the air, everywhere. The feelings of closeness to Hashem. The awe of the upcoming Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The excitement of Succos. The fear and the love, the teshuvah and the tefillah. The children singing songs of apples and honey; the daily sound of the shofar, awakening all of Klal Yisrael.

And, as Rabbi Yaakov Feitman tells us in his inspiring and important new book: It’s all a gift. The gift of Elul, the gift of the Yamim Noraim, the joyous gift of Succos. A gift that his new and important book, Days of Reflection, Days of Awe, will help us unwrap and enjoy.

For over twenty-five years, Rabbi Feitman, a leading talmid of Rav Hutner, has served as  Rav of  Kehillas Bais Yehudah Tzvi in Cedarhurst, NY, a flourishing shul with a full-time kollel. He has been featured as a speaker and scholar-in-residence in cities all over the U.S., Israel, and Europe. As a writer, Rabbi Feitman makes profound ideas relatable and practical. He weaves together stories and insights from across the spectrum of our gedolim to give us a deeper appreciation of the holy days and the unique nature and power of each. Every essay is summarized in a practical takeaway that can help readers make the most of this meaningful time of year.

What is, according to some of our greatest Torah leaders, the most important middah of Elul? What does the British monarchy have to teach us about (l’havdil) crowning Hashem as our King? Where does the joy of Succos come from, and how did Jews manage to find that simchah even in the direst situations? Here is the wisdom of so many gedolim — Ramchal, R’ Yisrael Salanter, Rav Dessler, the Chazon Ish, and Rav Hutner, to name just a few — together with stories and insights that will enrich this wonderful time of year, and our lives as well.

ArtScroll Welcomes the Newest Edition of Selichos:

Let’s welcome the newest volume to our Selichos family — Selichos Siach Levaveinu: All-Hebrew Selichos with English instructions (Nusach Lita – Ashkenaz). Like all ArtScroll Selichos, it features easy-to-follow typography and explanatory notes. And, of course, the Thirteen Middos are written in full each time they appear, for ease of use.  

AS: You met with Reb Meilech before embarking on this sefer. What was it like, meeting this unique Torah personality?

YB: It wasn’t exactly like a meeting. It was more like joining him on his nightly route, as he moved quickly from a shivah house R’l, to a wedding, to the simchah of an orphan, and then on to the next simchah — while snatching conversations in between.

AS: Reb Meilech’s Torah — and stories! — speak to Jews of all types. Where does that power come from?

YB: I certainly can’t answer that, but every sort of Jew — gedolim and simple Jews whom I would never have pegged as “Reb Meilech people” — told me that Reb Meilech’s Torah carries them through the week.

AS: In Around the Year with Reb Meilech, you combine Reb Meilech’s Torah and stories with descriptions of how he transmits them — his body language, gestures, and songs. How does that enhance the reader’s experience?

YB: It’s an attempt to convey some of the magic and “chein” of his shiurim and gatherings, though of course there is a “baal peh” aspect that cannot be completely described.

AS: The sefer follows the Jewish calendar: a full year of inspiration. Since we’re at the beginning of Chodesh Elul, can you share a brief vort from Reb Meilech to take with us as we approach the Yamim Noraim?

YB: The pasuk in Tehillim (126:2-3) describes the reaction of the nations to Mashiach’s arrival: Az yomru ba’goyim, higdil Hashem laasos im eileh. They will say among the nations, the Lord has done great things with these.

When the great day will come, the Lelover Rebbe said, the nations will wonder, “Why them? What made the Jewish nation deserving?”

And our response will be: Higdil Hashem laasos imanu. Do you know why Hashem performed great deeds for us? Because hayinu se’meichim — we were happy.

We are not the only nation that is happy, but we are the only nation that toils to be happy, that makes simchah a goal, that has the courage and valor to work to be happy even when it not easy. And that zechus will give us the right to genuinely rejoice.

Teshuvah, too, should be done with simchah — joy because Hashem gives us the gift of becoming close to Him — and these days of awe should be approached with this simchah, for it is our eternal zechus.

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